Go Tell It on the Mountain

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Creative Writing Activity: Go Tell It on the Mountain, Part 4”

In this activity, students will write a chapter from the perspective of one of the other characters in the novel.

While Baldwin’s novel is comprised of flashbacks, the central narrative follows John and his immediate family at a church service on the weekend of his 14th birthday. Baldwin selects three of John’s family members to receive their own narratives, where each character reflects on the past to explain their present circumstances. Select one of the characters in the novel who does not have a chapter and write a reflection from the person’s own experience. The narrative style should both mirror Baldwin’s style of writing, as well as maintain the accuracy of the character based on text details. Use the following questions to guide your writing process:

• What is this person’s relationship to the Grimes family?
• How is this person religiously oriented?
• In which ways do the themes of Religious Piety and Hypocrisy, Sexuality and Shame, and Racism and Generational Trauma shape this character’s narrative and perspective?