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James Baldwin controversially writes Giovanni’s Room to articulate the struggle
of conforming to the common idea of what it means to be a man
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With every
experience, David faces a trying inner struggle as he attempts to live up to the status-quo
image of a flawless man
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He
cannot choose whom he loves and is burdened by his true identification
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David, while not close with his father, is constantly trying to live up to the
unspoken expectations his father has placed upon him
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Early on, David briefly confronts the notion that he is not a typical
man; while his father tries to develop this manly, buddy relationship, David feels that
what passes “between us [them] as masculine candor exhausted and appalled me
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He cannot bring himself to grow into something
he is not, but also refuses to live a life that is not common of men
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Further into
his life, David falls for a man whom he believes to be the love of his life
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David cannot get away from the power that is found in manhood

  

 

Racine  2  

and his thirst to comply with expectations
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In this
sense, David’s question of masculinity and self-identity immediately doom their
relationship
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The novel’s plot develops because of the dishonesty David has with himself
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He cannot tell Giovanni about Hella, he walks away because life with
Giovanni would be impossible, and he grabs every opportunity to trick Hella into
thinking he loves women
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His struggle to attain the pitied definition of manhood ultimately leads to his
demise as an individual who is capable of accepting the love he deserves
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”



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