UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal

My paper attempts to critically analyze James Baldwin’s Giovanni’s Room and depict the correlations of race, gender and sexuality within the novel. I found it interesting that James Baldwin, a gay African American writer, whose writings focused and critiqued the African American experience, writes his second novel with mostly white characters. James Baldwin depicts David (the main character) as masculine, even though he engages with same sex desires. Many novels often times depict characters like David to be feminine just because they are attracted to men, but Giovanni’s Room does not do that. Although some have argued that the novel is an African American novel that discusses racial issues, they fail to recognize the bisexual nature of the novel and label it as a gay novel. In doing this, the characters are restricted to a binary that is limited to 2 sexualities, heterosexuality and homosexuality. My paper explores the ties of sexuality, race, and gender performance and how David uses his bisexuality to create a dual identity that allows him to access masculinity and ascertain his whiteness through heteronormative behavior.