James Baldwins Giovannis Room - 1445 Words

Privacy is an abstract concept, one that seems to go unnoticed until it is violated. When observed using Western culture, the entire nature of the concept of privacy relates to it being particularly special or sensitive to an individual. In James Baldwin’s novel Giovanni’s Room, the reader encounters tension between the main character, David’s, perception of privacy and the reality he encounters while living in France. David is a young American who has recently become engaged to his girlfriend, Hella. However, David’s sense of self and his private thoughts are contested when he meets a young Italian bartender, Giovanni, while Hella is away on a trip. David is caught in the middle of repressed desires and his conventional morality when he†¦show more content†¦In sum, privacy is redefined in Giovanni’s Room because it is not a safe place, instead, it represents a place filled with anxiety and denial which lead to David and Giovanni’s u nhappiness and dissatisfaction. David struggles to come to terms with his relationship with Giovanni and the implications that homosexuality has on his perception of the masculine identity and male power relations. David sees his relationship with Giovanni as a form of liberation from his loveless relationship with Hella, but in his attempts to keep it a private affair it becomes more and more of a threat to his masculine identity. In his first encounters with Giovanni’s room, David acknowledges the confines of the space but accepts it. However, as he feels his masculinity stifled by his relationship with David, the room develops into an oppressive symbol, something he must escape from to reclaim his masculinity. David expresses this idea when he says, â€Å"But it was not the room’s disorder which was frightening; it was the fact that when one began searching for a key to this disorder one realized†¦ it was a matter of punishment and grief† (Baldwin 87). The room serves as a constant remi nder about David’s sexuality as well as his true feelings for Giovanni. David obsess with the idea of masculinity, he is constantly comparing himself to