84 pages 2 hours read

James Baldwin

Go Tell It on the Mountain

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1953

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics.

Symbols & Motifs

The Threshing Floor

The threshing floor is a part of The Temple of the Fire Baptized. The name refers to the space in front of the altar where Gabriel delivers his sermons. The name is a reference to the laborious process of processing wheat as described in the Bible. In the past, the lack of farming machinery meant that wheat was to be harvested by hand and that the grain and the chaff of the wheat had to be separated by hand. To do so, people required a large, flat surface which was shielded from the wind on which the wheat could be laid out. Once laid out, people would walk oxen back and forth over the wheat. The threshing floor in the church is a symbol of the way the members of the congregation feel themselves treated like the wheat described in the Bible. They use the threshing floor to share their experiences of religion. Like the wheat, which was processed on the threshing floor, they are processed by religion and transformed into something new. The threshing floor becomes a symbol of the physical transformation that religion induces in the congregation and the seriousness with which they take the process.

Related Titles

By James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Another Country

James Baldwin

Another Country

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

A Talk to Teachers

James Baldwin

A Talk to Teachers

James Baldwin

Plot Summary

logo

Blues for Mister Charlie

James Baldwin

Blues for Mister Charlie

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin

Giovanni's Room

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Going To Meet The Man

James Baldwin

Going To Meet The Man

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

I Am Not Your Negro

James Baldwin

I Am Not Your Negro

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

James Baldwin

If Black English Isn't a Language, Then Tell Me, What Is?

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Nobody Knows My Name

James Baldwin

Nobody Knows My Name: More Notes of a Native Son

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

No Name in the Street

James Baldwin

No Name in the Street

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Notes of a Native Son

James Baldwin

Notes of a Native Son

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

Stranger in the Village

James Baldwin

Stranger in the Village

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

The Amen Corner

James Baldwin

The Amen Corner

James Baldwin

Study Guide

logo

The Rockpile

James Baldwin

The Rockpile

James Baldwin