Johnnie and Roy both seem
very scared of Gabriel at the beginning of “The Rockpile.” When the two boys
are sitting on the fire escape and oy decides to go down to the street,
Johnnie’s response is that “Daddy’s going to be home soon” (Baldwin 17). Later on
in the story, we see Gabriel coming home from work, all we know at this point
is that it is somewhere high up in the church, and how fearful Johnnie is about
telling him how Roy got injured. When Gabriel enters he is comforting to Roy,
and we begin to see that he favors Roy, and is immediately critical of both
Johnnie and Elizabeth for letting this happen. At the very end we find out that
some of the tension between Gabriel and Elizabeth is over her sinful past and
that Johnnie is her child but not his. In her last look at Gabriel Elizabeth
sees a “hatred so deep as to become insupportable in its lack of personality”
(Baldwin 25). And we are left with an ambiguous ending with Johnnie leaning
down towards Gabriel’s foot to pick up a lunchbox.
By
the end of “The Rockpile” our image of Gabriel is not a good one. He seems like
an overbearing father figure who enjoys holing his authority over the rest of
the family. He seems to like Roy much more than Johnnie because Johnnie is not
actually his child and uses Elizabeth’s past against her. In the private sphere
of their home there is a lot of tension and distance between them as the boys always
fear their father coming home. There is also constant language of religion to
qualify the world around them, adding to the fear that anything they do wrong
will cause them to be condemned.
Our
view of Gabriel is complicated in “The Outing” where we see more interactions
between Gabriel and his sons, this time in the public sphere. Because they are
now in public, Gabriel can do less to discipline Roy and Johnnie than he could
at home. There is a conversation between Gabriel and Johnnie where Johnnie can
be more outspoken and obvious about his hatred for Gabriel without immediate
consequences. However, Gabriel does threaten that there will be punishment at
home when they are alone. We also see that the favoritism that Gabriel has for
Roy is more pronounced and is now resented by both Roy and Johnnie. Gabriel says
that David was brought to church by Roy when the boys all know that it was
Johnnie. When David looks at Roy and Johnnie their faces show how much this affects
them, “Roy, who considered his father with an expression at once contemptuous,
ironic and resigned and at Johnnie, whose face was a mask of rage” (Baldwin
34). They all know that Gabriel has a favorite and they all resent him for it.
However,
we also see a different side of Gabriel when he is talking with Father James.
We see here that he is a Deacon in the church, not as high as it had seemed in
“The Rockpile” and that he is hoping to preach sometime. In this scene he seems
much less powerful and less domineering as he speaks humbly with Father James.
Father James tells him not to try to advance to quickly and that he should “Try
to get just a little closer to the people”
(Baldwin 42). In this scene we see that he is not always as overbearing as it
seems, but Father James’ last remark also fits with the effect that he had had
on the conversation between Roy, Johnnie, and David’s parents. Gabriel just
doesn’t seem to be able to have a normal conversation that shows understanding
to the people he is talking to.
While I can't bring myself to sympathize with Gabriel, I can understand that his demeanor could be because he lacks social skills. He does appear to be confused when it comes to social interactions, and his interactions with the Father James and Roy show that he does have a softer side, so it would make sense that he's not an entirely terrible person. Good food for thought, nice post.
ReplyDeleteI sort of saw Gabriel's interaction with Father James as reaffirming his character flaws. Here he was acting timid and almost cunning in a way, trying to further his own career goals instead of being frank about what he wants. I also think that because he is so unsuccessful in his professional aspirations, maybe he's taking that out on his children. Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that just from the two stories we have read, like you mentioned, we can discern that Gabriel is a very complicated character. There is an underlying power dynamic between him and his sons that stems from either his own insecurities, family dynamic, or some outside source we have yet to discover. Despite his dislikable demeanor, he plays a key role in the story that shapes not only Johnnie and Roy's places in the church, but their relationship between each other.
ReplyDeleteI'm not really liking Gabriel at this point, but I see what you mean when you say he's a complicated character. I almost felt bad for him when I read the interaction between him and Father James, because Father James was speaking to him so condescendingly and all he wanted to do was preach. But then I look back at his interactions with Roy, Gabriel, David, and all those people in that one scene, and I realize that Father James has a point. Even though I think that Gabriel should be able to preach now and Father James is just being a dingus, Gabriel really does need to work on his people skills.
ReplyDeleteGabriel's character made me uncomfortable in a similar way that people in conversations are uncomfortable with him. He is just the massive dampener of spirits when he enters a room because of the way that he carries himself. He seems to be overcompensating for his lack of a high role in the church by acting out in his own home. For me, the part of him that made me the most angry was the injustice in the ways in which he treated the two boys. It bothered me that Gabriel and Roy both referred to him as their father when in reality he only played the role of father to one of the boys.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Gabriel's character is definitely complicated, I find it hard to feel sorry for him. I feel like the only reason he acts shy in front of Father James is so he can get his way. Father James seems to be able to see through this, and thus, tells him to try to connect with the people. Whatever troubles he's facing in the church is no excuse for the way he treats Johnnie.
ReplyDeleteTo me, the outing didn't really complicate Gabriel's character at all - it only confirmed what I thought of him. I saw him as an overbearing, power-hungry man, very demonstrative and downright terrifying when given power. If I had only read The Rockpile and had been asked what I thought Gabriel would do if put in a submissive situation, these attempts at coping with it show exactly how I would have responded.
ReplyDeleteI agree with most of the comments left before me. Although Gabriel's character has been complicated and further revealed, he still gets none of my sympathy. If anything, I have even less sympathy for him now. He's a man who acts submissive in his career, and he's cruel at home to make up for his self-esteem issues and feeling of powerlessness. People can sense Gabriel's true nature and I believe that that's the only reason he has trouble getting along with them.
ReplyDelete