The Man Child

"The Man Child" is a 1965 short story by James Baldwin, taken from the short story collection, Going to Meet the Man.

Plot introduction

Eric's parents are celebrating Jamie's birthday.

Plot summary

It is Jamie's thirty-fourth birthday and he is at Eric's parents' to celebrate. Eric's father upbraids him for being alone, with no wife or children, only a dog and his mother. Then Eric and his father go for a walk, during which Eric learns that all the land around him is his, thanks to his father's self-discipline; Jamie, on the other hand, has lost his. Back at the house, Jamie blows the candles.

Later, after Eric's mother had a miscarriage with a baby the couple had imagined calling either Sophie or Jamie, Eric goes for a walk and runs into Jamie. The latter takes him into a barn and strangles him, whilst his mother is singing in the kitchen.

Characters

Eric - eight years old, blonde.
Father - He is thirty-two years old.
Mother - pregnant
Sophie - Eric's would-be little sister, buried in the church courtyard
Jamie - a neighbour who goes to a local bar, The Rafters, with Eric's father every night. His wife left him and Eric's father bought back his land. He is thirty-four years old.

Main themes

loneliness
father-son relationships
white masculinity
white paternity

Works by James Baldwin

Novels	Go Tell It on the Mountain Giovanni's Room Another Country Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone If Beale Street Could Talk Just Above My Head

Plays	The Amen Corner Blues for Mister Charlie

Short story collections	Going to Meet the Man "The Rockpile" "The Outing" "The Man Child" "Previous Condition" "Sonny's Blues" "This Morning, This Evening, So Soon" "Come Out the Wilderness" "Going to Meet the Man"

Essay collections	Notes of a Native Son Nobody Knows My Name The Fire Next Time No Name in the Street The Devil Finds Work The Evidence of Things Not Seen The Price of the Ticket

Collaborations	A Rap on Race A Dialogue Little Man Little Man: A Story of Childhood

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