Extended Essays 2021

RQ: To what extent does Baldwin portray homosexual identity as a cause of destruction in Giovanni’s Room?

of Eden’. Giovanni says of his time in Italy that, “I was not unhappy then (…) I did not want to die.” (pg. 123). Thus, it is implied that, by engaging in self-contempt, Giovanni is causing destruction to himself in the form of suicidal ideation. Furthermore, it is stated by David that Giovanni’s execution is, “the gateway [Giovanni] has sought so long out of this dirty world, this dirty body.” (pg. 149). This idea of a “dirty body” is explicitly linked to self-contempt, as Jacques says about David’s relationship with Giovanni, “if you think of them as dirty, then they will be dirty – they will be dirty because you will be giving nothing, you will be despising your flesh and his.” (pg. 50), and that if this continues, “you’ll end up trapped in your own dirty body,” (pg. 50). Therefore, for David to engage in self-contempt, to despise himself and by extension Giovanni, he will become trapped in his “dirty body”. This then implies that the only way to escape self-contempt is to engage in destructive behaviour, which manifests in Giovanni as suicidal ideation.

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