John's RoomIn James Baldwin's second published novel, we meet a young American called David. He left his home country to live in Paris. In the first meeting with this man, he looks out the window and thinks about his life. Even so at the beginning of the book we have the impression that everything is not in the right place. This is where the void lives. As Davis begins to talk about his life as a young boy in America, he lets us know about his mother who died too young and him being raised by his father and aunt. David's father is the stereotype of man and his emotions. He and his son never had a close relationship. Even when David is injured in an accident, his father doesn't want him to cry. She wants him to be a man, a manly man and not a Sunday school teacher. One summer day, David goes out with his friend Joey. This turns out to be David's first sexual encounter with another person. The next day she is very ashamed and afraid and abandons Joey, even though she has strong emotions for him. When school starts that fall he starts hanging out with new people, starts drinking and goes out with girls. This is where the deception begins. Somewhere along the way, David decides to leave for Paris. He is tired of imitating his father's virile behavior and runs away from the problem he refuses to acknowledge. In this new country, David meets Hella, a fellow American who, like him, is also searching for meaning in life. He strives to meet what is expected of him as a man and as an American, and decides to propose to this girl he finds charming and exciting. By making his circumstances as "normal" as possible, he believes that will make him "normal" too. In the book David says it this way: 'I suppose that's why I asked h... middle of the paper... you will always be a nomad, always searching for happiness without daring to reach it. The interesting point of the book is that David never articulates an explicit statement that he is homosexual, although he makes it quite clear at the end that he is aware of his gender. This may be the author's way of intensifying David's inauthenticity. He never even mentions the word homosexuality in the entire novel. All the signs are there and everyone can see them except David himself. Or at least that's what it tries to do. It's hard for us to imagine what it would be like to be in David's shoes and it's very easy to judge. We can ask why he didn't just accept his homosexuality and move on with it, but that question will never be answered. David grew up with the opinion that male-female relationships were the only way and his foundation was built on that belief.