NAME NIM ROMBEL

: SONTA JAYANTI N. : 2201409005 : TUESDAY 211-212 (FRIDAY 501-502)

A. Summary Part One David, an American who lived in France, the main character of the story, was confused in the night before Giovanni, his gay couple, guillotined in the morning. David was confused about Hella also, his girlfriend who was returning to America. During remembering his promises to Giovanni, he remembered about his first experience in making love, with Joey, his bestfriend when he was thirteen years old. At that time, he still lived with his father, but not in a harmonic situation. His father wanted to be close with him but he could not. Then he went to Paris to find himself. During his second year in Paris, and was turned out from his hotel room. His father actually had money for him but he wanted David to come home. Then, he call Jacques, Belgian born, American bussinessman, who was always ask David to call. They went together to Guillaumes gay bar and met Giovanni. At the first time they met, David offered Giovanni a drink. Then, David and Giovanni were become close. Giovanni asked David to had breakfast. They went together to Les Halles and ate at a restaurant with Guillaume and Jacques. They ate oyster and drank white wine at Madam Clothildes bar. Jacques seemed know that actually David liked Giovanni. He suggest him to love Giovanni who according to him, David is very appropriate with Giovanni. After spent time at that bar, they went home. But on the way, when David excused himself to go back to hotel, Giovanni prohibited him to not go and invite him to come to his room and promise him to make him happy when he wake up at the morning. Giovannis rom was on the back of the last building on the wide street. They must the vestibule and the elevator into a short, dark corridor. Arriving at the room, David worried that he could not go out from there. But its too late. Giovanni pulled him against him, putting himself into Davids arm, and slowly pulled David down to the bed.

The day after at Davids room, when David was about to shaving, there is someone came and knocked at his door. There was a woman who have to check all the furniture in that room. She also had conversation with David. She offered him to come to her house, eat together with his husband, etc. David was touched ut he still had doubt to go. She asked him wether he had a girlfriend or not, and suggested him to look for her soon for his happiness. She asked about his mother, and David told her that she was dead. This women was nice and very care about David. He also felt comfort with her. David was confused about Hellas arrival and but his relationship with Giovanni. Hella was wandering in Spain. Giovanni was jealous when David told him about how Hella was. He conveyed his disagreement about what Hella do, on the other hand, David support it. But, by Giovanni showing his jealous, David know how Giovanni loved him. They passed days with jokes and togetherness happily. David try to describe how Giovannis room everytime he was there. It was so mixed, mess, and had two windows. In one day, David got two letters, one from his father and one from Hella. The letter from Davids father express that his father missed him and wanted him to come back to America and brought a wife. Next, Hella's letter informed him that she was coming back in a few days - he had to part with Giovanni soon. In a bar he saw Sue and they went back to her place and had sex. He didnt not want to see her again and had only just used her to feel better about himself. When he returned to the room, David found a hysterical Giovanni, who had been fired from Guillaume's bar. Guillaume had stated something bad about Giovanni which is not true and had insulted him in front of many people in the bar at that night. David tried to listen what Giovanni shared to him, and accompanied him along the night. Then David promised to buy him a drink and collect all their money together. Actually, David hide Hellas arrival in few days after that day from Giovanni. When David and Giovanni were talking together, Giovanni could guess Hellas arrival in few days. Giovanni was afraid that David would leave him and went to Hella. Athough David said no, but

eventually he left Giovanni and saw Hella. David left Giovanni in one morning when Giovanni actually still need him to be with. David had not told Giovanni that he went to the station to wait Hellas arrival. After Hella arrived, they went together for few days. David almost forgot Giovanni who was sad of losing his job. One day at the bookstore, Giovanni accompanied Hella buying a books. When Hella went to choose the book, David met Giovanni and Jacques. Jacques told him that Giovanni was sad of being alone without him. Then Hella met Giovanni and they introduced theirselves each other. Jacques invite Hella and David to had drink together. But Hella felt not comfortable with Giovanni and Jacques, so she refused the invitation by reasoning that she felt unwell. Then Hella asked David when they were at hotel, who Giovanni was. David still keep secret about him and told lies to Hella that Giovanni was just a roomate. Hella seemed know that theres something special between them. What Jacques said made David felt so guilty for leaving Giovanni alone. David went to Giovanni's room to talk - the Italian man was distressed. Sometime later, David walked into Yves and found out Giovanni was no longer with Jacques and that he might be able to get him job at Guillaume's bar again. The news of Guillaume's murder suddenly came out, and Giovanni was wanted in all newspapers. David fancies that Giovanni went back into the bar to ask for a job, then Guillaume tried to flirt with him and Giovanni killed the man, not 'meaning' to do it. Hella and David then move to the South of France; David leaves off to Nice for a few days, where he spent his time with a sailor. Hella started talk about marriage. She wanted to go back to America with David, but David still not sure about it. Finally Hella decided to went back to America without David. The book ends with David's mental pictures of Giovanni's execution and his own guilt.

B. Analysis

What I can get from Giovannis room is a story about a couple of gay and their life. It happens in David, Giovanni, Jacques, and Guillaume. Before I explore the analysis of mine about my point of view, that is about homosexuality, especially about gay, it will be better for us to know the definition of homosexual. Homosexuality is romantic and/or sexual attraction or behavior between members of the same sex or gender. wikipedia.com. Attraction is; something which makes people want to go to a place or do a particular thing; when you like someone, especially sexually, because of the way they look or behave. (Cambridge Dictionary) Here we will discuss about one of homosexuality. That is sexual relationship between men called gay. From the definition above, I would like to relate it to the characters in Giovannis Room. Firstly, let see the process that probably occur in gay people. That process is called Coming out process. Coming out process usually done by many people who attracted to another of their own sex. Coming out process consists of three phases. These are the phases:
1. The first phase is the phase of knowing oneself. In this phase, one is

open to the same-sex relation. For example when a child have relation with his or her friends in same gender.
2. The second phase involves one decision to come out to others. For

example, one come out to his or her family, friends, or colleagues.

3. The last phase is when the gay or lesbian living openly as gay or lesbian.

They started to firm with their status as gay or lesbian. In the USA nowadays, this phase occur at one is at high school or college age. They usually do not trust to other people and do not need to be helped also. Even, they do not tell their family about their gay or lesbian status.

From the explanation above, we can infer that every gay may passed that process, but in different way at different age and in different condition too. Lets take a look at Davids and Giovannis life story as gay. It clearly stated at the novel that David had pased the process through. David firstly involved the same-sex relation with Joey when he was thirteen. We can say it as the first phase of the process. He did it without knowing what gay was before. After sleeping with Joey David started to search for himself. This is the second phase, that he tried to came out from their family that did not have a harmonic situation. Actually his father wanted to be close with David, but David refused. He left America and lived in France. He ever had a girlfriend named Hella. As we now, he loved her so much before he met Giovanni. Then when Hella was wandering through the ocean, David met Giovanni and slowly they made a relationship. Here David seemed forget his family at home, but still needed the money from his father to live. This is the third phase of the coming out process that David did. He clearly know himself as gay and knew what he need as gay, although sometimes he hid it from other person who he did not know closely. While Giovanni had had wife in Italy, but his child was bornstill. His wife was left there and they worked at Guillaume gay bar. At the bar maybe he used to see couples of gay. That condition can support his behaviour in loving the samesex person. The third phase that Giovanni passed was when he met David at one night and then they made a close relationship. So, we know that gay is actually a behaviour that someone has, and being gay or not is a choice of life. Like what we have found in the novel, that even they are gay, Giovanni had had wife, and David had fiancee, Hella. This proves that they actually could live with women, but they were more comfortable to be with man. Like what stated in the novel in part two, chapter one at page 110: ...; for that moment I really loved Giovanni, who had never seemed more beautiful than he was that afternoon. And, watching his face, I realized that it meant much to me that I could make his face so bright. And this is some sentences in part 2, chapter four at page 159 that describe Davids feeling toward Hella;

I was terribly glad to see her. It really seemed, with Hella in the circle of my arms, that my arms were home and I was welcoming her back there. She fitted in my arms, she always had, and the shock of holding her caused me to feel that my arms had been empty since she had been away. From quotation above we can infer that David actually prefer to be with Giovanni that he loved more than Hella. David loved Hella only to fulfill human being need, not his selfs need. The research and clinical literature demonstrate that same-sex sexual and romantic attractions, feelings, and behaviors are normal and positive variations of human sexuality. One being a gay because they are more comfortable of being gay. They just fulfil their heart needs. They love the same-sex person but they know that it impossible to have a baby. This is so pity that he must choose one of two consequences; to have child by marry a girl that he does not love, or be happy with man that he love. The painful fact that appears in society nowadays is that gay people are often rejected by them. The society consider them as people who has sexual disorder. Like what have stated above, that homosexuality is positive variations of human sexuality. I think the rejection is not fair and should be stopped. If they do not disturb us, why we disturb their private life? That is their right to decide what way they will choose. They also know and accept the consequences of choosing that option. So there is no reason for us to insulting them. I think the purpose of James Baldwin to write this novel is to explain us that gay people also have their own world. They enjoy it by their own ways. It is not fair for them to be discriminated because of their sexuality difference. This novel clearly tells about the life of gay in town that covered by night life. At busy town like Paris, that many people from different places live there, gay people seems like hide theirself from the crowd. The gay people know where they should go, for example to Guillaumes bar. They enjoy their world with other gay. There they can get happiness, couple, or just to forget the problems.