“ The Rockpile “ by James Baldwin, is a story about a family whose unity and faith in God,

helped them to be strong. A boy by the name of John allows his younger brother Roy, to go down the fire escape and play in an abandoned old lot, across the street from their house. Now, the story takes place in 1930’s Harlem. The abandoned lot was not a safe place for young children to play , yet little boys like Roy enjoyed playing there. The lot was called The Rockpile, in there the little boys wrestled and ran, hurting both themselves and each other.
                        John was Roy’s older brother , and when he allowed his younger brother to go down there, he was hit in the head with a can and hurt. John did not tell his mother or his father, a preacher, that he allowed Roy to go to The Rockpile. His dad was not happy, yet being a preacher and with help from his wife he was able to calm himself down. The story is simply a similar  duplicate of the life of James Baldwin. Baldwin’s life in Harlem was very similar to the life of John, portrayed in “ Th Rockpile”. That’s the main reason why I enjoy the story so much because, it’s an interesting short story, yet, at the same time it gives me an insight on the life of the author, and I think that’s what he meant to do.