The Outing
Review:
A Powerful
James Baldwin Short Story
James Baldwin’s The Outing follows a group of Black teenagers and adults on a church outing to the Hudson River. What should be a simple day trip slowly becomes something more complicated as the characters’ relationships, insecurities, and frustrations begin to surface. The story focuses less on a major plot event and more on the small moments between people that reveal who they really are.
Baldwin uses the outing itself as a way to bring different characters together while also showing how separated they can feel from one another. The teenagers are trying to figure out who they are and how they fit into the world around them, while the adults carry their own expectations and tensions. Even though the story takes place over a relatively short period of time, there is a lot happening beneath the surface.
Note: I attempted to make this spoiler-free, but it’s quite hard to review a short story without explaining some parts.
Johnnie
Johnnie was definitely the character I felt most connected to. He spends so much of the story trying to understand where he fits (with his family, his church, his friends, and especially David). His relationship with Gabriel also makes it clear how trapped and frustrated he feels. I really liked how Baldwin lets us understand Johnnie mostly through small reactions rather than explaining everything for us. By the end, I felt a lot of sympathy for him, especially because he seems to be realizing things about himself that he doesn’t quite know how to put into words.
David
David is interesting because he seems much more focused on Sylvia at first, which makes Johnnie’s feelings toward him even more complicated. I liked that Baldwin doesn’t make David completely aware of what Johnnie is feeling. Their friendship has a closeness that feels different from the relationships Johnnie has with everyone else, even when neither of them seems to fully understand what that closeness means. Their relationship ended up being one of the most memorable parts of the story for me.
Gabriel
Gabriel was probably the character I had the strongest negative reaction to. He is Johnnie’s stepfather and a deacon, so religion and authority are incredibly important to him. But his relationship with Johnnie feels much more about control than understanding. His constant criticism of Johnnie makes it easy to understand why Johnnie is so resentful toward him. I also found it interesting that Baldwin doesn’t make Gabriel only an authority figure–we get glimpses of his own frustrations and disappointments, which make him feel more like a person than simply an antagonist.
Roy
Roy is quieter than Johnnie and David, but I liked the way he fits into their friendship. He is caught between Johnnie and Gabriel in a way that gives us another perspective on their family. He also adds to the feeling that these boys are growing up and beginning to push against the adults and religious expectations around them. His presence makes the story feel more like a snapshot of a whole group of teenagers rather than just Johnnie’s story.
My Honest Review
I really liked The Outing, although I can understand why it might not be for everyone. It is an understated story, and Baldwin does not give you a dramatic plot to carry you through it. Instead, the story depends on the characters and tension. You have to pay attention to the conversations, small reactions, and things that are left unsaid.
What stood out to me most was Baldwin’s ability to make an ordinary event feel significant. A church outing sounds pretty uneventful, even normal, but Baldwin uses it to explore friendship, growing up, social expectations, and the complicated relationships between adults and children. There is a constant feeling that something is slightly off, even when nothing particularly dramatic is happening.
I also loved the way Baldwin writes young people. His characters are not innocent children or miniature adults, reminding me of To Kill a Mockingbird in that regard. They are somewhere in between, which makes their interactions feel especially believable. They want to be taken seriously, but they are still learning how to understand themselves and everyone around them.
This is also a story where the writing itself is a major reason to read it. Baldwin pays close attention to atmosphere, especially the setting around the river. The physical environment reflects the mood of the characters without feeling like an obvious metaphor.
Overall, The Outing is (I’ve been told) a quieter Baldwin story, but there is a lot beneath its surface. It is less about what happens during the outing and more about what the outing reveals about the people taking part in it.
Happy reading!