Elizabeth's prayer reinforces that African Americans have not escaped racism by coming north; the brutal treatment of Richard at the hands of the police and the justice system causes his suicide. Sexuality Sex and sexuality are important throughout the novel, particularly for John and Gabriel. The novel engages heavily with traditional religious views of sexuality as something sinful that is to be avoided. The church's stigmas surrounding sexuality impressed on him by his father, have severely impacted John's perspective on sexuality. Several critics have viewed John's religious rebirth in terms of him coming to terms with his sexuality, both as a gay man and as a black man. Critics have noted the "constant repetition of such phrases as 'the natural man' and 'the old Adam in condemnation of man's sexual desire. This conflict is central for John, who at the start of the novel is reflecting on his own "sin" (masturbation) and his burgeoning sexuality. Many scholars read John's conversion as a rejection of his father's strict sexual mores. Angelo Robinson argues that because the novel "alters the traditional Pentecostal conversion experience in that John is not 'cured,' 'healed,' or 'delivered' from his sexual desire during his rebirth" but is restored' to confront the reality of his sexual desires while at the same time claiming the promise of salvation" and is ultimately "freed from Gabriel's faith with its severe sexual ethic". Furthermore, Baldwin often used sexual language and imagery in describing religious zeal. This is particularly noticeable when Elisha is called before the congregation to be chastised for his nascent relationship with a girl, Ella Mae, he is described with his "head thrown back, eyes closed, sweat standing on his brow", "stiffened and trembles", "cried out Jesus, Jesus, oh Lord Jesus!", "face congested", and "his body could not contain this passion". John's homosexuality is also at issue in the novel, though John himself spends less time concerned directly with the kind of his sexual desire than he does with its existence at all. Nevertheless, given the autobiographical details in the novel, scholars have interrogated how John's experience reflects Baldwin's search for an identity as a gay man and perhaps his reflections on his own homosexuality after many years of being out. Because the issue is not addressed directly, scholars have evaluated John's homosexuality through the lens of other themes in the book. "John's struggles with his homosexuality provide the window