...James Baldwin writes about two African-American brothers growing up in Harlem, a black ghetto in New York, during the 1950's. During this time black people were forced to live in a world of prejudice, discrimination, poverty and suppression. The life of a black person was very difficult; many opportunities afforded to whites were not afforded to blacks. Sonny and his brother lived in the projects and had many obstacles to overcome that white people didn't have to. Sonny chose music to outwardly express his suffering, his brother chose to bottle it up and keep it inside, but this is the common thread they both shared. Suffering is also shown in the story when Baldwin says "it came to me that what we both were seeking through our separate cab windows was that part of ourselves which had been left behind" (P 47). I think this quote means that both Sonny and his older brother want to retrieve some of their past so that it can help them cope with what has happened in their lives. If Sonny and his brother can both cope with what has happened in their lives and get over it, I think t they both can start moving forward and putting this behind them. I feel having Sonny's brother narrate the story in the first person is Baldwin's way of telling us that Sonny's brother is also suffering but inside, unlike Sonny who takes drugs and sings the blues. Sonny's brother remains nameless because I feel he prefers to remain anonymous; he's too embarrassed to have people know that this college...
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...“Sonny’s Blues” VS “Why I Live at the P.O.” Comparing and contrasting two stories can be a difficult task when one does not understand the plot of a story. Plot is simply the arrangement of the action, which can consist of any type of event or a series of events that go on in the story. It is also important to know about the structure of a plot to understand what is going on in the story. A plot consists of action, along with exposition, rising action, turning point (climax), falling action and a conclusion (Booth, et.al, 2006, p57). I chose to compare and contrast “Sonny’s Blues” and “Why I live at the P.O.” because both of their plots revolve around siblings and their struggle to accept each other. In “Sonny’s Blues” brother is struggling with Sonny’s addiction to “horse” and in “Why I live at the P.O.” Sister is dealing with the jealousy she has towards her sister, Stella-Rondo. James Baldwin uses the plot of “Sonny’s Blues” to show how difficult it can be to reestablish a relationship with family after years of no contact. He uses a difficult time such as Sonny’s addiction to heroine to have his brother want to be a part of his recovery. Brother finds out that Sonny has gotten into trouble and is scared about the situation along with scared for Sonny. He is scared because he had his suspicions but he did not want to know anything about it. Brother just wanted to believe Sonny “… was wild, but he wasn’t crazy” (Baldwin, 82). He had always believed his brother...
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...The plot in “Sonny’s Blues” emphasizes the importance of the bond between two brothers through the power of music and god. “Sonny’s Blues” displays the daily struggle of societal issues, status, and achievements the two brothers faced in reality. Sonny's brother struggles to understand Sonny and his compassion for music. Music builds this communication that the narrator lacks with his brother but they overcome these struggles through music. The narrator is struggling to bond with his distant brother as a biblical vibe is looking over the narrator and helping him through his life. Music plays a significant role in the brother’s lives as it changes their view of each other. Sonny’s dream of becoming a jazz musician is shunned upon his brother but he doesn’t quit his dream. His brother worried that pursuing a music career won’t help him financially and can’t become...
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... THE ROLES BETWEEN THE TWO SIBLINGS. The story “The Red Convertible” written by Louise Erdrich’s and the story “Sonny’s Blues” written by James Baldwin’s are very much comparable, but at the same time they very different. In both stories the main characters are two brothers that are faced with challenges in their life, revolved around brotherly connection. At some point in each story the brothers separate and ultimately bond when the stronger brother accepts the weaker brother. Also in both stories the brother’s dealt with the separation of their sibling differently through separating and drug abuse. In ‘’The Red Convertible’’, the main speaker uses the red convertible, one he shares with his brother, as an analogy to their relationship. While reminiscing about his brother henry, Lyman said ‘’they went to places in that car, me and henry’’ (167). And though some people spend most of their trip remembering specific details, he and Henry just lived their lives (168). In other words, their time spent in the red convertible is intended more for the worthwhile company of one another as opposed to making meaningless trips simply for around-the-table story time. ONIBIYO 2 On the other hand, the speaker in "Sonny's Blues" also shares a connection with his brother, although not as strong and intense as Lyman’s. The speaker and his brother Sonny maintain...
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...Throughout history, sibling relationships in different classes, religions, genders, and specific races of the human race have provided humans with an inherent empathizer. Being raised and shaped into distinct characters in the same environment and experiencing the same essential memories of childhood binds siblings together for better or for worse. Likewise, in “Sonny’s Blues”, written by James Baldwin, the narrator and his brother Sonny reunite through their shared origins and finally understand what it symbolizes to them and their entire community. The sibling relationship between the narrator and Sonny demonstrates two different ways in which people of the same background attempt to deal with their shared communities and memories to regain...
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...Narration The person telling the story is the narrator the narrator helps t shape the story for the reader. Point of view The point of view is the perspective from which the narrator tells the story. The point of view can be indentified in five ways. 1 First person It will use the Pronoun “I” and will place the narrator in the story. 2 Third person this will use the pronouns “he” or “she but will typically limit it to one characters Point of view Third Person Omniscient Will use the pronouns “he” “she” and “they however, the narrator will move in and out of the mind of several characters. Third person objective point of view will limit the intervention of the narrator. The setting and action will be described and we will listen in audience. The narrarator will not interpret for the reader. Shifting point of view The shifting point of view will shift the focus from a narrow to a broader perspective of the omniscient narrator Setting the location and the atmosphere of the story Conflict this is the struggle of opposing external or internal forces Plot This is the structure of the story. It’s the twists & turns. It you the story un folds. Plot structure Crisis / Climax The moment of truth rising action conflict builds, exposition, We learn about the various characters, the falling action crisis is over resolution the story ends. what happens at the end. Allteration This is the use of similar consant sounds. Using woods that begin with the same on similar...
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...The story Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin (1957) explores the theme of suffering experienced by Black Americans as individuals fettered by discrimination, unemployment, housing problems, drug addiction, imprisonment and suicide. It features the struggle of two brothers separated and caught in the entanglements of time, space and ideals. The unnamed Narrator who is relatively well-off between the two siblings struggles to understand his suicidal yet talented brother Sonny while the latter finds difficulty in coping up with the mediocrity that engulfs him. Effective communication is crucial in the story of two brothers with different visions in life where rage and fury may explode at split seconds to put an end to one dear life of a prodigy....
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...“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin is shockingly not about many metaphorical shades of the acclaimed color but rather more of an emotional journey of a man escaping fate and finding his home in the blues. While I got stuck on homophones, this story had no qualms with its poetic writing and vivid descriptions of two different people, the narrator and his brother, Sonny, who have grown up completely different even though they are brothers, but despite this, show that different people can have surprisingly similar feelings and goals. The way the author describes the narrator’s feelings in the story is very intense and poetic, but the fact that he begins the story like this caused me to make a few unconfirmed assumptions about the story...
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...Proceeding for the School of Visual Arts Eighteenth Annual National Conference on Liberal Arts and the Education of Artists: Art and Story CONTENTS SECTION ONE: Marcel’s Studio Visit with Elstir……………………………………………………….. David Carrier SECTION TWO: Film and Video Narrative Brief Narrative on Film-The Case of John Updike……………………………………. Thomas P. Adler With a Pen of Light …………………………………………………………………… Michael Fink Media and the Message: Does Media Shape or Serve the Story: Visual Storytelling and New Media ……………………………………………………. June Bisantz Evans Visual Literacy: The Language of Cultural Signifiers…………………………………. Tammy Knipp SECTION THREE: Narrative and Fine Art Beyond Illustration: Visual Narrative Strategies in Picasso’s Celestina Prints………… Susan J. Baker and William Novak Narrative, Allegory, and Commentary in Emil Nolde’s Legend: St. Mary of Egypt…… William B. Sieger A Narrative of Belonging: The Art of Beauford Delaney and Glenn Ligon…………… Catherine St. John Art and Narrative Under the Third Reich ……………………………………………… Ashley Labrie 28 15 1 22 25 27 36 43 51 Hopper Stories in an Imaginary Museum……………………………………………. Joseph Stanton SECTION FOUR: Photography and Narrative Black & White: Two Worlds/Two Distinct Stories……………………………………….. Elaine A. King Relinquishing His Own Story: Abandonment and Appropriation in the Edward Weston Narrative………………………………………………………………………….. David Peeler Narrative Stretegies in the Worlds of Jean Le Gac and Sophe Calle…………………….. Stefanie Rentsch...
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