sonnys blue
"I think people ought to do what they want to do, what else are they alive for. (49)" This thought is what is reflected in both "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin and "Paul's Case" by Willa Cather. Both Baldwin and Cather illustrate the problem of a young man growing up and taking on the responsibility of finding out who they are and what they want out of life. In these stories the theme is most prevalent, developing the story and helping the reader form their own opinions on how they feel about their own individuality. No matter how hard someone tries to decide someone's life, it is up to the individual to decide what kind of life they want to live. In "Sonny's Blues" Sonny was the youngest child in his family and after his parents died when he was young his big brother made a promise that he would look after him. Unfortunately, Sonny chooses the wrong path at first and gets involved in drugs and has to go to a rehabilitation center to get better. After he gets out his brother asks him "What do you want to do?"(47), to which Sonny replies "I'm going to be a musician. (47)" Sonny's brother doubts his aspirations from the beginning and even tells himself that "(he) never played the role of the older brother quite so serious
And, after supper, he went back to that piano and stayed there until everybody went to bed. In the end Sonny's brother should have listened to himself when he told his mother that "(Sonny is) a good boy and he's got good sense (45)" so that he would of trusted Sonny more to make his own decisions. We join Paul in the story while he is getting in trouble, much like how Sonny was in trouble at first. By playing the "roles" of parent, big brother, and teacher, Sonny's brother constantly stresses how he wants his brother to turn out. " He wanted a different life, and had always planned escape Cordelia Street and achieves the life he wanted. With the money he went to New York and stayed in a hotel and dined extravagantly and basically lived like he had always seen how the soprano's that came to Carnegie Hall lived. Much like "Sonny's Blues" Paul sees himself facing his teachers and they are questioning him as to why he was misbehaving. The city of Harlem does a lot to develop how the theme of the story influences Sonny. (401)" The teacher influences in the stories feel dissatisfied with their influences on the boys, but they are not taking into account that they cannot force these boys to grow up faster than they want to grow up themselves. Sonny did not let this affect the outcome of the rest of his life, he learned from his mistakes, thought about what he did while he was in rehabilitation and decided on a better path for his life. " Sonny's brother is a teacher and you can tell by his instincts how much he want to teach Sonny things about life in general. Paul attended Pittsburgh High School and where he lived had made him already decide on a better life for himself. In "Sonny's Blues" Sonny was influenced by his brother, Harlem, and his love for music. He'd play one record over and over again, all day long sometimes, and he'd improvise along with it on the piano.
Common topics in this essay:
Cordelia Street,
Unfortunately Sonny,
Venice Egypt,
Street Paul,
Sonny Sonny,
Baldwin Cather,
Paul Paul,
Carnegie Hall,
Paul's Paul,
Blues Sonny,
cordelia street,
sonny's blues,
sonny's blues sonny,
47 sonny's,
decide life,
life sonny,
piano stayed,
child family,
he'd play,
paul story,
blues sonny,
|
Acceptance Essays
