1) Write on "Sonny's Blues."
2) Write on "Redemption."
3) Write on both of them. As I hope you noticed, there are many interesting intersections and commonalities between the stories.
Keep in mind that you are still expected to READ both of the stories, even if you only write on one of them!
Your response is due by class time on Friday, Feb. 24.
Jihan Hage
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
ENG 106W
2/24/12
Loss of Innocence
One of the biggest themes in James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is the loss of innocence. The narrator often references the difference between childhood and adulthood in this story. At one point he even questions a child’s innocence stating, “It was not the joyous laughter which-God knows why-one associates with children.” He goes on to describe Sonny’s childhood friend as looking “like a cunning child” and also states that “it made him repulsive and it also brought to mind what he’d look like as a child.”
When he described the barmaid he said, “When she smiled one saw the little girl, one sensed the doomed, still struggling woman beneath the battered face of the semi-whore.” It as though the narrator is suggesting that the barmaid’s inner child or innocence is hidden inside of her. The narrator often implies that he feels even the innocence of a child is easily battered by the reality of the world we live in.
As the narrator and his brother, Sonny, drive through the streets of their childhood, the narrator states, “As I covertly studies Sonny’s face, 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.” This idea that reality gets in the way of a child’s innocence could have been passed down from his father who at one time said, “Ain’t no place safe for kids, nor nobody.”
Perhaps the most important passage in this story is the one where the narrator describes the most vivid memory he has of his mother. He describes the feeling of hope a child has, that the life he is living and the people in his life will never go away. The narrator then states, “But something deep and watchful in the child knows that this is bound to end, is already ending.” In the same passage he says that the “darkness” is what his elders have endured and because of this: “The child knows that they won’t talk anymore because if he knows too much about what’s happened to them, he’ll know too much too soon, about what’s going to happen to him.”
The narrator expresses the idea that everyone, at some point, endures darkness. We all lose the innocence that we have as a child, not knowing the cruelty of the world we live in. The narrator expresses that no matter how hard we try to shield ourselves from reality, eventually reality will catch up with us. As he described his brother’s childhood friend and the barmaid, we all have a child deep within us, and that is the last bit of innocence we all carry with us as we grow. Losing our innocence is inevitable.
Ryan McDonald McDonald 1
ReplyDeleteProfessor Bolster
English 106W
23 February 2012
“Cup of Trembling”
In James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” we are introduced to a story about two African American brothers who lead completely different lives come to understand each other. The narrator has assimilated himself into white society as much as possible, becoming a school teacher. Conversely, his younger brother Sonny has not conformed in society and must find an outlet that relieves his stress and pain from permanent outsider status. Sonny passages his distress into music, especially bebop jazz and the blues, forms developed by prior African-American musicians. “Sonny’s Blues” is a heartfelt story of suffering and the salvation that music provided Sonny to keep his head above water in his life.
In "Sonny's Blues," Baldwin uses the image from the book of Isaiah of the "cup of trembling" to symbolize the suffering that Sonny has experienced in his life. At the end of the story, while Sonny is playing the piano, Sonny's brother watches a barmaid bring a glass of Scotch and milk to the piano, which "glowed and shook above my brother's head like the very cup of trembling." As Sonny plays, the cup reminds his brother of all of the suffering that both he and Sonny have endured. His brother finally understands that it is through music that Sonny is able to turn his suffering into something productive and meaningful in his life.
McDonald 2
Like the figures from the Bible, Sonny is moving toward salvation, but his fate ultimately remains uncertain. Maybe Sonny will continue to suffer, suffering being the cost he has to pay for being a musician. There is something Christlike about Sonny’s pain, and suffering for Sonny is at once inevitable and redemptive. At the end of the story, it remains uncertain whether he will continue to suffer in order to play his music or whether a greater peace and revitalization awaits everyone involved. The fact that the glass is filled with scotch and milk only further emphasizes the tension and duality Sonny faces.
Rebecca L. Fera
ReplyDeleteMr. Bolster
English 106 W
23 February 2012
Despite the measures, family members are always there for each other. Despite the differences, brothers and sisters always try to do anything they can in order to help each other. In the short story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, he successfully depicts this scenario. Baldwin leads us to believe that the narrator is the brother of Sonny. Sonny is younger than the narrator, and much more naive. After finding out about his brother’s arrest due to drugs, the narrator, as Sonny’s brother, claims it his responsibility to take Sonny into his home with his wife and children. In doing this, he tries to help Sonny become a better person: someone more responsible and intelligent. In doing so he finds that he does not want to keep questioning Sonny about his wrongful habits for that might just lead to an argument. Instead he tries to get on the same page with him and understand what is going on in his head. With the loss of their parents, the narrator feels he is Sonny’s only hope in leading him to a better life. Through this short story you will learn that though you may think you are doing everything to help the one you care about, you are actually doing everything to steer them down the opposite path.
Primarily, it is hard to help someone that does not want to be helped. What you call ‘help’, they call annoying. But the narrator didn’t know this until the very end. Before the passing of his mother, when the narrator was years younger and before he was married, his mother told him a story about how his father lost his brother and how he should be looking out for Sonny because when she’s gone, there will be no one there to do it. The narrator agreed, and went about his life, forgetting about the promise he made to his mother about Sonny. After her funeral, Sonny and his brother were having a conversation about his future. “And, after the funeral, with just Sonny and me alone in the empty kitchen, I tried to find out something about him”(14). Sonny goes on to say he wants to make a living by becoming a musician and play in a jazz band. His brother laughs at this idea and offends Sonny. From that example in the text, we can see that Sonny has completely different priorities for himself than his brother has for him. His brother wants him to go to school and live in town near him, where he knows Sonny will be safe. “It’s time I was getting out of here.”, “Where do you want to go, Sonny?” (17). It is clear to the readers that Sonny has no direction, no incentive to work towards. His brother wants to make all the decisions for him and Sonny is not in agreement with that. All his brother wants to do is help Sonny, set up that solid foundation of education so Sonny can excel in life and make a good living; but Sonny looks at it a whole different way. Sonny looks at it in the way that his older brother is trying to tell him what to do and it is almost as if Sonny is saying ‘you’re not the boss of me’.
(This is part 2 of 2)
ReplyDeleteAt the end of the short story, Sonny invites his brother to the club that him and his new band are playing at that night. Reluctantly, his brother accepts and they head downtown. This may have been the biggest and most profound lesson the narrator will learn throughout the whole story. Walking into the joint, Sonny knows everyone and greets everyone as if they are his family. This caught his brother off guard. In his mind, the narrator thought this would just be some small pick-up joint to earn a few bucks; but the narrator was staggered that these people actually seemed to care about Sonny, which is exactly what he’s been trying to provide for him all along: care. “And he smiled, “You got a real musician in your family,” and he took his arm from Sonny’s shoulder and slapped him lightly, affectionately, with the back of his hand” (28). As Sonny and his band began to play, the rest of the night was quite an eye-opener for the narrator. “Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did. Yet, there was no battle in his face now. I heard what he had gone through, and would continue to go through until he came to rest in earth. He had made it his: that long line, of which we knew only Mama and Daddy” (32). Sonny’s brother finally understood him after all this time, he understood him through Sonny’s playing of the piano which he so quickly failed to accept. He understood the pain that his brother was going through and that this was what made him happy. All along he wasn’t helping Sonny, he was just trying to make himself feel better by ‘trying’. But he forgot, Sonny is a person too; maybe a person of bad decisions but this is the happiest and most successful he’s seen Sonny in a long, long time and pushing education and morals on him wouldn’t have done anything but hurt him more.
Kelsey Nolan
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
EN 106W
16 February 2012
Symbolism in Redemption
The story “Redemption” is filled with many symbols. The thunderstorm in “Redemption” symbolizes the emotional storm Jack is going through. The rain symbolizes Jack’s tears. Although the rain lets up, the sadness continues to carry on. Storms pass but they always come back; Just like Jacks pain. After murdering his brother, Jack’s life becomes a reoccurring nightmare. The thought of running him over and his sister scream constantly are played over and over again in his head. The flaw he made of running over his brother changed his life. Jacks relationships with his family had changed and his family’s personalities had been affected.
The tracker symbolizes reoccurring pain. It’s a constant reminder of what happened because he needs to ride it each day. Jack rides alone on the tracker. The same thing applies for his life.
For a short time, the cows and countryside symbolize comfort to Jack. While walking on the countryside for a short moment, he remembers what life was like and knows how that’s how it should be. The feeling is overcoming by reality.
Jack’s sister asks him if he wants to say grace. By asking this shows that they believe in God. They hope that there is a heaven that way one day they can be reunited with their brother. I feel that Jack doesn’t commit suicide so he can go to heaven and be with his brother again.
The French horn becomes Jacks escape. The horn saves him from himself. When playing the horn he is able to step away from the world. Jack uses music to get through his pain.
Rising above the fear
ReplyDeleteOur world is a scary place. Nobody is ever really safe, nobody is really in control, and our inevitable reaction to that is fear. It is a useful survival mechanism, but it can be very destructive if it is allowed to take over our lives. In “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin shows that fear perpetuates misery and that we can, and must, rise above it.
The story opens with such a true and vivid description of what fear feels like that the readers cannot help feeling the “great block of ice” in their own stomachs (1). The story takes place in post-war Harlem, where the “killing streets” are “filled with a hidden menace,” and children grow up “encircled by disaster” (8-9). But the feeling Baldwin describes is instantly familiar to all readers, regardless of where they live or what their race is. Everybody is afraid of something. Sonny’s father is right when he says, “Ain’t no place safe for kids, for nobody” (10).
Baldwin shows how the first shadow of fear touches children at a very early age. Even when the adults are careful not to talk about anything scary in front of the kids, fear finds its way in. In the very silence of the adults, children sense that “the darkness outside” is coming closer and closer, that it is terrifying, and that the warm protected world of their childhood “is bound to end, is already ending” (11).
When children reach school age, adults often start using fear to frighten them into obedience. Teachers and parents are scared after seeing too many children fail at school, start taking drugs, become violent. The adults know that “it ain’t only the bad ones, nor yet the dumb ones that gets sucked under” (12). They hope that instilling fear in their children will prevent the terrible things from happening. In the dialog between Sonny and his adult brother after their mother’s funeral, Baldwin shows that the strategy is completely counterproductive.
Sonny is in his junior year at that time, and he is a very nice boy who “hadn’t ever turned hard or evil or disrespectful” (1). He is talented and knows precisely what he wants to do with his life, which is not something one often sees in sixteen-year-old boys. When he optimistically tries to explain to his brother that music is extremely important to him, that he wants to become a jazz musician, the brother has a perfect opportunity to connect to him and to support, but he is too scared. He envisions the worst possible scenario and reacts with mistrust and anger: “Well, you may think it’s funny now, baby, but it’s not going to be so funny when you have to make your living at it, let me tell you that” (15). Sonny is hurt and alienated, and the opportunity for his brother to help him is lost.
Baldwin shows other Sonny’s relatives also reacting destructively out of fear. Of his father, we learn that “[it] was because he loved Sonny so much and was frightened for him, that he was always fighting with him” (10). When Isabel’s mother learned that Sonny had been skipping school, that “scared her and she started to scream at him” (20).
[continued]
[continued from part 1]
ReplyDeleteWhen, after he is back from jail, Sonny tries to explain to his brother that it was because of feeling scared and helpless that he had succumbed to heroin, the brother’s response is “full of contempt and anger,” the reaction driven, again, entirely by fear (24). Fortunately, this time the brother is able to control his emotions before the chance to connect to Sonny is lost forever. He goes to the club to see Sonny play, and the magic of the music makes him realize that this world is not all about fear and suffering, that there is beauty and freedom within our reach.
Baldwin’s story is a heartbreaking glimpse into the world in which “trouble is the one thing that never does get stopped” (7). In Harlem and everywhere else, little girls die painful deaths, drunken drivers run people over, young talented boys perish in wars and get wasted away by drugs. We cannot escape the fear, it will always be with us, like that car that “kept on a-going and it ain’t stopped till this day” (13). But we have the power to stop letting fear control our lives, to live here and now, and see the beauty, and feel the love.
Karina Rodriguez
ReplyDeleteProf. Chappell
English 106W
February 2012
Finding One’s Self Again.
In the short story “Redemption,” by, John Gardner the main character Jack Hawthorne is constantly reliving the horrendous moment when he murdered his brother. Through out the story he is constantly reminding himself and reliving the moment that he will never regret. Riding his tractor day in and day out lonely and quietly he is always remembering when he ran over his brother. He left his whole family feeling the same way as well. His father is filled with quilt of not being there to save his son. His sister too young to take it all in but old enough to understand what happened feels everyone’s sadness surrounding her. Also the mother who was always overjoyed and filled with happiness found it difficult to smile again. Everyone was reliving the moment when their brother and son died. It was hard for the entire family to accept this deep loss in their life.
Jack was constantly trying to find ways to make up for what he did wrong but he did not overcome this battle. Day in and day out he would ride the tractor, eat alone, not commit to prayer, and just sit by alone. His father would be gone for a few weeks at a time and lived life very depressed by the loss of his son. At the end of the story jack was able to play his horn, he tried to learn new music and be good at playing his horn. His horn would help him ignore the horrible tragedy he had committed and helped him find a new way of enjoying life. The music was soothing to him and helped him leave from the world and ignore the bad sin he committed and the sorrow he brought to his family. He would practice this horn and find peace through the music. His father also came back home after a few weeks of not being around. Slowly with his family reuniting and his horn helping him escape his pain, his life was coming back together. Jack probably wanted to commit suicide sometimes or hurt himself because of the quilt he had inside, but he knew that because of a wrong he committed he didn’t have to commit one again, especially not to himself.
Although this horrendous moment will constantly be remembered for his whole life, jack found a way to cope with this and escape the pain. He found a way to get pleasure in the pain to live on with his life. He hugged and kissed his mom. He answered back to his sister to see her smile. Jack from the rainbow after his horrible thunderstorm he turned into life.
Nick Coutant
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
ENG 106W
24 February 2012
Sonny’s Dreams
From the time you are a little kid, you always have a dream of what you want to do in your life. Some kids want to grow up and be actors or maybe even musicians. What most people don’t like to deal with is the constant criticism of their goals. In James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues, Sonny has a dream of getting out of the city and pursuing a career as a jazz pianist, only to face the constant criticism of his family and friends.
The narrator of the story, right before he went to war had a talk with his mother. His mother wanted to make sure that he would do everything in his power to keep his little brother Sonny out of trouble. The narrator tried to do so, but didn’t think about how his brother would feel about it. He asked Sonny what he wanted to do in life, in which Sonny said he wanted to become a musician because it is the only thing that he could actually see himself doing. The narrator saw that career path as a low end job and saw that was beneath his brother. The narrator’s intentions were meant well but didn’t give much consideration for Sonny. This made Sonny feel alone and might have even lead to his trouble with drugs.
Sonny wanted to pursue his career in music so much that he decided to stop going to school. At this time he was living with Isabel and her parents. Once they found out about this they got angry with him and made Sonny feel yet again unwanted and not pursuing the right career in life. So he cut himself out of his life in New York City and moved to Greenwich Village for good. It wasn’t until he was out of jail and his brother actually heard him perform that for the first time, the narrator understood why Sonny was so fascinated by the music.
The narrator refused to be open minded about what Sonny was going to do in life, and wasn’t willing to accept what Sonny was really meant to do. Sonny did stick with his dream and at the end of the story it really came true and he finally was able to get his brother to understand. This story really shows how if you keep with your dream, no matter what the obstacles, they just may come true.
Alyssa Downey
ReplyDeleteDr. Chappell
Intro to Fiction
February 24, 2012
Always Look on the Bright Side of Life
In James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” the characters face a confliction between being optimistic and facing reality. In a conversation between Sonny and his brother, his brother states, “but there’s no way to not suffer-is there Sonny?” Sonny replies, “I believe not… but that’s never stopped anyone from trying… Has it?” (25). Every character faces the issue of trying to not suffer while knowing there is no way of accomplishing it. Everyone in “Sonny’s Blues”, not just Sonny, is going through a struggle between looking on the bright side and allowing real issues to arise.
Sonny’s brother talks about his last conversation with his mother and how he did not believe he would never see her again. She is beginning to face the idea of death and warns the brother, “I don’t know if I’ll ever see you again, after you go off from here. But I hope you’ll remember the things I tried to teach you” (11). The mother is fully aware that one day she will die and contemplates when she will. As much as she would like to look on the bright side and pretend like everything will be alright, death is a harsh reality that she decides to accept. Many people face this struggle of facing death. Life is a precious thing, and people do not want to lose it. However, the people who do not want to think about death and try to pretend to not suffer from the thought of it tend to live life like they always have tomorrow. They become over confident in how much time they have left. People like Sonny’s mother, who know that death lurks everywhere, live life day by day and cherish every moment they have. They tend to follow the philosophy of live every day like it is your last. As much as Sonny’s mother cares for her sons and wants the best for them, she is fighting with the reality of death and comes to the conclusion that it will take her one day.
Sonny struggles with heroin abuse. It gave him the feeling that everything will be ok, especially after his mother died. Many people who form drug addictions form them because they have a void to fill, or it gives them a feeling they cannot harvest sober. Sonny realizes that his drug habits were hurting his family. This shows that although heroin masks his pain, it does create moral suffering. Sonny eventually turns to jazz for comfort. The jazz scene is where he fits in and can feel fulfilled. Sonny struggles with facing the pain of losing his family and using heroin to mask the suffering. By playing jazz, he is finding the comfort he always needed.
Sonny’s brother wants the best for Sonny. There is an unconditional love towards his brother that was provoked by his mother’s death. The first paragraph of the story explains how Sonny’s brother was in disbelief of Sonny’s behavior and situation. By watching his brother go through all this suffering, it caused the brother to suffer as well. It is very difficult to watch a family member reach a low point in its life. One wants to reach out and help the person and do all one can to make things better. The brother is attempting to make things better for Sonny. He cannot fathom the idea of his brother being a bad person. The brother tries to suppress the idea and tries to remember the good moments between the two. When the brother is watching Sonny play, he reflects on the past. He sees his mother; his daughter; his father’s brother, and realizes “that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky” (32). The brother takes this moment to come to terms with his life and the trouble that has occurred in it.
In order to live life to the fullest, one must suffer. As much as people do not want to, it is a necessary part of life. It leads people to find comfort in the little things, like music and family. Also, it helps people discover others. If Sonny and his brother never suffer, the brother would not know how Sonny feels about life and his moral pain. Through suffering, lessons are learned. The lessons worth learning in life are the ones that leave a mark.
ReplyDeleteStephanie Sereday
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106W
Sometimes, You Just Don't Reach the Stars
In James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” the reader can view an example of how people can spend their entire lives reaching for the stars, and never make it. Many people live their lives striving towards fulfilling their dreams; Sonny, the main character, is an excellent example of how unfortunate events and happenings in life can prevent a person from eventually achieving his or her dreams.
Sonny’s dream is to become a jazz pianist. His personal struggle is with drugs, heroin to be specific. My thoughts are that Sonny isn’t sure how to cope with certain events that take place in his life; His father dying, for example. Sonny was only a teenager when his father passed away. Most children have a hard time dealing with the death of a parent. If the child exposed to this tragic loss isn’t taught to deal with his or her emotions, they may turn to unhealthy coping strategies. This is where Sonny turned to drugs, leaving his dream of being a jazz pianist buried in the dirt along with his father. It doesn’t help that no one ever encouraged Sonny in his presuit to become a musician. When Sonny lived with his brother and wife, he received constant complaints about his consistent practicing. This suffocated Sonny’s passion and most likely added to his internal struggle.
Although Sonny never became a professional musician, he returns to his passion of playing jazz on stage at a local jazz club. Sonny didn’t fulfill his dream, but it seems as though he is on his way to rediscovering his passion and maybe even developing healthier coping skills.
Nicole DeFosche
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
EN 106W- Response Paper “Redemption”
24 February 2012
In John Gardner’s short story, “Redemption”, the main character Jack is always seeing the vision of the death of his younger brother, David. David at the time was only seven years old and Jack was 12 years old. He has these horrible memories every day of his life. Jack constantly rides the tractor day after day for work; this would make it hard for Jack to get over something so horrific. Not only did this terrible tragedy affect Jack, but it affected the rest of his family. Jack’s mother was always a happy joyful woman who always lived life to the fullest, but now it’s hard for her to even smile. Jack’s father was heartbroken as well. Gardner described Jack’s father as “a sensitive, intelligent man, by nature a dreamer” (223). Gardner also describes Jack’s father by saying “He loved all his children and would not consciously have been able to hate his son even if Jack had indeed been, as he though himself, his brother’s murder. But he could not help sometimes seeming to blame his son, though consciously he blamed only his own un-wisdom and- so far his belief held firm- God” (223-224). The death of David also had an effect on Jack’s younger sister, but she was too young at the time to understand the real meaning of death, even though she was on the tractor when David was killed. Everyone accepted the death of David and all handled it in different ways.
Jack’s father, like I stated earlier was an independent man and loves all of his children. Once David passed away, Jack’s father took time to himself and he would constantly be leaving the house for a period of time and then coming back, but Jack’s father wasn’t the only one trying to cope with the horrific tragedy, so was Jack. At one point in the story, Jack was contemplating about committing suicide, but he realized because of what happened to his brother, he didn’t have to take his life away like that either. Jack did use one way to keep his mind busy and off the tragedy, this was playing the French horn. Jack was beginning to become very intelligent with the horn and very skilled with it. He continued to grow and started to attend a musical school. His music really spoke to him and made him feel good about himself. Both of these men show how they can cope with a bad situation and slowly come back to who and what their family used to be like.
Even though Jack and his family went through the toughest tragedy a family can go through, but at the end the family slowly comes back together and finds there solid place as a family. This goes to show the readers anything that happens in a family, they can come back together and become stronger than ever.
Christopher Harrison
ReplyDelete2/23/12
Writing 106
Dr. Chapell
Finding Happiness
James Baldwin’s short story Sonny’s Blues depicts the struggling relationship between two brothers. The past the youngest brother has been through has caused him to become a heroin addict. Throughout the story, it becomes evident that the main the point the author is attempting to display is that dreams don’t always have to work out as planned for us to be happy. We can sometimes settle for less and be beyond content with our usual selves. The Baldwin uses Sonny as the puppet of this moral.
As explained earlier, Sonny had a difficult past. His father died when he was fifteen and he felt no remorse by his brother’s judgment. He dreams of becoming a famous pianist, but he falls down on his luck and he succumbs to heroin. His brother hears about this and takes him in to his house after some rehab treatment. He starts practicing the piano again, while at his brother’s house, and becomes the pianist for a club performance, and he is happy with this because it keeps him clean.
Baldwin uses Sonny as the example of this moral by rooting his whole life down to his childhood. Him and his father didn’t get along and when his father died, he didn’t feel a thing. Briefly, he has a troubled youth. In contrast, despite the distant relationship Sonny and his father had, the reason why they could not get along was because they loved each other so much. His father saw himself in Sonny and it made him care for him more than anything else. If Sonny knew this, it would be devastating towards him. All the pent up regret would be released out of him all at once. It could have even caused him to start drugs earlier. All the impulsive emotions he has towards being the bastard son who was too blind to see his loving father is one of the main factors that leads to his depression and his drug abuse.
However, Sonny looks past his depression once he starts playing the piano for small clubs. Even though it isn’t exactly his dream, he enjoys doing it a lot. He feels that it is a really good way for him to stay clean as well. In conclusion, the point the author is coming across is that no matter what past you go through, or what condition of life you are in, you can always be happy just by doing the things you love, even if they are just small, insignificant things.
Trey Cole
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106W
24 February 2012
Rebirth
According to the Webster’s Dictionary, the definition of the word “redemption” means the action of saving or being saved from sin. In the short story “Redemption” by John Gardner, many characters try to have their own personal redemptions after the passing of a young boy by the name of David. There are multiple characters in the short story that are greatly affected by the passing of this young boy and each of them struggle in a different, yet similar way. One of the reoccurring themes in this particular story is that the death of a loved one has various effects on the ability for people to function.
David was killed in a farming accident by his older brother, Jack. Obviously, a common feeling among the characters in the story was that of sadness and despair. The older brother of David, Jack, feels a great deal of remorse for accidentally killing brother during a farming accident. He ends up being incredibly filled with rage and then resents himself for being so rage filled. David’s father also has a very hard time with the passing of his youngest son. He leaves the family for many days at a time lusting over countless divorcees. Actually, the women he pursed did not necessarily have to be divorced. David and Jack’s mother also had a very hard time with the passing of her youngest son. She used to be a cheerful woman with a tendency to sing and after her child passed on, she was no longer the same woman.
While each of these characters all felt similarly to the passing of David, they all felt differently towards one another after the tragic event. Jack hated his father for leaving for long periods at a time and Jack’s mother clearly was not too keen on it either. Jack found it difficult to deal with his younger sister, Phoebe, because she was not David. And Their mother also had a very hard time looking at both of children and realizing that one was missing.
Death affects families greatly. But something that typically gets overlooked is how the relationships in the families differ after someone passes. If the phrase “you don’t know someone until you’ve seen them at their worst” holds merit, then it is very hard to tell how strong a family is until something tragic occurs.
Chynna Burroughs
ReplyDeleteBolster
Eng 106W
23 February 2012
Musical Throughline
In the short story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, the author utilizes music as a
signal of important events and as a common thread throughout the story. In the story, the
character of Sonny is a musician. This gives way to music consuming his life, causing stumbles
along the way because of that. But, Sonny’s brother, the Narrator, is also somewhat consumed by
music as well. Whether it is whistling, instrument playing, or sing, some of the important
moments for the Narrator in the story are accompanied by music in some way.
The correlation between events and people start almost at the beginning. After Sonny’s
brother hears the news of his arrest, he goes to school to his teaching job. When school is let out,
he listens to the boys laughing outside. He finds a connection between the boys and himself and
his own brother. He says, “Perhaps I was listening to them because I was thinking about my
brother and in them I heard my brother. And myself” (2). He also acknowledges that a “boy was
whistling a tune, at once very complicated and very simple” (2). The boy, in a way represents
Sonny.
After Sonny comes home from war, he and his brother fight a lot. During a confrontation
at the place Sonny is staying in New York, Sonny’s brother feels deeply hurt and that “[Sonny]
treated these people as though they were his family and [he wasn’t]” (21). Sonny’s brother goes
on to say that “he might as well be dead as live the way he was living” (21). When Sonny’s
brother finally leaves he starts whistling – “You going to need me, baby, one of these cold, rainy
days” (21). The tune he’s whistling can represent the situation and how he’s feeling toward his
brother, that Sonny might need him someday.
When the sisters and brother are having testimonials outside the apartment building and
singing, it is a poignant moment for Sonny and his brother. Sonny says of the woman, “When
she was singing before, her voice reminded me for a minute of what heroin feels like
sometimes…it makes you feel…distant…in control. Sometimes you’ve got to have that feeling”
(24). This bit of confession creates an open dialogue between Sonny and his brother and helps
them understand each other in ways that didn’t before.
At the end of the story, when Sonny his playing at the club with other musicians, it is a
culmination of sorts for the way music has been brought up in the story throughout. Sonny’s
brother describes music as something that “not many people ever really hear” and “ what we
mainly hear, or hear corroborated, are personal, private, vanishing evocations” (29). These
personal accounts relate to what music is to Sonny. Sonny’s brother finally understands him. He
says “he could help us be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did” (32).
Sonny’s brother is finally listening to Sonny and, in turn, it is setting them both free and creating
closure.
All the musical references throughout “Sonny’s Blues” create a link between Sonny and
his brother. They also pinpoint and represent certain events that are important to both Sonny’s
brother and Sonny himself. The music in the story create a throughline that connects everything
together.
Naomi Alphonso
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 106W
24th February 2012
The Melody of Life
Sonny has more to carry than the average person. Similar to the words of a song, there is more meaning beneath the surface details of Sonny’s life. James Baldwin uses music as an allegory for the life of Sonny. Abstract qualities of Sonny’s life and character are also found in song; especially Jazz. As music plays, the notes of the song fluctuate. These notes go up and down like the evens of Sonny’s life.
There are two kinds of people: creators and those created. Sonny is a creator. His life is like Jazz, the events flow like the music and are not pre-determined. However, the narrator is created. His song is like that of Bach and other great musicians. His notes are written down and he follows along. His life is determined by the norms of society. This is exemplified throughout the story when the narrator has to live in Harlem. He cannot seem to get out of the housing projects. However, Sonny is able to do what his brother never did: Escape from Harlem and create a life of his own.
Sonny is physically imprisoned in jail and the narrator is imprisoned within himself. Sonny is able to break loose from this physical confinement by playing music and creating a life he dreams of. However, his brother is living his life trapped inside of himself. The author notes “the darkness of their lives which was now closing in on them.” Similar to the music Sonny played, their lives were filled with disparity, confinement and drugs. Music is a prominent allegory for the lives of these characters: Choices made determine the melody of their lives.
part 1 of 2
ReplyDeleteAccepting Reality
Running away from one’s innermost fear is natural. When the heart is scarred so terribly as in Jack Hawthorne’s case in “Redemption” by John Gardner, the mind seeks a way to cope with the situation to ease the pain. Some may persevere and move on, but some resort to self-mutilation with guilt and hate, which in turn can lead to further deepening the wound of the soul. The latter is the case with Jack Hawthorne, faced with the unforgivable crime of murdering his brother David, in terms of his consciousness. Although it was an accident, the grotesque and vivid scene that Jack witnesses can only haunt him towards his round of guilt trips and dreams that can lessen the pain. Only when the dream that he resorted to is shattered, he is able to “start home” in the embrace of the “herding warmth” of his family members. (233) Jack Hawthorne’s conflict with himself is characterized by his growing guilt and rage but is resolved through the shattering of the solace he took in avoiding his fears.
Jack’s Hawthorne’s brother David dies in a horrific tractor accident. Jack witnesses the scene and the vividness of it haunts him repeatedly throughout the story. His frustration leads to him thinking that David’s death is actually his fault and this guilt grows on him to a point that he tells himself that he is “incapable of love”, “inherently bad”, “a spiritual defective”, and “evil.” (226) His guilt combines with his habits of fictional storytelling and he resorts to fantasies about self-sacrifice and pity. He tells himself stories where he would confess “his worthlessness at painful lengths” that tries to “manipulate shame to buy love.” (227) These thoughts become suicidal and his wound deepens because of his inability to recognize that the death was an accident, and that he has loving family members who are willing to support him to face his fears.
Along with his guilt, his rage grows at a parallel rate. He would randomly shout out in rage while in the field as if the shouting would “drive the memory back to its cave.” (226) When his father returns home after three weeks to the embrace of comforting family members, his anger consumes him and says quietly “I hate you” to his father. Jack is not welcoming, but is enraged that his father has decided to move on to face his fears and accept reality. Jack is also envious of the love that the father is receiving from their loved ones because in his mind, he is the one that needs to be pitied and comforted like in the guilty fantasies that he daydreamed about. He feels that the family members had now betrayed him, that somehow their love has been used up to comfort his father and has no more room.
part 2 of 2
ReplyDeleteJack again seeks to escape and finds solace in music, mainly in playing the French horn. Feeling betrayed and still scarred, he “used the horn more and more now to escape their herding warmth.” (233) He doesn’t play for his family members but he plays in Batavia Civic Orchestra and becomes more proficient at playing as he takes lessons from Arcady Yedgudkin in a nearby city. Playing the French horn becomes his last escape from the guilt, and he channels the rage to become more competent in playing. In one particular day however, his solace becomes shattered when Yedgudkin demonstrates a level of playing that Jack can only dream to play. He is utterly shocked and asks if he can someday play like him, but is denied in a sarcastic manner by Yedgudkin. Jack’s competence and confidence is put down and this is when Jack realizes that he has nowhere to run but to face his fears and accept his brother’s death. The constant evasion of his guilt has led him here, only to be put down by a seventy-year old horn player. He no longer can resort to the daydreaming fantasies or his endeavor in music, but is left with a loving family who is still waiting for him in a warm embrace. As he leaves the music school, “the crowd opened for him and, with the horn cradled under his right arm, his music under his left, he plunged in, starting home.” (236)
Jack Hawthorne’s fight against his fears of guilt and rage ends climactically with his prized solace being shattered. No longer could he channel his guilt and rage to pitying fantasies or proficient French horn playing. Although he is left to finally accept the cold truth as he blends into the crowd of the final scene, he’ll have plenty of warm embrace where he “starts home.”
Jennifer Linke
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
ENG 106W
February 24, 2011
Living with Guilt
Guilt is when a person realizes or believes that they are responsible for something serious that has happened, or violating a moral standard. Whether or not it is an accurate depiction is another scenario entirely. In John Gardner’s story, “Redemption,” Jack Hawthorne struggles with the guilt that he is responsible for his younger brother’s death. Jack, his sister, and his younger brother were on the cultipacker, when he accidently ran over and killed his brother David. He feels and enormous amount of guilt and believes he must live with the guilt for the rest of his life. “Even at the last moment he could have prevented his brother’s death by slamming on the tractor brakes” (Gardner 223). Jack believes that he could have prevented his brother’s death, and realizes he is responsible. He believes he has violated a moral standard by believing he has killed his younger brother, when in reality it was only and accident. He did not purposely run his brother over with the tractor. Jack is trapped in a constant battle with himself and the guilt, he believes, must be carried with him for his entire life.
Living with his guilt Jack must take on an enormous responsibility and help run the farm with his family. After the death of his younger brother his father was “nearly destroyed” (Gardner 223). Dale Hawthorne has an extremely difficult time coping with the loss of his son. Jack must take on the responsibility of taking care of the chores in his father’s absence. Jack is constantly being reminded of the guilt he feels for the loss of his brother. When his father comes to a self realization, and returns home the family is happy that he has decided to return home. Jack seems skeptical when his father first returns. As he shares an awkward embrace with his father the only words his father manages to say to him, so softly as if only Jack was intended to hear is, “I hate you” (Gardner 232). Those three words that his father said to him, will replay in Jack’s mind just along with the image of his brother’s death. Jack feels and unbearable amount of guilt, because he believes that he is responsible for his brother’s death. Guilt is something every human being feels at some point in life. Guilt is not always truth, it is a belief by a person who thinks they are responsible for violating a moral standard.
Victoria Weiss
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
English 100W
26 February 2012
Signs of Life
In this short story, life’s journey takes a hard toll on Dale Hawthorne and his family. When Jack murders his younger brother, destruction and sadness takes over all that used to be good. Dale Hawthorne, who was once a faithful, light hearted and an overall good man is now completely surrounded by the sadness and terror of his son’s death. The symbolism in this story reoccurs frequently throughout the aftermath of his son being murdered. In the days that follow Dale is stricken by grief which then turns to anger, however just like the reoccurring storms his feelings pass then return. The storm are resembling Dale’s emotions and struggles that he is going through such as the three week absence he takes from his family and daily life. Each time he goes to work on the farm and uses the tractor, he is remembered of his once beloved son. The only way Dale feels he can escape his thoughts is to take these rather extensive trips. Each family member was affected by this terrible event and reacted differently to it. The mother is continuously trying to keep the family together by praising the children and trying herself to stay strong when in reality she is just as broken as the rest of the family. The daughter was the one who witnessed her brother’s death and was the first to see it. However, the real victim in this story is Jack Hawthorne. Just like the rain that falls throughout the story, so does his tears and pain. Jack’s personality and outlook on life changes and becomes disrupted. Every day he is remembered of what had happened and is and always will be a never ending nightmare for him. He soon finds comfort in playing the French horn as a way to escape his thoughts and memory. This instrument helps to push him away from the grief that he feels and helps to heal him.
Tami Corsi
ReplyDeleteBolster
106W
James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” depicts the expression of jazz and blues influenced by drugs, posing the question: Is the use of drugs necessary to open the doors into a musician’s soul in order to achieve his or her musical potential? The easy answer is no; drugs are not necessary for anyone to perform any type of task whether it is logical or soulful. However, the controversial answer of yes supports Sonny’s need to use heroin and alcohol to express himself through his music. Without drugs, artists would have never followed in the dark shadows of other artists to finally reach the light as Sonny is attempting to do. Although some may succeed, others may get stuck in the bohemian lifestyle created by the successful drug addicts. The use of drugs in the 1950’s jazz and blues era was essential to the formation of music progression today. Without the concepts discovered in jazz and blues through the use of drugs, a foundation for rock and pop would have never been possible. Drugs are in essence, essential to the overall culture of musicians. Whether the musician succeeds or does not is based on their music they make, not the drugs that enhance their creativity.
In “Sonny’s Blues, Sonny mentions Charlie Parker as an idol. Jazz culture held Parker in a celebrity spotlight, making heroin seem chic, as does Sonny. His life seems to parallel Parker’s though Sonny is struggling to find himself within his music because of his struggle between morals and drug influenced art. Baldwin describes Sonny as a mess rather than a successful drug addict. In the last scene of the short story, Sonny is struggling with his music. He had just finished telling his brother he is attempting to sober up while stay in the jazz scene. Baldwin finishes by illustrating Sonny struggling with life, and therefore his music suffers. In the last scene, “He and the piano stammered, started one way, got scared; started another way, panicked, marked time, started again; then seemed to have found a direction, panicked again, got stuck…” (138). This one scene describes the path almost every musician of this era followed. They started their attempt at a career, got scared and panicked. In their panic they reverted to drugs to enhance their skill to try and find a direction. This direction lead to Parker’s demise, yet Sonny has gotten stuck in between drugs, music, and growing up. Although he paralleled Parker for the majority of his attempt at a career, he recognizes that he cannot travel the same path to destruction. Though Sonny realizes he must do something with his life if he ever wants to leave New York City; he is stuck between the expression of the lifestyle and stress of the ‘real world’ just as most college students are between living alone and making their own decisions and keeping up with a job and or school.
Kile Coty
ReplyDeleteMr. Bolster
The Absence of Redemption
I had a love/hate relationship with the ambiguous ending of John Gardner’s Redemption. I loved how anything could have happened after Jack left his horn lesson but I didn’t want to stop reading that story. I was intrigued right from the beginning when I read “Jack Hawthorne ran over and killed his brother, David” as a part of the first line of the story. As I kept reading I kept searching for instances of redemption in the story, but this story was more about escape and coping. Jack never triumphed in the memory of his brother, he merely became numb and put all his energy into working and then into playing the French horn. Jack’s father, Dale left the family for long periods of time and had empty affairs, he eventually came back but nothing really changed. Jack’s mother hid her feelings and flooded her remaining children with praise and compliments, while Jack’s little sister enthralled herself with house work and chores while carrying on with a fake smile. While pressing on through the story I came to realize that all these things were a part of redemption. What I mean is that the world didn’t skip a beat when poor David died and the way the family pressed on and still functioned was how they atoned for the guilt they felt for David’s death. Not everyone can keep going on after the loss of a loved one; this family did no matter how bleak the future looked.
Zach Westfall
ReplyDeleteProfessor Chappell
Intro to Fiction
May 6, 2012
Regret
In the short story “Redemption” by John Gardner a man named Jack kills his brother because of an accident. This accident eats away at jack and is something that he relives in his head many times. The death of his brother puts his family in turmoil his father and mother never really are the same even though there is nothing that can be done. The loss of a child must be devastating to the parents. His father spends a lot of time away from home avoiding the pain from the loss of his son. Jack will always have regret of killing his brother. He thinks of taking his live many times because of it.
Regret is something in life that the longer the live the more of it you have. Nothing that has happened can be changed and the faster you come to that conclusion the faster you can learn to move on. The actions you take in the past reflect the person you are even though he killed his brother it doesn’t make him a bad person. In fact the regret from it shows how much he cared and that he truly cared. His family will never be the same but they always have each other because they all feel the same pain. Family is what pulls you out of the darker pits of depression and is something that you’ll always have to lean on when you need them. His father has a hard time moving on and even though he won’t admit to it blames the death of his son on Jack.
Everyone has something that they regret in their life a chance they didn’t take or something they wish they could take back. This is impossible to do and dwelling on such thoughts only make the pain worse. Regret is part of life and because of that we need other to rely on to help us through the problems we face. Jack slowly gets over his regret even though he still is reminded of it and it will never leave him. The things we regret the most are the things we do to the ones we love. Nothing Jack or anyone can do will make up for what has happened even though redemption is the name of the story making up for something as serious as killing your brother is impossible. Jack deals with this with music he replaces his sorrow with music and lets out his feelings through it.