James Baldwin is a renowned author best known for his work of essays, books and short stories, particularly those which dwell deeply into important social and psychological issues of discrimination, gender inequality, homophobia and so on. One of Mr. Baldwin 's most appreciated literary works is the short story 'Sonny 's Blues ' which focuses on two brothers who grew up together but take different paths in life. The story follows the narrator learning about his brother Sonny 's incarceration due to the use and selling of drugs until his brother gets parole. Throughout the story, we learn about the relationship between the pair and are able to witness the narrators ultimate understanding of Sonny and his ambition. As we continue to observe the impressive short story, we find the most recurring theme to be that of sorrow.
Elijah Wald published the book Escaping the delta in reference of the music genre of the blues, in which he explains some of the myths that surround the blues genre, in which according to him were misleading about the culture of the genre. Derived from a lot of history, the foundations in which were perpetuated to promote the genre according to Elijah Wald were not accurate, and he tries to explain in detail the misconceptions in the book. One of the main ideas that Elijah Wald tries to explain is the concept of the blues being described as a definite genre. According to Elijah Wald, the genre exists but also does not exists (Wald, p 23 ).
Compare the tragedy for the characters in both "The Last Night" and "Refugee Blues." Comparing the tragedy in the main characters and their fear of death in both "the Last Night" and "Refugee Blues" both of these extracts are about believing in something which the Nazis don 't believe in and, because of this being chased around and being punished for it. The lament "Refugee Blues" was written by W.H. Auden, in this lament she talked about how a Jew and his wife had to try and survive the abuses. It tells us how all Jews were forced to run away from home and then abused by the Nazis during the Holocaust. " The Last Night" was written by Sebastian Faulks, this is from an extract from Charlotte Gray.
Using his writing as a form of self-expression, James Baldwin, an African American author, spent his life seeking to reveal the cruel reality of African American men. “Sonny Blues” Baldwin’s short fiction, was published in 1957 and takes place during the Harlem Renaissance. The literary work tells the story of Sonny and his brother (an unnamed narrator), as they seek to understand how to navigate the delicate and dangerous waters of familial relationships, their role in society and themselves. However, it is not until the end of the story when Sonny’s brother narrates the powerful, melodic sound of Sonny’s blues that he acknowledges his own pain. It is during his epiphany, when he finally begins to understand Sonny’s pain and the pain of every generation who came before him and after him.
The Holocaust is one of the if not the most cruel punishment for a single race in recorded human history. No one can truly understand the hardships that a man or woman had to go through to survive it. Society is continuously pretending to understand the pain that people similar to Eliezer had to go through. It is impossible to understand the horror of the Holocaust but in the novel Night by Elie Wiesel through the change of language it makes it a bit more realistic the effect the Holocaust has on a person. The form of medium Elie Wiesel uses helps the reader understand through a bias the day to day Eliezer had to suffer through.
“Culture is a way of coping with the world by defining it in detail” - Malcolm Brabury. Similarly, In Night by Elie Wiesel, Elie’s culture enables him to both cope and suffer through the pain to try to keep his hope alive. Their culture strengthens the people in the camps but there are some consequences when it comes to their shared identity. Both the positive and negative effects drive and hurt people.
Yet, the ideals that were shown in the book and found in blues music are best shown through the author’s own words. Bluestein cites Ellison’s definition of blues as, “an impulse to keep the painful details and episodes of a brutal experience alive in one's aching consciousness . . . As a form, the blues is an autobiographical chronicle of personal catastrophe expressed lyrically” (Bluestein). In making this comment, Bluestein is showing through Ellison’s words the similarity between the novel and the genre that it is a piece that shows someone’s own
Prior to the Emancipation Proclamation, most music was work music or spirituals which were sung without musical instruments. While students of history know the musical classes that moves the blues, there isn 't much data regarding why the class was made. Modest and convenient instruments including the harmonica and guitar was effortlessly acquired and added to the spirituals as of now made by African Americans. The expansion of instruments could be the making of the blues. The blues rapidly got to be prominent among the African American audience members and the sound would in the long run be perfected bringing about sub-classifications including the Delta blues which started in the Mississippi Delta.
That you shouldn’t let your living situations or surroundings determine your outcome. Sonny's Blues shows challenges that troubled the African-American community, and how drugs troubled the young artists and kept them bound like slaves. How those living in Harlem, felt like there was no escape to the poverty that surrounded them. How a young artist was overcoming his demons, with the support of his family and living out his dream. How one has to forgive and not let the past control one’s future, nor let the surroundings of your environment determine where you will go in
In the novel Night the protagonist, Elie Wiesel, narrates his experiences as a young Jewish boy surviving the Holocaust. Elie 's autobiographical memoir informs the reader about how the Nazis captured the Jews and enslaved them in concentration camps, where they experienced the absolute worst forms of torture, abuse and inhumane treatment. Dehumanization is shown in the story when the Jews were stripped of their identities and belongings, making them feel worthless as people. From the start of Elie Wiesel 's journey of the death camps, his beliefs of his own religion is fragile as he starts to lose his faith. Lastly, camaraderie is present as people in the camps are all surviving together to stay alive so as a result the people in the camp shine light on other people 's darkness.
Natasha Trethewey’s Native Guard is a collection of poems highlighting the childhood of her life and honoring her mother. Additionally, Trethewey speaks about the racial background of the Deep South where she grew up and one of the first black regiments who were called into service during the Civil War, the Louisiana Native Guards. Trethewey includes sonnets and monuments to express the meaning behind her poetry. Throughout the collection of poems, there are certain poems that are very apparent in expressing the severity of Trethewey and the Native Guard’s struggles. One of the poem’s in Native Guard that truly captivates the story of Trethewey’s childhood and racial struggles is “Photograph: Ice Storm, 1971”.
As Sukarno once said, “The worst cruelty that can be inflicted on a human being is isolation.” In Night by Elie Wiesel, Anna Karenina, and The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso, the protagonists all struggle with isolation. Elie, Anna, and the old man are isolated from society because they are different than everybody else and unworthy of being included, which results in depression, death, and misery. Elie Wiesel, a Jew removed from his home and relocated to Auschwitz, is an outcast and is isolated from the rest of society because he is considered different. When Elie first arrives to the death camp, he describes his surroundings as “empty and dead” (Wiesel 47).
Poems can be analyzed in various ways ranging from their complexity to the emotions they convey to readers. The poems, “The Weary Blues” by Langston Hughes and “The Harlem Dancer” by Claude McKay will be analyzed based on their similarities and differences to name a few. The poems may describe different events; however the overall connection between the two can be identified by readers with deeper reading. Comparisons between the poems may easier to analyze and identify compared to the contrasts based on the reader’s perception. Overall, the concept and much more will reveal how the poems are connected and special in their own way.
Blues music as a genre and form was developed by African Americans in the south of the United States at the end of the 19th century. The genre has origins in many cultures such as in African music, African-American work songs and European-American folk music. Blues music incorporates field hollers, shouts, chants, etc. The blues form, found in jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll, is characterized by the call-and-response pattern, and also the twelve-bar blues structure, which is the most common feature. Early traditional blues verses consisted of a single line repeated four times.
A refugee is a person who has been forced to leave their home country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster. There are many different types of refugees, these include refugees who are escaping war, social discrimination, racial discrimination, religious persecution, those who are seeking aid after a natural disaster, political unrest, and those who fear for their lives and the lives of their family. These people are given refugee status and are placed in designated refugee camps across the country where they are supposed to be cared for and educated, but this is not happening. Many of the countries only provide shelter for the refugees but do not provide the rest of the basic needs. There are many factors that contribute to a person becoming a refugee these include war, famine, racial prejudice, religion, harassment or torture due to political views, nationality, and natural disaster.
