Metaphors In Sonny's Blues

James Baldwin : “Sonny's Blues” This character in Baldwin’s story, “Sonny’s Blues”, Sonny himself is having a battle within himself. This man deals with physical and emotional imprisonments occurring in his life making him in a sense free, but then again not. Whereas he deals with physically being locked up in prison and the other hand having his true main goal in a sense on a “hold” or even locked up for now. These prisons for this man are oppressing him from achieving what he really truly desires, he knows and has his goal in his hands, but he’s far from fully grasping onto it.

This work song is a form of distraction from his tedious task, but also sets the pace of the work. In terms of the beginning 6 verses, it is difficult to figure out exactly what he is talking about because he moves from topic to topic very quickly. Later on, the lyrics reveal that the convicts are determined to get out of prison. After experiencing the harsh conditions of prison life, they do not want anything to get in their way "Puttin' out [their] fire" (from c.d. liner notes). There is a metaphor comparing the prisoners to a house.

Sonny 's Blues is a short story that was written by James Baldwin. The story has a number of conflicts but the main conflict that is explained in the story is communication between Sonny and his brother who is not named in the story and finding means to understand each other. The two brothers have different passion where playing jazz was Sonny 's passion and teaching algebra was his brother ‘s passion. The two brothers are separated by a number of factors such as their environments, cultural issues not forgetting the emotional detachment that existed between them. This paper will analyze the conflict and whether it was resolved at the end of the story (Baldwin, 2010).

Richard holds himself to a higher standard than that imposed upon him by his family and white people. He believes he can do and say what he wants and should be tied down to people’s ideas and ways of doing things. On page 253 we speaks about the vast sense of distance that that has been created between him and the world he lives in, and the sense that this distance is growing every day and is caused by his reading. Although reading here is meant literally as Richard spends his days reading to learn more about the world, it can also be seen as a metaphor for thinking. The more he allowed himself to think and have his own ideas outside of those that were forced on him by his family and white people he found himself drifting away from them because he cannot live as they do, having a mediocre

Acting more as a literary inspiration for others (Oswego.edu).” When trying to prove this statement true, Eckert who wrote the article gives examples of 3 of Poe’s works, those which happen to be his most famous poems. However, it is not only in poems that Poe seems to connect his life into writing, since the narrator in “The Black Cat” has a lot of similarities to Poe. Many people know about the sadness of Poe’s life, such as the fact that everyone around him basically died, but what a lot of people may not know is that Poe was a very self-destructive man. He was addicted to gambling and--like the narrator--to alcohol.

When he finally faces the truth of Sonny’s drug addiction his entire world is being penetrated. He then realizes the only way to resolve his own pain is to reach out to Sonny by having to shield his reality to the reality that is around him. It’s not till Sonny finally stands up and faces the music. First he must look at his neighborhood and must acknowledge for what it is. As he teaches he hears, “Their laughter...

Because Willam was determon he had a habit of never giving on his dreams. “For the slightest moment, I heard music. It worked! But a second later, black smoke started to pour out of the speakers.”

When the breakup first happened, he had that internal struggle of emotions like sadness and anger. When the protagonist says, “I’m still standing” (Elton John) the listener can see that he is not weak or broken down, he is strong. Also, that he had the courage to keep going when it was very difficult for him. The conflict is external as well because the protagonist also has an issue with the antagonist who really hurt him. He makes direct comments where he criticizes her for being cruel to him.

Into the Wild Life in the wild is not for everyone, as Chris McCandless himself proved. In the novel Into the Wild Chris was driven by anger and curiosity; always enjoyed nature and the outdoors. His family was one of the reasons why he chose to isolate himself from the real world, he needed to experience new feelings other than the hatred he’s had throughout his entire life. On his journey he was able to accomplish a number of things: peace of mind, travel, and write a book. What Chris did not expect was for him to die on his journey, but rather have it help him grow and gain new experiences.

While Victor is not literally alone, due to his family and best friend Henry Clerval, Victor understands himself to be emotionally imprisoned. As a result of this he resolves that he cannot communicate his emotions to the people who, on the surface seem to be the ones closest to Victor such as Clerval or his wife Elizabeth, but in all actuality, Victor comes to the conclusion that he must face his emotional turmoil alone. In his younger years, Victor would attempt to cope with his emotions by engrossing himself in his studies of science, biology and early genetics, however, by encompassing himself in his work he only solidifies himself as an outcast. Victor even displays the depth of his emotional solitude when he asserts “swelling as it proceeded, it became the torrent which, in its course, has swept away all my hopes and joys. Natural philosophy is the genius that has regulated my fate”(Shelley 27)

I thought this was a very notable novel because Night is written by a concentration camp survivor so it is far more credible. Therefore, it gives his personal accounts and shows how he changes as a person through his suffering. It is not about the background or only the camp, but what he experiences himself, which I presume more interesting. I believe this novel is worth reading because it has a powerful message and moving tone. Through detail and thoughtful passages, Wiesel sets the tone from the beginning, “Never

Anthem is about a society that basically has no freedom for the people to do whatever they want. Everyone in the book is referred to as “We” or “Them”. No form of independence is shown, until one special boy decides it is time for a change. Both books show survival and people having to push through the struggle.

Short on solutions or much in the way of optimism regarding reparation and the long overdue justice to the black race; Coates’s works preach a gospel of brutal truths about race, and stresses the importance of acknowledging them as an aspiration in itself. Despite the fact of a black American president, despite the media focus on the protest against police killings, he sees no prospect of much change, at least not until America acknowledges the facts of its history. The act of articulating that feeling is, in a sense, the only hope that he offers Samori in his letter to him. The necessity is to understand the nature of the struggle, the way the land lies, and to be able to express it.  

He talks about his life problems and struggles throughout his life, but he also talks about how he overcomes the trials of life that he faces throughout his songs. He believes that Christianity is truly not a genre, but rather a faith. Lecrae’s unique story is encouraging to all people that dreams can come true. Currently on a nationwide tour titled for his album Anomaly, Lecrae is accomplishing his humble goal realized back when performing for juveniles at the detention center. It’s already been a long road for this talented artist and yet in many ways, he’s just getting started.

Psychologist Robert Berezin says that, “Human struggle is not a brain problem, but a human problem.” (Berezin 1) In the short story “Sonny’s Blues,” the author James Baldwin reveals the dark truth about human nature, and through a psychoanalytic criticism perspective it can reveal how people cope with their suffering and problems. The main character, Sonny, is suffering from the hardships that many people face throughout life. Sonny’s suffering becomes so unbearable that he refuses to accept this inevitable situation, and seeks relief and control through the use of jazz and drugs.