Sonny's Blues is a short story that focuses on the struggles of the narrator's brother, Sonny, growing up in Harlem. The narrator spends the majority of the story reminiscing on several not so fond memories of his past with his brother after reading in the newspaper of his brother's recent arrest. The narrator recollects on the tension between him and his brother ever since their parents death, recalling the hateful letter he received from Sonny years before, as well as countless arguments and misfortunes in their life leading up to years without communication.
The story concludes with the narrator picturing a happier moment with his brother when he watched Sonny play piano with a friend at a local club. At that moment, the narrator realized and accepted Sonny's true talent in life of playing the piano. He bought Sonny a drink, and the two shared a moment of acknowledgement of each other's differences. This conclusion of the novel brought the story to a close in peace.
Overall, the theme of the story seemed to dwell on accepting others, no matter the circumstances and differences. While Sonny and his brother agreed on very little, they eventually were able to come to terms with their differences, bringing the story to a happier close, greatly contrasting the otherwise gloomy mood of the story of the brothers' lives.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Thursday, January 20, 2011
Week 2 - Birches by Robert Frost
Vocabulary:
"...they are dragged to the withered bracken by the load..." - an area of weedy ferns
"...one by one he subdued his father's trees..." - conquered
Robert Frost's, "Birches,” is a poem written in blank verse in which the lines do not rhyme. Frost focuses on the bend of the branches of the birch trees around him, imagining that they are bent due to young boys swinging on them rather than the recent ice storm. While this initially seems to be the main focus of the poem, I would argue that it actually focuses more on Frost's recollection of his childhood when he himself was once "a swinger of birches,” and how he “dreams to going back to be.” Frost appears to be at a later stage in his life in which he is reminiscing on the good days of his childhood and truly appreciating those little moments of his life.
As the poem continues, the focus tends to shift to show Frost’s more recent feelings in life. He says he’d “like to get away from earth awhile, and then come back to it and begin over,” possibly implying he is nearing the end of his life and believes in the concept of death and rebirth. Several lines later, he mentions that he’d “like to go by climbing a birch tree, and climb black branches up a snow-white trunk toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more…” once again exposing his desire to end his life in a way that his childhood could be revisited. To conclude the poem, he states that climbing the birch was a journey that was “good both going and coming back,” possibly paralleling his life in that all portions of it were truly enjoyable.
This poem particularly hits home for me because my grandfather is currently nearing the end of his life, and everyday he seems to remember further and further back in his life, some days as far back as his childhood. I hope that he too believes that nearly all portions of his life were enjoyable.
"...they are dragged to the withered bracken by the load..." - an area of weedy ferns
"...one by one he subdued his father's trees..." - conquered
Robert Frost's, "Birches,” is a poem written in blank verse in which the lines do not rhyme. Frost focuses on the bend of the branches of the birch trees around him, imagining that they are bent due to young boys swinging on them rather than the recent ice storm. While this initially seems to be the main focus of the poem, I would argue that it actually focuses more on Frost's recollection of his childhood when he himself was once "a swinger of birches,” and how he “dreams to going back to be.” Frost appears to be at a later stage in his life in which he is reminiscing on the good days of his childhood and truly appreciating those little moments of his life.
As the poem continues, the focus tends to shift to show Frost’s more recent feelings in life. He says he’d “like to get away from earth awhile, and then come back to it and begin over,” possibly implying he is nearing the end of his life and believes in the concept of death and rebirth. Several lines later, he mentions that he’d “like to go by climbing a birch tree, and climb black branches up a snow-white trunk toward heaven, till the tree could bear no more…” once again exposing his desire to end his life in a way that his childhood could be revisited. To conclude the poem, he states that climbing the birch was a journey that was “good both going and coming back,” possibly paralleling his life in that all portions of it were truly enjoyable.
This poem particularly hits home for me because my grandfather is currently nearing the end of his life, and everyday he seems to remember further and further back in his life, some days as far back as his childhood. I hope that he too believes that nearly all portions of his life were enjoyable.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Letter of Introduction
In high school, I took AP english both junior and senior year. I'm not a big fan of Shakespeare, or really any literature written before the 20th century, which is why this class particularly appealed to me. I know that many people believe that older pieces of literature can be applied to life today, but personally, I usually fail to see many similarities. I feel like people, places, and life itself are constantly changing to the extent that old literature can't relate to the present day. I'm excited to read more recent works.
The best novel I have ever read was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's slightly mysterious, written in 2005, and spins from the September 11th terrorist attack. I also really enjoy the Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews. As far as writing, I would hardly call myself a writer of any sort. I've always gotten by in English classes, but I've never been a star pupil by any means. I'm not a big fan of writing poetry, however in eighth grade my teacher told me that one of my poems was among the best she'd ever read. To be honest, I feel like that poem must have been written out of sheer luck. Nevertheless, I do what I need to and try to write to the best of my ability in order to achieve the desired grade.
Quite frankly, I'm taking this class to fulfill the gen ed literature requirement. I was sort of dreading that requirement due to my lack of stellar English abilities, however, this course seemed interesting since it focussed on more recent literature, as well as a variety of literature, from poems to novels to plays, so it seemed more interesting and diverse. I'm currently in the pre-professional health program, however I hope to change my major to Psychology. I love learning how to analyze people's behaviors and motivations, so this major seems much more appropriate for me than a major full of science and structure.
Came from North Carolina
Live in Holmes Hall
Excited for a new semester
Made a lot of new friends
So tired of dining hall food already
Obsessed with football
Never boring!
Yes, this is a terrible attempt at a poem. I had to resort to the good ol' acrostic. I'm sorry in advance.
The best novel I have ever read was Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close by Jonathan Safran Foer. It's slightly mysterious, written in 2005, and spins from the September 11th terrorist attack. I also really enjoy the Flowers in the Attic by VC Andrews. As far as writing, I would hardly call myself a writer of any sort. I've always gotten by in English classes, but I've never been a star pupil by any means. I'm not a big fan of writing poetry, however in eighth grade my teacher told me that one of my poems was among the best she'd ever read. To be honest, I feel like that poem must have been written out of sheer luck. Nevertheless, I do what I need to and try to write to the best of my ability in order to achieve the desired grade.
Quite frankly, I'm taking this class to fulfill the gen ed literature requirement. I was sort of dreading that requirement due to my lack of stellar English abilities, however, this course seemed interesting since it focussed on more recent literature, as well as a variety of literature, from poems to novels to plays, so it seemed more interesting and diverse. I'm currently in the pre-professional health program, however I hope to change my major to Psychology. I love learning how to analyze people's behaviors and motivations, so this major seems much more appropriate for me than a major full of science and structure.
Came from North Carolina
Live in Holmes Hall
Excited for a new semester
Made a lot of new friends
So tired of dining hall food already
Obsessed with football
Never boring!
Yes, this is a terrible attempt at a poem. I had to resort to the good ol' acrostic. I'm sorry in advance.
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