The True Significance of Skinny Legs and All by Tom Robbins
In his review of Tom Robbins' Skinny Legs and All entitled "Through Salome's Veils to Ultimate Cognition", Tom Clark expressed his dichotomy of opinions regarding the author's style and also the author's message. Although I agree with Mr. Clark in several aspects, I believe he overlooked the true significance of Skinny Legs and All.
Clark accurately described Robbins as an extremely clever writer, but unfortunately also one whose uncertainties of tone and stylistic overreaching affect nearly every page. (9)
Robbins's main characters, both animate and supposedly inanimate, journey through this book down a path like no other. The author flashes
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In his review, Clark suggested a connection between the main character, Ellen Cherry Charles and the character, Leigh-Cheri, from a previous work of Mr. Robbins (Clark 1). I disagree with Mr. Clark in his comparison of the two characters except for the fact that they are both very sensual females. I note the phonetic commonality of "cherry" in both names. The term "cherry" has long been used to refer to the intact hymen of the virginal female. It is not that his characters are virginal in their sexuality. It is that they are a virgin canvas upon which he will paint their personalities. Mr. Robbins continually seems to amuse himself with words throughout this book. For instance, the character Spike Cohen changed his name from Joshua Cohen because he did not want to bear a name with negative significance. However, he chose a relatively nondescript name that seemingly had no purpose. A spike is a firm rod similar to an erect penis. Of all the men Ellen Cherry lusted after or the men that longed for her, "Spike" Cohen was her only partner in passionate intercourse other than her husband. Ellen's mother was named Patsy. A patsy is a person who is victimized or used a conduit for another's bidding. We are constantly reminded of Patsy's victimization because her husband Verlin had prevented her from becoming a dancer. Verlin ignored Patsy's affair with Reverend Buddy Winkler, but used her close relationship with Buddy to provide him with a connection to a man of God. Buddy was lustfully preoccupied with Ellen Cherry's life, and justified his omnipresence in Ellen's life as a result of his friendship for her mother Patsy. Additionally, when Ellen Cherry is purchasing paints of every color imaginable, she buys "dorian gray" (Robbins 369). Dorian Gray is the title of a play by Oscar Wilde. Oscar Wilde wrote the play, Salome, wherein Salome performs Wilde's interpretation of the Dance of the Seven
The story “Sonny’s Blues “is about two brothers that deal with racism. In dealing with their issues they both suffer and survive in their family and community. Their stories are a strong impact on their character and how they deal with their pain. Sonny chooses a more damaging means of racism, such as drug addiction to heroin; although, he does find a better choice music! The older brother, the narrator, James Baldwin, goes to college to become a teacher, and give back to his community in Harlem. The narrator rises above the suffering and difficulties of trying to fit into the white society. Sonny and the narrator find different means in dealing with their racism.Eventhough, both brothers take different routes in their lives, and they feel at the end be true to yourself, Follow your Dreams!
Catton, Bruce. “Grant and Lee: A Study in Contrasts.” Readings for Writers. 13th Ed. Jo Ray McCuen-Metherell and Anthony C. Winkler. Mason, OH: Cengage Learning, 2011. 428-31. Print.
In his 1984 novel Jitterbug Perfume, Tom Robbins presents a narrative that rivals the often fantastical tales told in myth. Using classical mythology as a foundation, and, in particular, providing a loose adaptation of The Odyssey by Homer, Robbins updates and modifies characters and concepts in an effort to reinforce the importance of the journey of life and the discovery of self. Like the ancient myth-makers, Robbins commands the reader’s attention with outrageous situations and events while at the same time providing characters that the reader can relate to and learn from.
A satirical point that the author talked about briefly was Weaver's choice to not read the short, original novel, but the even shorter novel summary. The satire is effective because of how the authors describes the book. By including small lines such as "the most skillful example of American naturalism under 110 pages" and "Weaver's choice to read the Cliffs Notes instead of the pocket-sized novel", the brevity and literary relevance of this book is emphasized greatly. To include how short this novel is makes Weaver look positiv...
"Sonny's Blues" is a story about two brothers, their past, and how their differences came between them. They were apart for several years while Sonny was in jail, but once he got out they had a chance to mend their pasts. "Sonny's Blues" is a well written story that teaches a lesson that has value in every day life.
James Baldwin?s story ?Sonny?s Blues? is a deep and reflexive composition. Baldwin uses the life of two brothers to establish parallelism of personal struggle with society, and at the same time implies a psychological process of one brother leaving his socially ingrained prejudices to understand and accept the other's flaws.
The Writing Center at Cleveland State University, Retrieved 22 Oct 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.csuohio.edu/writingcenter/writproc.html
...t was for a 19th century author to view the world as ever changing. Some view this novel as a parable, a parable of what could be if the human race does not make fundamental changes.
To demonstrate, according to the narrator in Sonny's Blues by Mr. Baldwin, we discover the constant struggle of the normative expectations of today’s society to continue education after high school, the influences of racism, and the harsh outcomes of addiction can do to a person who simply wants to live the life they dream of. Therefore, with these amounts of harsh struggles that anyone in sonny’s position goes through can lead anyone to the deep line of hardships, struggles, and mental/emotional breakdowns. Additionally, in the position of Sonny’s, he had to endure these harsh struggles of life with the constant belittlement of the narrator, his environment, and the people around him, which lead to his own self-destruction “All they really knew were two darknesses, the darkness of their lives, which was now closing in on them, and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness.”(Baldwin 561-562). Important to realize, due to all of these struggles, many individuals could not imagine how anyone could survive a daily lifestyle like this, but due to sonny, many individuals grow a better understanding of what a youngster in the deepest forms of poverty from Harlem, New York goes through on a daily
In "Sonny's Blues" the main theme is the suffering of black people in America. The death of Sonny's uncle being killed by a white drunk driver symbolizes the pervasive persecution of black people by whites. The whole family suffers in some way, whether it is the mother feeling extreme sorrow for Sonny or his father tormented by the memory of his brothers painful death and his hatred of white people because of it. The narrator, who never reveals his name suffers in his own particular way. He has his own "Blues" in a way, and he sees darkness everywhere. He imagines his students shooting up heroin in between classes. He says, "Their laughter . . . was not the joyous laughter which God knows why one associates with children." Obviously he doesn't believe being a child has much joy. Sonny escapes the harsh realities of life in Harlem, by escaping through the drug heroin for temporary relief, even though he knows it will kill him. Music to him is freedom from these blues of everyday life. The story s...
Cooper. The St. Martin's Guide to Writing. 9th ed. Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. Print.
Sonny's Blues tells the story of the struggle with life and acceptance that many people today face. The narrator has assimilated into society as much as possible, but still understands his limits as a black man. Contrarily, Sonny has never tried to conform and travels a troubled path trying find an outlet for the deep pain and suffering that his status as a permanent outcast forces upon him. Sonny channels his suffering into music and he and his brother are finally able to connect through something in which they never thought existed: the light that Sonny's dark world birthed.
While widely accepted as a bridge that connects cultures and spans the language barrier, music has often been colored in a poor light. An instance in where the language barrier is spanned in the text is when Sonny’s brother points out that Sonny had never been much of a talker. About how Sonny used music to convey messages and emotions that in most instances he would never openly verbalize. Music is often as a scapegoat by many who feel that its content has the ability to change the minds of America’s youth, there have been many attempts in the past century to censor and ban music with explicit content. However in Sonny’s Blues music is used as a positive way of expression between Sonny and his brother. In the last few paragraphs of the text Sonny’s brother finally gets a glimpse at the person his brother really is, a moment of understanding passes between them. Something that in previous conversations neither brother was able to experience, Sonny’s brother could never understand why Sonny did the things that he did. The drugs, the drinking and other things that destroy a person’s body, his lack of understanding was evident when he came to the conclusion that anyone who uses drugs or does the things that Sonny and his friends do want to kill themselves. Sonny’s brother is rational, he 's an algebra teacher,
and Other Greats : Lessons from the All-star Writer's Workshop. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2006. Print.
Within the lungs TB moves through the blood to settle in different parts of the body. Some symptoms of TB includes coughing, loss of weight and appetite, fever, chills and night sweats as well as symptoms from the specific organ or system that has been affected. Tuberculosis usually can be cured with speedy and correct treatment, but it remains a key cause of death and disability, particularly among people infected with HIV (World Health Organization