In Terrance Hayes Book of poetry Wind in a Box, one can see that the poems are devoted to personal history, blues variation, prose poems, and attempts at getting to the core of defining one’s lineage. The blue poems in particular consider 20th century representations of race, culling wisdom, and impressions from many famous people. Hayes uses the word blue in many different titles of poems in order to show various themes throughout them that tie them together using popular cultural icons. It is obvious to see the significance the word blue plays throughout the Wind in a Box poetry collection. Hayes poems “The Blue Suess” and Booker’s Tomb” from the collection Upright Blues emphasize the times of tradition, rare and freedom in the most interesting ways. Hayes uses his poetry to interpret how …show more content…
The poems “Booker’s Tomb” and “The Blue Suess” both deal with issues of race, but in very different contexts. While in “Booker’s Tomb” the mention of race is not really an issue more of a statement made when Booker is named “Liberace,” (line 27) or the black Liberace, who was a known gay piano player. In “Booker’s Tomb” race was more so used to describe who Booker, the main character, is to the audience. On the other hand, the poem “The Blue Suess” is an entire poem written in the format just like a Dr. Suess novel all about the racial inequalities dealt throughout time. For instance, “Blacks with maters in the houses/ Blacks with bosses in the fields,” (lines 14-15) gives us the description of slavery which is a well known part of history for racial inequality. Another theme found in the two blue poems is of tradition. With “Booker’s tomb” the poem touches base on the New Orleans’s tradition of music and how the heritage was lost when hurricane Katrina hit, this is
Even if these poems had the same theme of the delayment of a dream, each poet’s vision towards this dream is explored differently, where readers are able to grasp both the effects and potentials of a dream deferred, through the use of imagery. Nonetheless, both poems had fulfilled the role of many distinguished poems during the period; to communicate African-Americans’ desires to live a life of equality and free from prejudice.
Race-thinking: what is it? Isn’t the world past the issue of race? Do races even exist and if so, what does it mean to have a racial identity? Is colorblindness possible and how important is it? These are the questions Paul Taylor addresses in the book “Race: A Philosophical Introduction”. Paul Taylor is a self-proclaimed “radical constructionist” who will maintain that race is very real in our world and in the United States as a whole (p. 80). Taylor takes care to ensure he addresses the real needs concerning racial dynamics in the U.S., referencing historical events, prevailing policy affairs, and even pop culture to explain that everyone capable of forming opinions ought to have some sort of grasp of the concept of race-thinking. As Taylor will analyze, race and race-thinking “has shaped and continues to shape private interactions as well as the largest political choices” (p. 8). In other words, race-thinking encompasses everything we do and every interaction we have. In this paper I will attempt to interpret and expound Taylor’s views and definitions of race, concepts associated with race, and input my own interpretations as they are appropriate.
Racism and the sense to fulfill a dream has been around throughout history. Langston Hughes’s poems “Harlem” and “I, Too” both depict the denial of ethnicity mix in society and its impact on an African American’s dream. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” uses jazz music to tie the belief of one’s intention and attainment to the black race. The two main characters are different in a way of one fitting into the norm of the American Dream and the other straying away from such to fulfill his own dream. All three pieces of writing occur during the same time in history in which they connect the black race with the rejection of the American Dream and the opportunity to obtain an individual effort by a culture.
James Baldwin, author of Sonny’s Blues, was born in Harlem, NY in 1924. During his career as an essayist, he published many novels and short stories. Growing up as an African American, and being “the grandson of a slave” (82) was difficult. On a day to day basis, it was a constant battle with racial discrimination, drugs, and family relationships. One of Baldwin’s literature pieces was Sonny’s Blues in which he describes a specific event that had a great impact on his relationship with his brother, Sonny. Having to deal with the life-style of poverty, his relationship with his brother becomes affected and rivalry develops. Conclusively, brotherly love is the theme of the story. Despite the narrator’s and his brother’s differences, this theme is revealed throughout the characters’ thoughts, feelings, actions, and dialogue. Therefore, the change in the narrator throughout the text is significant in understanding the theme of the story. It is prevalent to withhold the single most important aspect of the narrator’s life: protecting his brother.
Ognibene, Elaine R. "Black Literature Revisited: "Sonny's Blues"" The English Journal 60.1 (1971): 36-37. National Council of Teachers of English. Web. Apr.-May 2014.
When discussing the poetry of the Harlem Renaissance, due to the strength of their relationship, one must look at Blues and Jazz. Many viewed this genre as a voice for the black communities and as “the New Negro poets expressed a deep pride in being Black” (Smith, 1983, p. 37) it is easy to see how this influenced their poetry. The main theme of Blues were the troubles of life and finding an escape, and this underlying dissatisfaction was incorporated into poetry as a response to many of the injustices present. For example, a clear example of this is Langston Hughes’ Homesick Blues which uses many of the key techniques from Blues songs, such as short lines to create urgency. The poem discusses the effect of prejudices and injustices on the black communities, especially when it comes to finding a home and an identity. There is a subtle, irregular rhyme scheme from words such as “sun… done” (Ramazani, 1994, pp. 152-3) which strengthens the influence. The dull, full rhymes create a sense of dissatisfaction and boredom, as if the speaker has given up on life. Hughes similarly uses many colloquialism and phonetics, which were common in Blues songs, such as “De Railroad Bridge/ a sad song in de air” (Ramazani, 1994, pp. 152-3), which furthers racial pride and identity, present in Blues and Harlem Renaissance poetry. However, perhaps the strongest example of how the Blues genre infl...
In Julia Alvarez’s poem “On Not Shoplifting Louise Bogan’s The Blue Estuaries”, Alvarez skillfully employs poetic devices such as imagery and personification to let the reader view the power of literature through the eyes of a young, poverty stricken, estranged woman, inspiring her love for poetry. Alvarez’s use of imagery paints a vivid picture of the setting and the narrator’s actions for the reader throughout her significant experience; all through the eyes of an alienated female. The use of personification and author’s tone brings “The Blue Estuaries” to life for the reader-just as it had appeared to the narrator.
James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” is the authors most studied and critically analyzed piece of literature. The majority of these analyses focus on the obvious themes of the book such as jazz music, the unnamed narrator, or the rift that divides Sonny and his brother. Little critique has ever gone into the biblical and religious themes that run throughout the story of “Sonny’s Blues.” Furthermore, it is even more astonishing that there is little critique given Baldwin has such a strong history with the world of Christianity.
All three of these symbolical details are woven together in "Sonny's Blues" to create a non-literal meaning directly beneath the words. The end result is an enriched message about urban struggles for expression, happiness, and chemical independance. Ultimately, Sonny's revival concludes the readers' literary tour of world in which he lives. What is begun with a presentation of hardships is finally concluded with Sonny's triumph, a chance at a better future.
The narrator in James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues”, at first glance seems to be a static character, trying to forget the past and constantly demeaning his brother’s choices in life. Throughout the story, readers see how the narrator has tried to forget the past. However, his attempt to forget the past soon took a turn. When the narrator’s daughter died, he slowly started to change. As the narrator experiences these changes in his life, he becomes a dynamic character.
“Sonny’s Blues” revolves around the narrator as he learns who his drug-hooked, piano-playing baby brother, Sonny, really is. The author, James Baldwin, paints views on racism, misery and art and suffering in this story. His written canvas portrays a dark and continual scene pertaining to each topic. As the story unfolds, similarities in each generation can be observed. The two African American brothers share a life similar to that of their father and his brother. The father’s brother had a thirst for music, and they both travelled the treacherous road of night clubs, drinking and partying before his brother was hit and killed by a car full of white boys. Plagued, the father carried this pain of the loss of his brother and bitterness towards the whites to his grave. “Till the day he died he weren’t sure but that every white man he saw was the man that killed his brother.”(346) Watching the same problems transcend onto the narrator’s baby brother, Sonny, the reader feels his despair when he tries to relate the same scenarios his father had, to his brother. “All that hatred down there”, he said “all that hatred and misery and love. It’s a wonder it doesn’t blow the avenue apart.”(355) He’s trying to relate to his brother that even though some try to cover their misery with doing what others deem as “right,” others just cover it with a different mask. “But nobody just takes it.” Sonny cried, “That’s what I’m telling you! Everybody tries not to. You’re just hung up on the way some people try—it’s not your way!”(355) The narrator had dealt with his own miseries of knowing his father’s plight, his Brother Sonny’s imprisonment and the loss of his own child. Sonny tried to give an understanding of what music was for him throughout thei...
In conclusion, the short story "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin brings out two main themes: irony and suffering. You can actually feel the pain that Baldwin's characters experience; and distinguish the two different lifestyles of siblings brought up in the same environment. The older brother remaining nameless is a fabulous touch that really made me want to read on. This really piqued my interest and I feel it can lead to many discussions on why this technique was used. I really enjoyed this story; it was a fast and enjoyable reading. Baldwin keeps his readers thinking and talking long after they have finished reading his stories. His writing technique is an art, which very few, if any, can duplicate.
In conclusion, this poem shows the progression of desegregation throughout the south. When the poem is placed in context to the time in which it was written, it is easy to identify the injustices of African Americans. The most notable observation is when the beach is marked “colored” (Trethewey). Analyzing this poem via historical criticism allows the reader to fully understand the injustice and also experience the growth of society towards desegregation.
Racism is defined as the belief that a race is superior than others. From this definition we are able to see that racism is apparent in literary texts, and in this case, these two poems. Both poems exemplify a racist mindset that people had at that time and a racist mindset they tried forced upon people. Racism in theses texts urged people to be and feel a certain way. Morality didn't really seemed to be a big impact on these mindsets because what they believed they felt was justified. William Blake's "Little Black Boy" and Rudyard Kipling's "The White Man's Burden" showed racist views that did affect a person's mindset on worth/purpose, morality and immorality.
Margolies, Edward. “History as Blues: Ralph Ellison’s Invisible Man.” Native Sons: A Critical Study of Twentieth-Century Negro American Authors. J.B. Lippincott Company, 1968. 127-148. Rpt. in Contemporary Literary Criticism. Ed. Daniel G. Marowski and Roger Matuz. Vol. 54. Detroit: Gale, 1989. 115-119. Print.