Ray Charles: A Blind Man Sees A World of Possibilities
In a world of darkness, misunderstanding, and confusion, there was a light of hope. Ray Charles was able to stand up and face this world, and he set out to pursue the impossible. Ray Charles overcame his disabilities by becoming a musician despite his blindness, stopping the use of heroin, and performing even though there were segregated audiences and unfair treatment.
To begin with, Ray Charles overcame his disabilities by becoming a musician despite his blindness. Charles stayed strong, no matter what life threw at him. His disability only made him stronger. After seven years of having a close bond with his mother and family, Charles was forced to set out alone when he moved to a school in St. Augustine for the deaf and blind. Without the support of his family, he was left to his own devices. Considering he was only seven, it was quite a bit to take in. There was much stress and pressure, but he stayed brave and fought through it (Charles 20).
In his autobiography “Brother Ray”, Charles explains how he had a rough time during the train ride to the new school. For the first few weeks, Charles wept due to being homesick, and the other children were spiteful and rude towards him. However, with time, he was able to adjust to his new life. Charles says he told himself “you better just continue to continue.” Although it was difficult for him to cope with, Charles was able to get through his struggle (Charles 21). Everything Charles said proves that although he
was very afraid, he realized he had no choice, so he stayed strong and moved bravely forward. This shows how he fought through anything life threw at him, and he never let his lack of vision slow him down.
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...cism he faced, Charles overcame it all. He was a significant figure in history because he stood as an example that if someone puts their mind to a dream, it can be accomplished. He was a true inspiration, and he left a legacy that will not soon be forgotten. Charles shows us that hard work and perseverance can take even a blind addict working against society to the very top.
Works Cited
Charles, Ray and David Ritz. Brother Ray. New York: The Dial Press, 1978. Print.
Hackford, Taylor and James L. White. Ray. New York: Universal Studios Licensing
LLLP, 2004. Print.
Pareles, Jon and Bernard Weinraub. “Ray Charles, Bluesy Essence of Soul, Is Dead
at 73.” The New York Times. June 11, 2004: n. pag. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
“Ray Charles”. Contemporary Black Biography. Vol. 48. Detroit: Gale, 2005. Biography
in Context. Web. 21 Mar. 2014.
... years was John Treloar and no one cared about Charles vision anymore than this man did and he did everything possible to make the Memorial nothing less than what Charles had visioned.
Ray started to lose his eyesight at the age of five and went completely legally blind at the tender age of seven. Ray Charles’ mom tried hard to teach him how life would be for blind people. She told him to never let his problem become a cripple for him and to never let anyone take advantage of him just because of that. One way she tried to help him was that she told him to use his memory. He couldn’t see so he had to remember how many steps he took or how long it takes to get to one place so he won’t get lost. His mom eventually sent him away so he can get adequate care. She sent him to the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind in St. Augustine, Florida for 8 long years. This is where he developed his patent musical talent. Ray’s troubles wouldn’t end with becoming completely blind. His father died when he was 10, his mother died five years later when he was 15 while he was in school.
The hardships of living with a disability are communicated using minor characters as props and how they are misconceived as being unintelligent or even abnormal. For example, a waitress suggests that Raymond is a “very clever boy”. Fascinatingly, she is the only minor character who treats Raymond with respect and sympathy, in contrast to Charlie and the general public who evidently takes advantage of his condition. In addition, the mise-en-scene composed of high key lighting and a wide-angle shot creates an ambient atmosphere, which makes it seem as if Raymond is unique, in contrast to abnormal or strange.(Cinematheque, 2010, p. 1). This conversation with the waitress shows that Ray’s disability makes him unique, in a positive way, especially because the general public seem to be uneducated about mental disabilities in this film; this is evidently shown where a man is seen screaming as Raymond, as he stands in the middle of a busy intersection. As a result, the director breaks down these misconceptions and generalisations about the, as if he is reprimanding that the disabled are a part of our society and that they should be treated with respect.
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His, "idea of blindness came from the movies", where, "...the blind move slowly and never laughed" (Carver 98). These misconceptions of blindness form barriers between the blind and the sighted. Carver breaks down these barriers as he brings the vastly different lives of these two men together. Those of us with sight find it difficult to identify with the blind. This man, like most of us, can only try to imagine what life is like for Robert.
The limitations that were holding the narrator back were abolished through a process from which a blind man, in some sense, cured a physically healthy man. The blind man cured the narrator of these limitations, and opened him up to a whole world of new possibilities. Robert enabled the narrator to view the world in a whole new way, a way without the heavy weights of prejudice, jealousy, and insecurity holding him down. The blind man shows the narrator how to see.
“Go back?" he thought. "No good at all! Go sideways? Impossible! Go forward? Only thing to do! On we go!" So up he got, and trotted along with his little sword held in front of him and one hand feeling the wall, and his heart all of a patter and a pitter.”
Ray C Robinson (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an African-American singer and musician known as Ray Charles. He was ingenious in the genre of soul music during the 1950s by mixing soul and gospel, and blues into his early recordings with Atlantic Records. He also helped segregation integrate country, jazz, and pop music during the 1960s with his mixing success on ABC Records, most recognized with his Modern Sounds albums. While with ABC, Charles became one of the first huge African-American songwriters to be given artistic control by many mainstream record companies. Frank Sinatra called Ray “the only true genius in show business,” although Charles played this notion. The influences upon his music were mainly soul, jazz, rhythm and country artists of the day such as Art Tatum, Louis Jordan, and Louis Armstrong.
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