Robert Johnson’s “Kind Hearted Woman Blues” was recorded in 1936, and is the first ever recorded by this iconic bluesman. In addition to being his debut, Johnson’s “Kind Hearted Woman Blues” also contains, however brief, the only guitar solo he ever recorded. “Kind Hearted Woman Blues” appears to tell a story of heartbreak and angst. Johnson’s song tells a coherent and cohesive story. Furthermore, it is clear from Johnson’s lyrics that he is referencing an affair, perhaps with another man’s wife. Given the heavy repetition throughout the song in addition to the rhyming, the lyrics do not sound nor appear to be improvised. They tell a clear and chronological story of an illicit sexual relationship with a certain “Mr. Johnson’s” wife.
By analyzing this quote, it shows that Mrs. Johnson’s character is nothing but messy and she is very sarcastic. The presence of her character foreshadows that something mysterious is bound to happen that will involve her, or that she will stir up some type of drama. I know someone that happens to be like this, which helped me to formulate my analysis.
The title “Lime Light Blues” evokes both restless and sadness through the imagery that he lives under spotlights. The first part of the poem focuses on narrator’s experiences of people’s implicit prejudice on blacks. The second part of the poem starts with “when I dance…” mainly focuses on the narrator’s anxieties and ironies toward other’s intense attentions. Young’s descriptions of him being uninhibited and rebellious serve as a foil to the white people’s intolerance of him.
Narrative attitude has a large impact on the way a novel reads. It is what makes the reader feel for the narrator, connect to the story, and experience the words on the page in a moving and profound way. However, in James Weldon Johnson’s The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, the narrator appears to not be emotional in order to focus the reader’s attention on the real purpose of the novel.
In Black and Blue, Fran Benedetto tells a spellbinding story: how at nineteen she fell in love with Bobby Benedetto, how their passionate marriage became a nightmare, why she stayed, and what happened on the night she finally decided to run away with her ten-year-old son and start a new life under a new name. Living in fear in Florida--yet with increasing confidence, freedom, and hope--Fran unravels the complex threads of family, identity, and desire that shape a woman's life, even as she begins to create a new one. As Fran starts to heal from the pain of the past, she almost believes she has escaped it--that Bobby Benedetto will not find her and again provoke the complex combustion between them of attraction and destruction, lust and love. Black and Blue is a beautifully written, heart-stopping story in which Anna Quindlen writes with power, wisdom, and humor about the real lives of men and women, the varieties of people and love, the bonds between mother and child, the solace of family and friendship, the inexplicable feelings between people who are passionately connected in ways they don't understand. It is a remarkable work of fiction by the writer whom Alice Hoffman has called "a national treasure." With this stunning novel about a woman and a marriage that begins in passion and becomes violent, Anna Quindlen moves to a new dimension as a writer of superb fiction. Black and Blue is a beautifully written, heart-stopping story in which Anna Quindlen writes with power, wisdom, and humor about the real lives of men and women, the varieties of people and love, the bonds between mother and child, the solace of family and friendship, the inexplicable feelings between people who are passionately connected in ways they don't understa...
In conclusion, Sonny’s Blues depicts the love of a brother through the narrator, who at the beginning was disengaged, unsupportive, and emotionally distant. However, the turning point was when Grace died. This triggered a great turmoil of feelings that overflowed the narrator leading him to a major and impacting change. Instead, he turned into being involved, supportive, understanding, honest, and accepting of his brother Sonny; regardless of the reality that there was no guarantee his pain would not consume his life.
The narrator’s wife knew Robert for a long time because she used to work for him and his wife had died so she was the one who was taking care of him since he was all alone. “I wasn’t enthusiastic about his visit” (Carver 2) said the narrator. The narrator did not like the blind man because he was extremely close with his wife and they were always sending each other tapes in the mail to keep in touch. Since the narrator was not such a big fan of the blind man, he did not understand why it was such a important time when Robert had asked to touch his wife’s face during her last day working with him. She was working with him all summer but he was blind so he did not even know what she looked like so when he touched her face, she wanted to write a poem about it since it was an important time during her summer job helping him. A while after the narrators wife worked with Robert, they ended up communicating again and she sent him a recording of her talking about her recent life. “She loved her husband but she didn’t like it where they lived and she didn’t like it that he was a part of the military-industrial thing” (Carver 2). The narrator was getting jealous of this relationship between the two of them because it seemed to be going better then his and his wife’s relationship. Since the blind man moved into their house for a period of time,
Ella Fitzgerald also known as “The first lady of song” and was the first American jazz and song vocalist who inspired the world (LLC 2017). Even though Ella was a great singer, it took her a long time to become successful, and overcome the roadblocks in her life . Her life was greatly impacted by many people in her life.
The musical genre of blues is one that has continued to be a prolific style of music for many years. The blues began as working songs and field hollers sung by African American slave communities, beginning in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. The blues genre has since become a major influence on other developing genres. Most modern genres can be traced back to the genre, originating in the deep south of the United States. The musical style of blues is very distinct, and is identifiable to almost anyone. The many instruments generally used include acoustic guitar, bass, body and voice, piano and harmonica, as well as several others. In terms of production elements, traditional blues music is produced using minimal mics, and room ambiance plays a large role in producing the sound of the music. Some of the first major names in blues music was Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Leadbelly and Robert Johnson; all of whom were major influences on the blues as a musical style.
In the lyrical and heartrending short story Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin tells the tale of two brothers, both having taken a different path to survive, and how these paths have estranged them. One brother, the narrator and a button-down algebra teacher, lives a straight-forward life with a wife and two kids. The other brother, Sonny, is a heroin hooked, jazz crazed, musician who views life in a much different light. During the course of their difficult relationship the narrator, through remembrance of previous death experiences in his life, acceptance of Sonny’s choices , and hearing Sonny express his sorrows and suffering through his music is able to open his heart to the previously unaccepted Sonny and rekindle their fraternal bond.
The central characters in "Sonny's Blues" afford one another a place in which to suffer. The relationships between these brothers and their mother reveal the ways in which family members allow each other moments of weakness in order to access and resolve personal grief. By allowing one another to suffer, the pain becomes easier to bear. They gain a sense of empathy that helps them to face the life ahead of them. The narrator feels "for the first time, how the stones of the road she had walked on must have bruised her feet" (439). It is this feeling of companionship that pushes these characters forward against the trouble.
Sonny’s Blues is a story all about music and what it represents in the lives of different people. It varys from the positive view of Sonny to the negative views of Isabel and her parents. However, the narrator of the story switches from being negative to positive as he becomes more educated. These views cover how many people view music and how it differently impacts
“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...
For Stanley, the blues tell the stories of the African-American community. Some of the stories talk about the harshness of their lives, but they also talk about the good times they had. [People] play the blues to get rid of the blues not to get them." (Lamb, 1). When people play or even listen to the blues, they are letting all of their worries go. They are not worrying about their job, the bills, or their kids. They are just trying to enjoy the moment when the blues are playing. The blues are some people's release from the stresses of their lives.
After reading the short story "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin, I find there are two major themes that Baldwin is trying to convey, suffering and irony. The first theme that he brings out and tries to get the reader to understand is the theme of suffering. The second theme that the author illustrates is the theme of irony.
This verse also shows a conflict between John and his wife. She thinks that she isn’t as perfect as John tells her. She doesn’t believe it when he is complimenting her. I think this woman should feel very happy because there is a man who accepts her for who her is and loves every piece of hers with all of his heart. No matter how bad she feels about herself, no matter what she is going through, this man will only be there for her always. In his eyes, she is beautiful in every single way. “The world is beating you down, I’m around through every mood / You’re my downfall, you’re my muse / My worst distraction, my rhythm and blues / I can’t stop singing, it’s ringing, in my head for you.” She brings him down but also inspires him at the same time. He can’t stop thinking about her. She means everything to him. Whatever the best and the worst, and that’s a truly balanced