Please post your working essay concept. Please do not create a "thesis," yet. I would also revisit your blog responses; there are brilliant insights there!
Compose a fat paragraph, detailing your insights on the topic. What do you want to write about? Which prompt(s) will help you achieve your objective? What point(s) do you hope to make or explore? Which short stories will you use? How will you implement the documentary? What other films, novels, could help you in your quest? Remember, this is a working draft, so do not hold back.
At this juncture, do not worry about commenting on other's ideas in the blog space. We will have time to do that as a class on Thursday.
I look forward to your responses.
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Overview : As we discussed, Toni Morrison employs stream of consciousness in her novel to show how our memories trigger emotions that impact... -
Directions : 1) Please read the following "Recitatif" by Toni Morrison. 2) Take notes . Read slowly, and try to visualize ... -
Directions : Revisit A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen. View the film below if you would like another full review. For this blog post, s...
The 2012 prompt:
ReplyDeleteMany of the texts we’ve dealt with covered the issue that racism, discrimination, and its underlying problem within society. On a tangible level, the physical events are covered, but the texts also manage to describe the innate predisposition towards these actions. Psychologically, we are creatures of habit. Following in our ancestor’s footsteps, we continue their habits as means of self sustenance and a feeling of safety and awareness. When these primal aspects of life are questioned, conflict typically arises. The issue of racism at the time caused many people a great deal of distress on both sides. The slave owners’ lives relied on the labour and mental attribution of slaves to be like machines in a factory. Trying to remove this from them, and making them respect them as people meant going out of personal comfort and sacrificing what they knew. Though not justification, racism is not as simple as discussing the tragic events which occurred historically, but also the mindsets of both sides and societal integration surrounding this.
I want to do something with “Going to Meet the Man” and really analyze Jesse and why he became the way he is. I would like to touch upon how racism is taught and how the story really does an excellent job showing this to readers, so I want to do the prompt from 1999 that talks about a character who is in the middle of a conflict between two different influences. In “Going to Meet the Man” Jesse is caught between his human instinct that leaves him horrified at the sight of another person being lynched, and the lessons taught to him by his parents and other white authority figures. Examples could include Jesse having a black friend, feeling sickened when he first sees what is going on at the lynching, and other evidence of his innocence, and then, later on, use examples from his adulthood like him raping black women, killing black men and other ways of abusing his position as a police officer, etc. Mention the way his parents act during the lynching and how that is the start of Jesse’s views changing towards race. Take note of the word choice used by Baldwin specifically while Jesse is witnessing the lynching (I believe Baldwin describes how the way Jesse felt during the lynching subtly began to change from fearful and disgusted to more comfortable and even happy). Analyze how the racism that had been taught to Jesse conflicted with his uncorrupted instincts and ultimately led to Jesse becoming a person just as racist as his parents were despite his initial innocence during his early childhood.
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ReplyDeletePrompt 2012:
In my essay, I want to discuss how characters’ surroundings have a profound effect not only on their personalities and behaviors, but also their deepset morals and values. The work we have read in class that stood out to me concerning this plot is “Going to Meet the Man”. As a child, Jesse is seen as having a black friend and not fully comprehending his surroundings or the values of the society he is a part of. It is not until he is thrown into the lynching of a slave that he has an awakening; rather than being horrified and disturbed by the events he is witnessing, Jesse is more so fascinated and excited by them. This reaction is quite literally due to his culture; his parents and their friends are egging on the castration and jeering on the murder of an innocent black man. Had the reactions of the people in his culture been different, Jesse’s resulting behavior and morals certainly would be different as well. Connecting this idea of the effect of surroundings to James Baldwin himself, we see in the documentary just how literally his environment changed his life. When he was living in America, he constantly felt the pressures of racism and segregation on his very being, but when he spent time in Paris, this pressure had suddenly vanished and he had the ability to truly focus on his craft and live his life. In terms of “Recitatif” the entire course of the short story changes with the setting; when the girls are in the orphanage, they are close friends and have similar values and behaviors; when they are grown adults, their cultures and environments quite literally put them on opposite sides, as we see in the debate over desegregation in schools.
I chose to work on the topic of 1976 for my essay. The prompt was about how conflict arises when an individual opposed the majority of the population. I thought that this theme very accurately described James Baldwin and his experiences with fighting for equality for black people. The main source that I would like to use for the paper is I Am Not Your Negro, because is explicitly details the experiences and hardships that Baldwin faced throughout his fight for equality. A specific scene that stood out to me while watching the film that I think could be very beneficial for the essay is the interview with the professor from Yale. There is a classic example of James Baldwin opposing the majority of the society. People who are at home home watching, are most likely going to side with the white professor from a very prestigious school, rather than a black man who is an activist. Another example from the film that I can use is how James Baldwin talked about his friends Martin Luther King Jr, and Malcolm X. These were two men who fought for the same beliefs that Baldwin did, but suffered very different consequences. It is important that even though he did not get killed, he still suffered, and his confidence suffered, after he saw that people so close to him could really experience. A different piece that still has strong examples is Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin. In this story it is about a fictional character who is addicted to heroine. Sonny, and Sonny’s brother who is the narrator both face adversity in their own ways. Living in Harlem, and struggling with heroin makes the characters face their society as an outcast, rather than part of.
ReplyDeleteI want to write about the 2010 and 1977 prompts:
ReplyDelete2010. Form B. “You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you.”
—Sonsyrea Tate
1977. In some novels and plays certain parallel or recurring events prove to be significant
If America is home to millions, and white supremacy defines American culture, it is nearly impossible, to “leave” this culture, and ignoring its presence does nothing to get rid of it . How does white supremacy play into American culture and how does ignoring it allow someone to play into the standards of white supremacy? Willful ignorance is harmful on its own, and is a deep rooted issue in the cycle of white supremacy. It has to be accepted that the history of America is that which makes up the country’s present and will continue to if it is ignored. I also want to look at how this idea of home and returning to a common point plays into “Sonny’s Blues” and “Recitatif.” In these works I pictured the 2 opposing characters of moving in a diamond shape: starting from a common point, diverging from this path and then returning at the end, even if just for the briefest time. This holds the fact that while you may stray from an original point, the past is always behind you and always comes back for consideration. History can’t be ignored. The past actions of the two women never leave them. The history and present are intertwined and both deal with class and race differences. Though the way you read their stories differs depending on how you see them, they each return to a common point in their shared past. What is the significance of the common point? If all of American history can be traced back to white supremacy, at what point will the diamond path come to this common point and finally be understood or acknowledged? Along the outermost edges of this path is where the least understanding is, so I want to know what point America is at now, looking at Baldwin’s documentary and the contrast of past and present. I also want to look at how in “Sonny’s Blues” and “Recitatif,” the two contrasting characters reach some understanding or connection, whether anything is fully resolved, and compare this to America as a whole. Baldwin talks about the deterioration of America, specifically the loss of humanity and the inability of the white majority to view black people as human. I want to look at this idea of humanity more as well, and how humanity is dealt with in the two stories. There are things I want to remember when writing this essay as it covers such a broad topic. In each story, it is not just the problem of one person, but both have to be involved in understanding. Also, neither story is directly a situation of oppressor and oppressed, so it will be important to make sure this dynamic is understood when translated between these stories to American society (which is more so about oppression). With America it is a situation of millions of people and the essay will be comparing it to stories of only two people. It is not a direct translation of themes and this shouldn’t be confused within the essay. “Sonny's Blues” isn’t blatantly about racism between the two characters but how does it look at racism and how does it offer insights about the relationships between human beings? It will be important to communicate that while the stories ask the two characters to solve a problem equally, on the topic of American society, black people are not responsible to save the humanity of white people. Baldwin’s quote, “It is a problem of looking at your life, being responsible for it, and then beginning to change it” becomes important in this explanation. I want to dive deeper into the issues of American culture and how dualities and relationships are presented within the stories, all moving back to a common point, or “home.” I also want to explore the process of acknowledging home and what happens from the beginning of this process to the end.
The prompts from 1968 and 2002 seem eons apart, and yet, both are driving at the same point, but from different perspectives – how does “misconception” and “ambiguity” help to shape a story. In the earlier prompt, the writer is being asked to step into the shoes of the character whose self-awareness is somehow muddled or confused. Toni Morrison’s characters in Recitatif are the embodiment of that “misconception.” In this story, societal mores and preconceived notions are the backdrop that continually morph the reader’s understanding and perception of the main characters, but at a closer glance, Morrison’s characters are also perplexed by these shifting social values that create their own illusion of a contrived reality. The later prompt also picks at this conundrum, and James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues is a twist on Morrison’s dilemma. In Sonny’s Blues, societal mores and preconceived notions are also the backdrop and play a critical role in the story. However, in this instance, these standards initially box the reader into drawing a what might be seen as a reasonable conclusion as to the value of the main character while challenging the reader to break out of that box creating a moral predicament.
ReplyDeleteI think I will use 2012 to talk about how what you are surrounded by influences you. I would use “the power of a single story”, “recitatif”, and the Baldwin documentary. The power of a single story talks about how so many things can be assumed but it is not the truth and does not represent every individual. I will use Recitatif as an example of that since, they never said who was black and who was white in the story so it made you assume but also confused. In addition, I think it's interesting to follow people from when they’re young to when they grow up. They start off really similar and as friends but then as they grow up and apart from each other, they change a lot and in the end, they don’t even recognize each other. When the split ways, they were influenced by their families and who/where they were around. The two mothers were really different so they had different beliefs and customs. When one of them went to church, the kid was disappointed with their mother and wanted to slap them. In the video with Baldwin, he uses Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Medgar Evers to explain the impact of one single story. Everyone has an idea in their mind that black people are lesser so they treat them differently but that is not the case. The documentary takes you through how they are treated and why there needs to be change.
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ReplyDeleteI want to explore a mixture of prompts 1970 and 2010`. I want to explain how the society affects the character living in it and relating it to the quote “You can leave home all you want, but home will never leave you.” I see this “home” as the surrounding environment you grew up with , that as you grew up and you formed ideas and opinions it was the society you lived in that formed you and therefore is a part of you. Racist ideas are formed in racist societies. The uncomfortable feeling of talking about racism creates confusion and breeds these ideas, sometimes to the point that the offenders may not realize just how racist they are because it becomes the norm.This idea of the home not leaving you, because society’s ideas are always in the back of your mind and influence actions subconsciously. You are a product of your environment. This relates to Jesse in “Going to Meet the Man” where he is taught these ideas, therefore being shaped by the thoughts and actions of those around him. I also want to explore the ideas of "Recitatif" and the surrounding ideas of the time periods.I will look at the viewpoints of both of the girls and the effect that society had on them. For example their different environments through the time periods of children in the orphanage, the diner encounter, and the school issue. Although they are the same people, the people they are surrounded with as well as their ideas and the societal pressures of the time changes the actions of the girls.
The prompt from 1968 really intrigued me:
ReplyDeleteIn many plays, a character has a misconception of himself or his world. Destroying or perpetuating this illusion contributes to a central theme of the play. Choose a play with a major character to whom this statement applies and write an essay in which you consider the following points: what the character’s illusion is and how it differs from reality as presented in the play and how the destruction or perpetuation of the illusion develops a theme of the play.
While I do like this prompt there are a few things that I would want to edit: The act of not destroying the illusion could be the central theme of the work, rather than destroying it: This idea is present within Recitatif as answers are never given about which girl is black/white, and what happened to Maggie in the end. Furthermore, regarding the poem read in class, it could be read as the teacher ignorantly trying to include the black student while having good intentions OR purposefully embarrassing them in front of the class. This adjusted prompt combined with
“2002. Morally ambiguous characters -- characters whose behavior discourages readers from identifying them as purely evil or purely good -- are at the heart of many works of literature. Choose a novel or play in which a morally ambiguous character plays a pivotal role. Then write an essay in which you explain how the character can be viewed as morally ambiguous and why his or her moral ambiguity is significant to the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.”
Unknown and unexplained intentions can often define the perception of a character within works such as those prior explained and even in the James Baldwin documentary, which made the comparison of MLK and Malcom X. Even people with ultimately the same goals can be perceived entirely differently by other people, and even each other. With topics as sensitive as race it’s interesting to view what an author or creator’s intention can be by leaving endings unknown or ambiguous.
Using the works we analyzed in class, I believe I would be successful in writing the 2012 prompt, which discusses the influence of surroundings on an individual. Often times an individual falls into the mob mentality in a society as a result of the opinions of the people that influenced them. In the documentary, Baldwin elaborates on the white man’s prejudice towards Africans, and demonstrates how racism developed as a result of a single story of the black population. Furthermore, Recitatif also focuses on how surroundings influence an individual, as the narrator's thoughts on Maggie are affected after listening to the thoughts of her friend. Also, there are many novels that discuss the idea of mob mentality such as To Kill of Mockingbird, where the town citizens hold the same beliefs as one another. Finally, both the short stories by James Baldwin demonstrate the idea of racism and how it can be caused by mob mentality.
ReplyDelete1999:
ReplyDeleteThis prompt stood out to me because it was about the the struggle of the inner protagonist’s mind and not the external factors of it. How they decide to sacrifice one thing over the other, and what they decide is more important or what the “right” choice is. There are so many films and books that have a clear morally correct answer but I feel as though we often overlook the inner battle during the decisions that don’t necessarily have an easy “right” answer. The decisions that may leave us thinking, “Did I do the right thing?”. In Sonny’s Blues the narrator has to distinguish if he wants to keep his family’s promises or allow his brother to focus on music and his love. As well Sonny himself has to make a clear decision between chasing after his dream to become a musician or abiding to his older brother who wants him to do something more sustainable. There is a prominent internal struggle between both of the brothers who had two independent but connected problems which were eventually resolved with communication and shared perspectives. I hope to cover the importance of an open mind when trying to resolve the internal conflict, that other people’s perspectives may lend a hand in their resolution. This can connect to the other short stories on how much a different person’s point of view can impact oneself, whether that be positively or negatively. In the documentary “I am not your Negro”, the inner struggle of James Baldwin consist of him either; giving up his home in America for the freedom of writing without any racial tension and spending all of his money in the process for France or staying in America where he and his writing will be chastised.
I think I’d like to explore the idea of home within “Going to Meet the Man,” but not from the narrator’s point of view as an adult. Rather, I would focus on his understanding of “home” as a child and contrast that with the significance of “home” in the life of his black friend. This friend leaves home with his family in an attempt to escape society’s inevitable act, but eventually is subjected to brutality. As a child, the narrator is young and impressionable, and this experience of realizing which group he identifies with, or even what space society deems it appropriate for him to occupy influences his view of the world and his relationship with those of color. There is a separation in the community between African Americans and whites, and what individuals view to be their home is a subconscious acknowledgement of that. The nuances of separation certainly exist even when living space is shared. The whole idea of “going” to meet a black man, of making it a picnic and an excursion implies that the power is with whites and that people of color are objectified for the purpose of amusement. When a group is expropriated, or excluded from a society, they are deemed unnecessary to the functioning of that “home” in which they once had a role. This is part of what Baldwin conveys when he describes the community becoming dominated by a white population. But this is such a part of our culture that he says, “what one does realize is that when you try to stand up and look the world in the face like you had a right to be here, you have attacked the entire power structure of the western world.”
ReplyDeleteUsing the basis of the ideas for the 1995 prompt, with the values of a culture or a society, I plan to focus on the music side of things along with connecting it to the short stories, “Going To Meet the Man”, “Sonny’s Blues” and probably others too. I would like to focus on music for specific topics and how people use it to their advantage to get a message across (the power of music). I believe that music is a universal truth, because no matter what language it’s in or the genre of the music you can gain an understanding of the sentiment of the song. When you listen to an italian opera song, you can feel the emotion in the voice of the singer and in the lyrics even though you can’t understand them which is similar to us reading the Petrarch sonnets in Italian. When looking at them we can see that the words would rhyme and when we read it, or listen to someone read it, we can hear how beautiful the words sound and can feel something without even understanding what they’re saying. This feeling is translated to the listener due to the emotion of what they’re trying to say, many musicians make songs specifically to get a message across. This can be understood through feeling or direct meaning of the words. A good example of a song like this would be the very popular Logic song “1-800-273-8255”, which is full of deep emotion along with touching on the topics of suicide and depression featuring the phone number for the national suicide hotline as the name of the song. Other songs focus specifically on topics like race as discussed in our short stories and readings. There are many modern examples of this happening as well, personally I thought of the music video for “Look At Me!” by XXXTentacion, due to the visual content. This music video which features the stories of black people suffering horrific tragedies and acts of racism, such as recreations of what happened to Emmett Till and graphic imagery of people hanging and even real footage of people being attacked. This is a good example of people getting a specific message in their songs, and how someone could use their platform to their advantage. Even in the documentary “I Am Not Your Negro” music is used to the director’s advantage, placing specific songs when showing specific events in order to make you feel and/or think something.
ReplyDeleteFor my essay I will be using the prompt from 2012. I want to discuss how our culture, where we come from, and who we surround ourselves with can influence our beliefs. Specifically, I want to look at Recitatif and how Twyla and Roberta’s values and ideals change with their surroundings. I will start the essay looking at their time in the orphanage and how being isolated from the race issues in the outside world helped them become friends. I will then compare their innocence with when their mothers came to visit them and maybe the issues concerning Maggie. Throughout the rest of my essay I will continue to look at how their experiences in the real world changed them and how society’s views about race ultimately sabotaged their friendship. I want to discuss specific examples such as when Twyla and Roberta saw each other in the diner for the first time since their days in the orphanage, and how Roberta ignored Twyla because one of them was black and one was white. Another important event was when Roberta and Twyla were surrounded by the other protesters and told each other “I thought you were different,” verses how friendly they were with each other when it was just the two of them getting coffee. I also hope to reference details from the James Baldwin documentary to relate these points to real events. The overall point that I want to get across is that racism is a cycle and how its consequences can influence people indirectly. We let society and its standards shape who we are friends with or who we associate ourselves with and I want to use Recitatif to examine that further.
ReplyDelete2012. “And, after all, our surroundings influence our lives and characters as much as fate, destiny or any supernatural agency.” Pauline Hopkins, Contending Forces
ReplyDeleteChoose a novel or play in which cultural, physical, or geographical surroundings shape psychological or moral traits in a character. Then write a well-organized essay in which you analyze how surroundings affect this character and illuminate the meaning of the work as a whole.
One thing that was in forefront of my mind well grappling with the race issues throughout the works we focused on by James Baldwin and Toni Morrison, especially Going to Meet the Man, was the idea that racism is learned. No one is born racist or prejudice it is something we pick up from our surroundings, whether that is the people around us, the geographical area we come from, or one’s personal struggles/experiences. I definitely agree with Pauline Hopkins that our surroundings influence our lives and actions just as much as any other outside source. The main character in going to meet the man, Jesse, is a cookie cutter example to illuminate this idea. The shifting perspective of time in the piece allows us to understand the main characters inner battle over his complex relationship with those of the African American race. As his adult self claims to hate them more than anything, yet fantasizes over getting to explore sexually with a black woman. Readers see his young self cruelly stripped of his innocence when a ‘picnic’ turns into a lesson on hate. Baldwin carefully paints this image of Jesse where readers are both repulsed by his extreme prejudice and hateful ideals yet makes readers feel sympathy towards the character because we see his full journey. We know this evil is more confusion and imitation rather than hate. Baldwin introduced this idea of false hatred in his documentary, I am Not Your Negro, he explains the complex relationship between the opposing races in a way that shows his mature understanding of human nature, “white people hate out of fear, blacks hate out of anger”. Although readers may want to we cannot hate or blame Jesse as he is a mere product of his environment and experiences.
I think in my essay I would like to discuss how predominantly African American neighborhoods and cities differ in terms of crime rate and socioeconomic status but not because they are black but because of their surroundings and lack of resources. Baldwin touched upon this in the documentary when he was on the talk show, talking about how he had seen the schools his children attended vs. the schools the white children attended. This was an important theme in the 1940’s too and was very evident in Maya Angelou’s short story “Graduation” where she talks about how much better the white schools facilities are compared to the African American schools. This issue actually goes all the way back to the Plessy vs. Ferguson in the 1890’s which ruled that segregated schools were ok as long as they were equal but that they never truly were equal and states did not follow that rule. So these schools that lack the proper funding and resources are not fully preparing the black children for higher education (line in Maya Angelou’s piece would fit nicely with this point) and so it could be then why they fall back into poverty later in life. I think the prompt from 2012 would be the best: And, after all, our surroundings influence our lives and characters as much as fate, destiny or any supernatural agency.” Pauline Hopkins, Contending Forces, Choose a novel or play in which cultural, physical, or geographical surroundings shape psychological or moral traits in a character.”
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ReplyDelete1988: Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or psychological, for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-organized essay, describe how the author manages to give the internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.
ReplyDeleteI’m drawn to the 1988 prompt because I feel like I can deal with it from multiple angles, including many different examples from multiple works. I can connect this to Jesse in “Going to Meet the Man” and how as a child his view of the world was quickly alteracted after he saw how his parents reacted to the event. I could also connect this to Twyla and Roberta’s opposing perspectives about Maggie and how they both remember the event differently. Roberta swore she was black and that they kicked her, but Twyla never remembered her that way nor the event involving them. It could be interpreted that Roberta was trying to show Twyla she wasn’t all high and mighty because she kicked a black girl, as if the color of her skin makes the situation better or worse rather than the fact that someone beat Maggie. This situation is the link that connects their childhoods to their current selves. Although the reader is unsure of who is black and who is white, what the reader can interpret is that they grew farther and farther apart the more the world influenced their mindsets. This prompt can also relate to Baldwin’s school teacher and how she showed him that white people are not evil because of the color of their skin, it is the world around them that affects the way they view the world, specifically their parents. Baldwin had this belief that no one is born evil, and people need to understand that in order to help resolve the issue of race.
The 2012 prompt really intrigues me because of how it brings to light the influences of our surroundings. We can all be considered products of our environment and we truly do influence each other on a daily basis. In my Anthropology class we discuss how our culture and different cultural backgrounds play a role in how people perceive things. After reading Recitatif and seeing how two girls from very different backgrounds can have a similar story, it became clear to me how the events that happen in our lives connect us with the people who will help us get through it. In my essay, I will talk about how although Twyla and Roberta grew up with similar influences and struggles, their environments were very different as they became older. Roberta’s influences changed drastically from when she was younger because of the environment she was exposed to. Twyla remained around a similar community after her childhood so when the two women met again they were in very different places from where they once were. I also want to talk about how the influences in our own lives have the ability to change us. Who we surround ourselves with and who we become can be directly correlated to our culture and community in which we live in.
ReplyDeleteI think I kind of want to write about the kind of the graphicness and bluntness about the work of Baldwin and maybe even Toni Morrison and what kind of purpose that serves. There’s a reason why these pieces of writing are so graphic, blunt, and uncomfortable -- and I want to really be able to explore that. The prompt that would probably help me the most would be the fifth one but instead of focusing on “what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim” I think maybe I could focus more on WHY we as the readers really need to be confronted with this cruelty. There are a lot of pieces of work that focus on race by Black authors that aren’t as descriptive or confrontational, but why do we need this, why is it more effective? We get uncomfortable talking about stuff like rape, perversion, fetisitation of Black women and descriptive noose scenes ALL of which Baldwin implements in his work. I’d definitely be able to easily implement “Going to Meet the Man” as well as the documentary. But definitely explore why Black authors have to make white people, and NBPOC uncomfortable in order to reach progression.
ReplyDelete2015. In literary works, cruelty often functions as a crucial motivation or a major social or political factor. Select a novel, play, or epic poem in which acts of cruelty are important to the theme. Then write a well-developed essay analyzing how cruelty functions in the work as a whole and what the cruelty reveals about the perpetrator and/or victim.
DeleteI plan to use the prompt from 2010. In it, it asks you to analyze the importance of home to a character and the reasons for its influence. I will use “Sonny’s Blues” and I Am Not Your Negro to show how the city of Harlem has affected the characters. I will analyze both how other people view Harlem and how the characters themselves view Harlem. I will also use I Am Not Your Negro to talk about how James Baldwin felt when he went to France and then returned to the United States. I will analyze why his everyday life was so much easier outside of the U.S. One part of the prompt that specifically stood out to me was when it said, “Choose a novel or play in which a central character leaves home yet finds that home remains significant.” I think this connects very well to the stories we have read since we have discussed in class how the place you are from doesn’t just disappear once you leave that location. It stays with you for a majority of your life and impacts how you act and how you are perceived by others.
ReplyDeleteI chose to do the 1970 prompt, with a focus on how media/the arts views the individual. I've written about this before in a blog post and thought it was interesting, especially with the examples "I Am Not Your Negro" had presented. I'm planning on making comparisons to modern TV shows and movies and those that were shown in the documentary, such as "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner." Though some filmmakers/directors think they're doing justice by having African American actors starring in their works, they may be doing the opposite by depicting them as racial stereotypes. I'm also going to include some African American peoples' reactions on black characters in media and if they feel as though they are contradicting or falling into stereotypes.
ReplyDeleteJill Schuck
I have a tendency to zone out in health class. Half the subjects are common sense, and the rest are just too uncomfortable, so I zone out. However, I did have one takeaway from junior-year health: don’t become a heroin addict. The school had even brought in a former heroin addict and bank robber to make absolutely clear that a heroin addict is just about the worst thing you can become. On the surface, this would make Sonny, from Sonny’s Blues a bad person. Long term dealer and addict plus caught in a crack-house equals bad person; it’s easier than real math. That equation is simple, but it does not account for everything we learn about Sonny after page six. We see how his setting and ambitions lead him down such a dark path even if his intentions never originated from a place of weakness or malice. His vices can certainly be forgiven, but not ignored. Looking back on Sonny’s early life it was clear he felt trapped. Trapped by school, by his brother, by Harlem, and even by his race. Music was his ticket out. If he could play well enough it would let him support himself, enough to move out of Halem, all while could sort out his emotions about his race with music. These dreams were crushed at every turn. When he first told his brother of his dreams, he was told to stay put at his in-laws, where all his playing never took him away from the old piano in their living room. He devoted his life to it, but never made any progress, and so he needed help. Help with opening his mind to better playing, with getting out, even if his body doesn’t, and with just getting by. He tried so hard, to get by with the music alone, then sober up, and eventually reconnect with his brother. For the life Sonny lived he didn’t do poorly, he just did bad. This struggle was central to the piece as a whole. Sonny’s Blues explores the struggles and coping that comes inherent with the disadvantages forced upon african americans at birth. It gives people a sympathetic and realistic view of people so easily dismissed as bad, or lazy, or evil.
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