Friday, March 5, 2010
Your response required by Tuesday, the 9th.
Write about any aspect of the short story "Sonny's Blues" that piques your interest? Is there anything about the story that troubles you and intrigues you? Discuss it without reservation. This blog is here to facilitate free flow of thoughts and opinions. What have you to say about what you see and observe in this story? Please feel free to question and respond to each other's comments as well.
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I don't really know what to say about it right now. Since we haven't discussed it yet. For now though I think it completely relates to the theme of enslavement. Sonny is enslaved by his addiction and it ultimately high lights the idea that everyone is enslaved to life. To the idea that we have to cope with the hand we've been dealt? I mean I guess that's what I got out of it.
ReplyDeletei thought the whole idea of Sonny ignoring societys exspectationa nd his brothers advice about succes was very important. my friends and I were highly passionate all growing up wether it be in the arts,drama club,improve troup and ecspecially music. many of them have choosen to follw thier dreams like Sonny and choose togo into music as a profession. i took a different route and did what most people do and sought out a major that would be sure to make money. i value there decision that they can have something passionate in a carreer and not just on free time like me. and Sonnys Blues was kind of an isperation.
ReplyDeleteFrom the discussion today in class I can see how sonny’s brother could be the one who is truly enslaved. He is so use to thinking in terms of what society sees as the right way to live your life. Even when I was reading I only thought of sonny as being enslaved because I focused on the obvious drug addict but it never even crossed my mind that sonny’s brother was unhappy with his life till Dr. Pruss pointed out how he progressed from being very unemotional to how he was in the end. Sonny chooses an obviously destructive way to deal with his emotions. But he brother choose to ignore and avoid his emotion which in a way enslaved him.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I thought this story was too long for anyones schedule. But from my reading and today's class discussion, I got a better understanding to what the story is about. Sonny is seen as the "bad brother" and the narrator (Sonny's older brother) is seen a the "good brother" who abides to society's expectations. I also think the older brother is enslaved by society. It seems like he is so into what society thinks of him that he forgets to think about hiself and what he wants. Dr. Pruss mentioned, the Sonny's brother was a transforming character. He went from bwing very secluded and unemotional into a whole different person in the end. Personally, I didn't like the story because of the length, but other than that this story was ok. It was a little hard to comprehend on my part.
ReplyDelete- Tahliah M. Davidson
I appreciate your comments folks! Yes, Sonny defies the mainstream expectations of society unlike his brother who choses a safer path. But think about which one of them is truly "alive" even though for a fleeting moment in their lives. What is the author portraying here? What is the significance of the blues music?
ReplyDeleteI think this is an immensely rich story. It will be interesting and challenging to interpret the underlying multilayered meanings and dimensions that it encompasses.
I found it interesting to realize that the brother, was the center focus of the story. "The good brother" did not have a name, which i realized in class. I believe the brother was nameless because he was not original and was not unique, he was simply "societies norm". Sonny was the troubled brother, but in the end blossomed. Sonny was teh true achiever in this story, not the "good brother". This is interesting because it is not something you normally think about, as the drug addict being more "normal" then a regular guy.
ReplyDeleteI agree the story was rather long. I also agree that Sonny’s brother is the one that is truly enslaved. The story was a bit confusing as it was hard to really interpret who was really being enslaved. When I first read the story I looked at Sonny’s drug addiction and thought that he obviously the one that was enslaved, but after the reading the story again and listing to Monday’s discussion I realized that it is his brother. Sonny goes against society and does what he wants to while, his brother is enslaved by society and does exactly what is expected of him.
ReplyDeleteOne of the things that intrigued me about the story was the idea that your environment ultimately conquers your individuality. Sonny's brother emphasizes how bad Harlem is, and his housing projects. Despite Sonny's strong individuality, he is eventually consumed by drugs and the environment. I think that Sonny's Brother feels trapped in Harlem, and is looking for any way to escape it, which is why Sonny's passion for music doesn't really make sense in his mind.
ReplyDeletei would also like to say that the story was rather long.
ReplyDeleteThe story was a bit confusing for me, but i believe that Sonny's brother was the one that was enslaved.
Because he did what society expected from him rather than doing what he wanted like Sonny.
Sonny is clearly enslaved by his addiction and will have to fight that disease for the rest of his life. It disturbs me that his brother can't support Sonny in what he wants to do and he has to be all negative, that doesn't help Sonny get better. I feel bad for Sonny because he's had to go through so much. I know he chose to do drugs but nobody wants to get addicted, it's a chosen lifestyle at first but it eventually enslaves you and you have no choice but to live with this demon. The brother is not ensalved at all I believe he could quit his job any day and he's just jealous of Sonny because he's doing what he really wants to do and doesn't care if he's part of the society norm. there's nothing wrong with being a norm in society, but if it's not what you want and are miserable like sonny's brother, then you can get out of it. that's a choice, to be norm, you don't have to be. It bugs me that his brother doesn't support him and will try and find every negative aspect of what Sonny's doing. Its like the ultimate sibling rivalry or something. I think this story was definitely interesting.
ReplyDelete-Erin Sawyer
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ReplyDeleteAfter reading Sonny's Blues I thought it related to our theme of enslavement more towards the brother rather than Sonny. I think this because the brother is trying to live in society and is basically enslaved to what he thinks he needs to be in society's eyes. As for Sonny he rebelled against society and decided to do heroin on his own. Since he chose to do heroin I don't think that you can say he is enslaved by anything except maybe himself, no one held him down and made him do the drugs. He chose to live the life he wanted because he wasn't happy with the way society was. But I feel that his brother was enslaved because he became what society expected of everyone to become. Get a job, go to school, and support his family, Sonny decided that he didn't want to go to school and would rather play music which in my eyes I don’ t think that he was enslaved at all.
ReplyDelete~Nicole Treschitta~
After reading Sonny's Blues, I felt as if the older brother was the one enslaved in this story. The brother had be the one to care for his family and provide a life them. Sonny felt as if he did not care about his life. Sonny's brother even tried to help Sonny get his life back on track. Sonny brought himself in that postion with doing drugs and Sonny's brother is enslaved by society and took the role of the man in a modern day family.
ReplyDeleteI think that sonnys brother is definately the one who is enslaved. He is enslaved into thinking of what is expected of him and being a certain way even though it is not what he wants to do. Sonny is more free because he is actually able to do what he wants, like the blues.
ReplyDeleteSonny goes about his life the way he pleases. He doesn't follow everyone else, he is different. His brother on the other hand, does things the way it is expected of him. He has no individuality. Sonny is looked at as the black sheep because he is going his own way. His brother is enslaved because he is following others. He has a job and is working to support his family, while Sonny does his own thing. Sonny was all about his music, he would skip school to play and he didn't need anyone else's support. He knows what he loves and what he wants to do. Sonny is completely free because he is following his rules and no one elses and he doesn't care about how anyone looks at him.
ReplyDelete