¶ … African-American Literature -- Compare and Contrast
The two stories selected for this first comparison, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl by Harriet Jacobs and the short letter from Jourdon Anderson, "To My Old Master," are both extremely touching, honest, enlightening and historically precious pieces of literature.
To begin with, Anderson's letter to Colonel P.H. Anderson reveals a number of key things about the life of a male slave during the Civil War. It comes as an almost shocking irony when Jourdon writes to a man who kept him as a slave and tried to kill him. The reader knows that Jourdon is a practicing Christian even before he writes that he would be interested in coming back to work for the colonel. "Although you shot at me twice before I left you, I did not want to hear of your being hurt, and am glad you are still living…" But the reader also knows that the former slave is trying to be compensated for the years of hard labor he put in for free.
Think about that for a moment. Here's a slave master who tried to kill Jourdon as he ran away, and here is his former slave hoping he is doing okay. Jourdon goes on to ask what kind of wages the colonel would offer if Jourdon were to return. Again, the reader knows that Jourdon is a Christian, and Jourdon does report in the second paragraph that he attends church on a regular basis, but clearly he believes in the Christian doctrine because it is obvious he has at least partially forgiven the colonel: "Many darkeys would have been proud, as I used to be, to call you master," he writes. Or is it a case that Jourdon just would like to be paid for the hard work he put in all those years? Christian attitude or not, this is a powerful letter, packed with
The following quotation, which appears in an annotated bibliography and is in reference to an article by Susan Robbins entitled "Anguish and Anger" that appeared in the Virginia English Bulletin in 1986, demonstrates this fact. Compares James Joyce's "Araby" and James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" in relation to the theme, "Anger and anguish are the fires that burn away innocence…" (59). Sonny gains his freedom from anger and anguish through his
African-American Duality of Identity: Literary Criticism of the short story "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin James Baldwin's face, with its piercing eyes and craggy forehead, is a frequently depicted image upon anthologies and volumes of African-American literature and criticism, particularly post-colonial criticism that emphasizes the alienated sense of self and national identity frequently experienced by Blacks in America during the 1960's when Baldwin wrote some of his greatest works, including the short
Sonny's Outline James Baldwin. "Sonny's Blues." Junky. Keith Richards. Life. Question Under Investigation: What is the relationship between music and drugs in James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" and why does the character of Sonny need the two things? James Baldwin utilizes the concepts of music and drugs in a similar way, as a means by which the character of Sonny can escape from his real life which he find intolerable, as indicated in the very title
Music and Understanding in Sonny�s BluesSorrow, suffering, loss, and understanding are some of the main themes in James Baldwin�s �Sonny�s Blues��but another theme worth exploring is the power of music to do something to the soul that words cannot do. The title of the short story makes references to Sonny�s blues�as in his depression�and his blues, as in his music. Therefore, it is important to consider his music as part
His never-ending desire for Judy Green represents the feeling of sorrow, incompleteness, and pessimism that is often a major staple of later modernist writers in American literature. In this, Fitzgerald shows how not even success in achieving the American Dream can guarantee a happy ending, and in the end suffering is always present even in all rings of American society. Postmodernism was born out of this complex environment. James Baldwin's "Sonny's
Sonny's Blues," by James Baldwin, "The Sorrow Songs," by W.E.B. Du Bois, and "Am I Blue," by Alice Walker. Specifically, it will discuss the use of the blues in all three works, and how music influences each story. In this paper I will argue that music, specifically the blues, play an important and valuable role in supporting the characters and making the stories more believable and moving. Music has
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