Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” and Walker’s “Everyday Use” Analysis Essay (Critical Writing)

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These two short tales, Sonny Blues by James Baldwin and Everyday Use by Alice Walker, demonstrate the complexity of human strife while also depicting the bonds between siblings. They show how siblings can feel love and hate for one another, a shared experience among sibling relationships. Relationships between siblings and educational practices are shaped by the identities of both sets of parents in addition to cultural norms.

Sonny Blues’ plot concentrates on Sonny, a young man who grew accustomed to his friends and society’s drug use, in contrast to his brother, who was a teacher with his own family. The narrative’s main focus was on the family’s relationships, trials, and the never-ending cycle of pain. The story was narrated from the perspective of Sonny’s wealthy brother, who wished Sonny the best. The storyteller is Sonny’s brother, and the setting occurred in a rural region of Harlem, New York, in the 1950s (Baldwin & Kirby, 1957). The expressiveness of the voice was inspired by blues music. The narrator of the narrative, who believed it was his responsibility to care for his younger brother, found himself in a situation where his sibling used music to bring them closer together. The irony was that the narrator believed it was his responsibility to care for his younger sibling. The author wrote with warmth and affection, according to the reader.

The plot progression of Everyday Use uses traditional narrative devices such as flashbacks, foreshadowing, and escalating tension. The story revolved around a central subject centered on resistance, tradition, and heritage. The mother was the story’s narrator, which was told from the first-person point of view. The story took place in a rural part of Georgia in the early 1970s, when African Americans had difficulty finding their cultural identities (Walker, 1973). The voice was told forcefully to transmit their opinions and that they would not be hushed. The irony of the situation was that even though Dee had a limited understanding of what it means to have heritage, she still believed that her family could not fully appreciate the breadth of their past. The narrative is said to have a tone that is reflective yet anxious at the same time.

References

Baldwin, J., & Kirby, G. (1957). Sonny’s blues (pp. 175-206). Klett.

Walker, A. (1973). Everyday use. Rutgers University Press.

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IvyPanda. 2023. "Baldwin's "Sonny’s Blues" and Walker's "Everyday Use" Analysis." August 16, 2023. https://ivypanda.com/essays/baldwins-sonny-blues-and-walkers-everyday-use-analysis/.

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