Literature is the form of art that allows people to reflect on the phenomena of the objective reality. People can also describe the variety of family relations in literature. Examples of literary works that address the topic of complex family relations are the stories titled “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and “Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter” by Chitra Banerjee. The comparative analysis of the two levels can be started from the same narration manner, as “Sonny’s Blues” is a first-person narration. At the same time, “Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter” is delivered in the third person. This provides for a different perception of the stories told.
In more detail, the stories do not display any apparent antagonists and are fully protagonists in their nature. In “Sonny’s Blues,” the narrator, i. e. Sonny’s brother and Sonny himself are protagonists of the story. They are connected by tender feelings and respect towards each other as towards brothers. Their communication illustrates their attitudes toward each other: “Do you mind if we have the driver drive alongside the park? on the west side – I haven’t seen the city in so long” (Klotz and Abcarian, 2006, p. 539). In “Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter,” Mrs. Dutta is considered the protagonist of the story. At the same time, her children can be referred to as antagonists because the story is focused on the lack of understanding between Mrs. Dutta and her children.
Tones of the narration and the overall style of the stories affect the reader’s impressions considerably. For example, the difference in tones in “Sonny’s Blues” and “Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter” makes the reader perceive the former story positively and the latter negatively. Thus, as “Sonny’s Blues” can be characterized by lots of warm words said by the brothers to each other, the story as a whole is perceived as a description of positively developing sibling relationships when Sonny’s brother writes to Sonny: “You don’t know how much I needed to hear from you” (Klotz and Abcarian, 2006, p. 538). On the other hand, in “Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter,” the tone of the story is much darker, creating a negative and somewhat depressing effect on the reader. Although presented as a story of a woman in American society, “Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter” makes an impression of the story about a lonely woman who has nobody to talk with and nobody to understand her in this world.
In this, the effect of the plot on the stories as such can be observed. “Sonny’s Blues” describes the relations of two brothers who meet after a long time without seeing each other. They are happy to meet again, and an invisible bond seems to preserve their loving feelings toward each other. In “Mrs. Dutta Writes a Letter,” the plot is rather dramatic, providing a pessimistic perception of the story.
Overall, the two stories are similar in their reference to family relations but different in how they describe these relations and see their value to human beings.
Works Cited
Klotz, Marvin and Richard Abcarian. Literature: the human experience. Shorter ninth edition, Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2006.