Great literary fictional writers such as James Baldwin, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Bernard Malamud are able to use their experiences and backgrounds to advance the meanings of their works through literary elements such as characterization and theme. James Baldwin, author of “Sonny’s Blues,” is regarded as a highly insightful writer, with many works that provide an “unflinching look at the black experience in America” (Biography.com Editors par. 12). Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, to a single mother in Harlem, New York, which is the same setting of his short story, “Sonny’s Blues.” In this work, Baldwin uses characterization, direct and indirect, to allow the reader to understand the struggles placed on different individuals in a community
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The narrator, Sonny’s brother, offers up his own characterization indirectly; through him, the reader is introduced to the community and life that he and Sonny have lived. The reader can infer that the narrator has risen above most men in his community; he has a wife, two children, and a steady job. The narrator tells a story in which his Mother, a very saint-like figure in his life, is dying, and she wants him to look after Sonny. This gives the reader insight to why the narrator is constantly taking Sonny in, only to become frustrated with him once again. The narrator also introduces Sonny to the readers. Sonny is 7 years younger than his brother, and he struggles with the burdens of race and not being able to escape Harlem. In the story, he is initially arrested for heroin usage. Ultimately, Sonny is saved by music, which originally drove him to his …show more content…
F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of “Babylon revisited,” uses his own life to illustrate themes to his readers. Fitzgerald uses themes of alcoholism, love, mental illness, money, and class that correlate with his own life; he was a struggling alcoholic who “lived affluently in the 1920’s with his wife, Zelda, who struggled with mental illness” (Johnson & Arp 200). The Fitzgeralds spent much of the 20’s in Paris, the setting of the short story, “Babylon Revisited.” The story depicts a recovering alcoholic, Charlie, whose marriage has failed and ex-wife has passed. He has returned to his old town for his daughter, Honoria, to live with him. Upon his return, he struggles with reminders from the past. The two main themes, the inescapability of the past and the purity of paternal love, evoke a feelings of sympathy for Charlie in the reader. No matter how hard he tries, Charlie is unable to escape the past, and it continues to separate him from what he ultimately wants, which is to take Honoria home. The reader also witnesses the impurity of any love besides the love between a parent and a
The narrator, Sonny’s brother, offers up his own characterization indirectly; through him, the reader is introduced to the community and life that he and Sonny have lived. The reader can infer that the narrator has risen above most men in his community; he has a wife, two children, and a steady job. The narrator tells a story in which his Mother, a very saint-like figure in his life, is dying, and she wants him to look after Sonny. This gives the reader insight to why the narrator is constantly taking Sonny in, only to become frustrated with him once again. The narrator also introduces Sonny to the readers. Sonny is 7 years younger than his brother, and he struggles with the burdens of race and not being able to escape Harlem. In the story, he is initially arrested for heroin usage. Ultimately, Sonny is saved by music, which originally drove him to his …show more content…
F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of “Babylon revisited,” uses his own life to illustrate themes to his readers. Fitzgerald uses themes of alcoholism, love, mental illness, money, and class that correlate with his own life; he was a struggling alcoholic who “lived affluently in the 1920’s with his wife, Zelda, who struggled with mental illness” (Johnson & Arp 200). The Fitzgeralds spent much of the 20’s in Paris, the setting of the short story, “Babylon Revisited.” The story depicts a recovering alcoholic, Charlie, whose marriage has failed and ex-wife has passed. He has returned to his old town for his daughter, Honoria, to live with him. Upon his return, he struggles with reminders from the past. The two main themes, the inescapability of the past and the purity of paternal love, evoke a feelings of sympathy for Charlie in the reader. No matter how hard he tries, Charlie is unable to escape the past, and it continues to separate him from what he ultimately wants, which is to take Honoria home. The reader also witnesses the impurity of any love besides the love between a parent and a