ipl-logo

How Does Langston Hughes Use 'The Blues'?

535 Words3 Pages

8. Find examples of two authors or poets that have used “The Blues” or references to “The Blues” in their literature. Name the author and the title of their literary work.
Poet Langston Hughes is considered a Blues poet. An excellent example of one of his poems that references "The Blues" is the title poem of his first book, The Weary Blues. Another example of a poem that references "The Blues" is Riverbank Blues, by Sterling A. Brown.
9. Plan a week long “Blues” vacation. This vacation will be taken by car, so consider driving time. What cities and clubs will you visit so you can submerge yourself in “The Blues”? You should also consider visiting sites (houses, museums) where Blues artists are recognized.
To start my week long "Blues" …show more content…

With most of my Sunday being taken up by driving time, I would settle in to my room at The Holiday Inn, in downtown Memphis. After getting settled, I would grab some BBQ for dinner at Blues City Cafe. With a full belly after a long day of driving, I'm assuming at this point I'll head back to the hotel to get some rest, but who knows maybe I'd stay out for a couple drinks and some tunes at The Blues City Band Box. The next morning I would head out to The Blues Hall of Fame, where I would hope to gain knowledge about some of the greatest Blues musicians and music in general. That evening I would hit up Handy Park, to listen to music that would give me a feel for the history of the Blues. On Tuesday, I'd give myself some free time to look around visiting various attractions in the community and walking to Livett Shell, a popular avenue in 1928 where music and festivals are still held today. I would end the night by checking out another Blues club, Buccaneer Lounge. After getting well rested, I would start my day Wednesday with a nice breakfast, pack my things and set out for the two hour drive to Helena, Arkansas. Upon arrival,

Show More
Related

Summary Of Elijah Wald's Escaping The Delta

531 Words | 3 Pages

Elijah Wald published the book Escaping the delta in reference of the music genre of the blues, in which he explains some of the myths that surround the blues genre, in which according to him were misleading about the culture of the genre. Derived from a lot of history, the foundations in which were perpetuated to promote the genre according to Elijah Wald were not accurate, and he tries to explain in detail the misconceptions in the book. One of the main ideas that Elijah Wald tries to explain is the concept of the blues being described as a definite genre. According to Elijah Wald, the genre exists but also does not exists (Wald, p 23 ).

Read More

Father And Son Relationships In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

521 Words | 3 Pages

As a matter of fact, the storyteller does not appreciate Sonny's motivations to play jazz music until the evening he socially joins Sonny to his stage show at a nightclub. Sitting in a dark corner at the nightclub, the storyteller listens to his brother play, considering the reminder of Sonny's friend, Creole, of what the Blues are about, "The tale, of the blues, how we live, and how we are delighted, how we suffer... and how we triumph... must be heard... it's the only light we've got in all this darkness." (Baldwin 139). For the narrator, he perceives that the Blues is the manifestation for Sonny's emotions, especially his suffering, because, as Creole would say, music is the only light in the

Read More

The Importance Of Real Life Experience In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

1417 Words | 6 Pages

James Baldwin, Sonny's Blues Lesson: Read 1. How does Baldwin's real-life experience connect to his short story, "Sonny's Blues"? Read Baldwin's biography for more background on his life. - James Baldwin’s real-life experience connects to his short story by demonstrating that in the story his father had passed away when he was a young age. In real life, he didn’t even know his father.

Read More

The Theme Of Brotherly Love In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

1184 Words | 5 Pages

In that moment the narrator finally understands Sonny’s love for music. Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” displays the theme of brotherly love to illustrate, that love can keep a family together no matter how many fights or issues there may be. Baldwin demonstrates the theme of brotherly love all through this story. The first example we see of brotherly love is when the two brothers are reunited after not seeing each other for months.

Read More

Sonny's Blues Rhetorical Analysis

838 Words | 4 Pages

Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin was a short story about the struggles of living in a tough, rundown neighborhood and looking to drugs as a way out. Baldwin’s intent on writing this piece focuses on pain and suffering. The author stresses that not everybody is born in the best circumstances. Sonny was one of those people who grew up in a rickety town where people often did not make it out successful.

Read More

Sonny's Blues Symbolism

516 Words | 3 Pages

Sonny’s Blues In James Baldwin’s short work of fiction, Sonny’s Blues uses symbolism to interweave the darkness and light throughout the story. The light symbolizes the positive aspect of living life in Harlem while the contrasting darkness represents the negative aspect of Harlem life. Baldwin uses darkness and light to symbolize different aspects of the story and to also represent the characters highs and lows throughout their lives.

Read More

Sonny's Blues: The Harlem Renaissance

934 Words | 4 Pages

That you shouldn’t let your living situations or surroundings determine your outcome. Sonny's Blues shows challenges that troubled the African-American community, and how drugs troubled the young artists and kept them bound like slaves. How those living in Harlem, felt like there was no escape to the poverty that surrounded them. How a young artist was overcoming his demons, with the support of his family and living out his dream. How one has to forgive and not let the past control one’s future, nor let the surroundings of your environment determine where you will go in

Read More

Predetermined Fate In Sonny's Blues

707 Words | 3 Pages

The brothers represent not only Baldwin himself, but their entire culture as well. Moreover, the blues express the battles, the condition and the rage that comes with being a black man in American society (Fares 72). The blues are a mutual understanding of suffering between every single person in the community; they are symbolic of the love that lets them bear the weight of the world in their shoulders with confidence because they know they are not alone. Baldwin wrote “Sonny’s Blues” to show that only an individual holds the power to accept their own suffering, and only when they come to terms with their pain, will they begin to understand the pain of those before them like the narrator did during his epiphany. In unison, they will set a framework for the generations that follow as they try to find a solution to their overall role in

Read More

Langston Hughes '' The Weary Blues'

211 Words | 1 Pages

As America moved into the early twentieth century, the Harlem Renaissance emerged, and with it came African American music forms such as jazz, blues, spirituals, and ragtime. Langston Hughes’ “The Weary Blues” gives a sample of this blues music, ‘”I got the Weary Blues/ And I can’t be satisfied./ Got the Weary Blue/ And Can’t be satisfied-/ I ain’t happy no mo’/

Read More

Theme Of Blues In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man

928 Words | 4 Pages

Yet, the ideals that were shown in the book and found in blues music are best shown through the author’s own words. Bluestein cites Ellison’s definition of blues as, “an impulse to keep the painful details and episodes of a brutal experience alive in one's aching consciousness . . . As a form, the blues is an autobiographical chronicle of personal catastrophe expressed lyrically” (Bluestein). In making this comment, Bluestein is showing through Ellison’s words the similarity between the novel and the genre that it is a piece that shows someone’s own

Read More

Personal Narrative: If I Get To Pawnee

579 Words | 3 Pages

The second thing I would do in Pawnee is head over to see Tom Haverford and Donna Meagle. These two people are the the king and queen of over-indulging. After a long day of helping the community, I would love to sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice night of their famous “Treat-yo-Self” splurge. We would all strut to the mall for some new clothes, fragrances, jewelry, and massages. I spend a lot of my time worrying about other people and not enough about what i want.

Read More

Character Analysis: Summary In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

1465 Words | 6 Pages

Literature Resource Center, http://link.galegroup.com.proxy151.nclive.org/apps/doc/H1420000483/LitRC?u=ncliverockcc&sid=LitRC&xid=63c3f5bd. Accessed 11 Feb. 2018. Norton, Sandy Morey. " 'To Keep from Shaking to Pieces': Addiction and Bearing Reality in 'Sonny's Blues.'. " Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism, edited by Thomas J. Schoenberg and Lawrence J. Trudeau, vol. 229, Gale, 2010.

Read More

The Blues History

398 Words | 2 Pages

The History of the Blues In the music world, the blues is probably one of the saddest forms of music out there. When upset, a blues artist would take their instrument of choice and start to play out their feelings and emotions. The whole point of it was to share what it is like to be ‘feeling blue’ (Blues History).But where did this come from? Who thought of sharing their feelings through music in such a way?

Read More

Perfect Day Research Paper

441 Words | 2 Pages

That would take me about a half an hour and all the gold would be worth about a million dollars. After relaxing at about 10:00 I would ride around my neighborhood with my friends and hang out. After that I would go to lunch with my friends in Fig Garden Village at Chipotle, Piology or somewhere else delicious and have an amazing lunch. After lunch I would go to Jamba juice and get a

Read More

Essay On Blues Music

734 Words | 3 Pages

Blues music as a genre and form was developed by African Americans in the south of the United States at the end of the 19th century. The genre has origins in many cultures such as in African music, African-American work songs and European-American folk music. Blues music incorporates field hollers, shouts, chants, etc. The blues form, found in jazz, rhythm and blues and rock and roll, is characterized by the call-and-response pattern, and also the twelve-bar blues structure, which is the most common feature. Early traditional blues verses consisted of a single line repeated four times.

Read More

More about How Does Langston Hughes Use 'The Blues'?

Related Topics

Open Document