ipl-logo

The Lake Of Innisfree Analysis

1366 Words6 Pages

When thing got though, people always feel like they want to just leave their reality behind and escape. That desire can be shared by many. shared by many, the hard actuality of life creates the feeling of wanting to escape. The theme of wanting to escape can be seen in the poem, “The Lake of Innisfree” by W. B. Yeats and in the story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin. While some differences between the two works are evident like the ways to face the reality of the characters, the point of view and the environment, the similarities such as the desire to leave the environment they are in, feeling stuck in their place and finding ways to deal with their reality are striking. I will discuss these issues in my essay to show the similarities between these seemingly unalike works. The poem “The Lake of Innisfree” by W. B. Yeats is about a place in nature and it clearly illustrates the notion of wanting to escape as it's written in the first person. The poem is a description of a place the narrator visited as a child. The lake represents a quiet place, where he can think and be alone. This place in nature is contradictory to the place he's in. Throughout the whole poem, three strong motifs show that theme. First, the desire to leave the environment he is in. The poet conveys his strong wish …show more content…

B. Yeats and in the story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin. The unexpected similarities that intertwine in both the poem and the story convey the strong sentiment of wanting to escape reality. The differences only enhance the emotion of wanting to leave the environment you are in that both the poem and the story express. Every element is used to show the desire to escape. Dealing with a hard life and environment that makes you feel stuck will create the will to escape. The wish to be in a better, faraway place. That is what in the core of this seemingly different literary

Show More
Related

Two Perspectives In Sonny's Blues, By George Baldwin

1115 Words | 5 Pages

“Sonny’s Blues” is not just about Sonny's decisions and struggles but also about how they affect the narrator. This story is as much about family and brotherhood and the relationship between these two men as it is about the character of

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

1184 Words | 5 Pages

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a short story depicting the relationship of two brothers, Sonny and an unnamed narrator. The story takes place in the project of Harlem, New York in the early 1950s. The narrator is a high school math teacher. His younger brother Sonny is a troubled musician struggling with his addiction to drugs. Before their mother dies, she asks the narrator promise to her he’ll look after his younger brother when she is gone.

Read More

Theme Of Incarceration In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

1441 Words | 6 Pages

James Baldwin is a renowned author best known for his work of essays, books and short stories, particularly those which dwell deeply into important social and psychological issues of discrimination, gender inequality, homophobia and so on. One of Mr. Baldwin 's most appreciated literary works is the short story 'Sonny 's Blues ' which focuses on two brothers who grew up together but take different paths in life. The story follows the narrator learning about his brother Sonny 's incarceration due to the use and selling of drugs until his brother gets parole. Throughout the story, we learn about the relationship between the pair and are able to witness the narrators ultimate understanding of Sonny and his ambition. As we continue to observe the impressive short story, we find the most recurring theme to be that of sorrow.

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

Characterization And Symbolism In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

692 Words | 3 Pages

Throughout the story of “Sonny’s Blues”, James Baldwin develops a theme that can still be related with today. The misunderstanding and lack of knowledge that the narrator experiences, about his brother, is something that many today feel, as their own family members are being prosecuted and they do not comprehend why. Within the story, there are numerous subtle ideas that are used to progress the story and theme along to the ending that is given. James Baldwin advances the theme of his story, that misfortune and anguish can be renovated into a unique art form, using characterizations, settings, and symbolisms. One of the main literary devices that is used to express the theme is characterization.

Read More

Sonny's Blues Symbolism

516 Words | 3 Pages

Many of the characters in “Sonny’s Blues” face battles within themselves. The characters fight the battle of trying to keep the light shining inside and to not let the darkness inhabit them. “Images of light and darkness are used by Baldwin to illustrate his theme of man’s painful quest for an identity” (Murray

Read More

Relationship Of Racism In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

1315 Words | 6 Pages

James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” tells the story of two brothers living in 1950s Harlem. The story depicts the relationship of the brothers as the younger brother, Sonny, battles to overcome a heroin addiction and find a career in jazz. In “Sonny’s Blues”, Baldwin’s shifting portrayal of Harlem mirrors the changing relationship of the two brothers: while both the city and the relationship were originally with dark uncertainty, by the end of the story, the narrator has begun to find peace both within his surroundings and his relationship with his brother. At the beginning of the story, before Sonny returns to Harlem, the narrator never describes his surroundings, only the people in them.

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

A Critical Analysis Of Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

909 Words | 4 Pages

In James Baldwin's short story, Sonny’s Blues, the reader should understand and visualize the historical context in order to understand the world being presented. The reader has to comprehend the harsh life of a male African-American who struggles with his dreams and drug addiction sometime around early 1957. I will discuss Baldwin's writing style, the life/value of an african american's life during this time, and the relationship between Sonny and his brother. Baldwin’s short story illustrates the hardships a person faces while searching for themselves in a world full of people or obstacles that stand in their way. Some of these obstacles are self inflicted, present from the beginning of their existence or appear as though they are random.

Read More

Sonny's Character Analysis In 'Escape From Spiderhead'

314 Words | 2 Pages

In “Sonny’s Blues” the past Sonny lived exemplifies how a person can develop regardless of their past. Sonny writes a letter to his brother revealing his great sorrow and hopelessness “ But now I feel like a man who’s been trying to climb up out of some deep, real deep and funky hole.. ”(Sonny’s Blues” 78). Sonny and his brother reached many disagreements due to his poor life choices the consequence of this is that his brother isolated Sonny away from his life.

Read More

Identity In Sonny's Blues

813 Words | 4 Pages

In James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” the author uses Sonny’s struggle for a redeemed life to push the narrator toward the realization of his own need for rescue; through this realization, the narrator can find his identity and be free from his sadness. The narrator needs rescuing from himself. He hides behind a curtain of denial trying to protect himself from emotional reality. The narrator struggles to understand when and how Sonny began his troubles with drug addiction; he does not understand where he went wrong in being a role model for his younger brother. Now, years later the narrator is a school teacher who is trying to be a role model for the young boys in his class.

Read More

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

1465 Words | 6 Pages

In James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” the author uses Sonny’s struggle for a redeemed life to push the narrator toward the realization of his own need for rescue; through this realization, the narrator can find his identity and be free from his sadness. The narrator needs rescue from his guilt of

Read More

The Theme Of Racism In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

388 Words | 2 Pages

Racism, a very horrible thing, still exists in the world we live in and those who are black will find it very hard to succeed in life due to the constant discrimination and the bad influence near them. A very good example for this is a short story called “Sonny’s Blue.” A short story about a 2 African Americans and how one leads a successful life while the other falls to bad influence and ends up in jail Black people had to face lot of problems before the segregation was ended. . Many people think the past remains in the past and doesn't matter today; the terrible acts of segregation, exploitation, and discrimination that were once upheld by the government are irrelevant now just because the present day isn't like that anymore. But the truth is that racism still exists

Read More

The Theme Of Isolation In Previous Condition And Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

2048 Words | 9 Pages

In fiction, the narrator controls how the audience connects to and perceives the various characters in a story. A good author can manipulate the narration to connect the audience to certain characters and deepen the reader’s understanding of their conflicts. In “Previous Condition” and “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin illustrates themes of loneliness and isolation in the pursuit of finding a space that feels like home. Although this theme is clear in both stories, Baldwin is able to portray it very differently in each story through the relationship he allows the reader to the characters struggling with these feelings. While “Previous Condition” provides a more intimate relationship to the narrator, “Sonny’s Blues” is able to deliver an additional level of understanding by telling the story through Sonny’s brother, therefore disconnecting the reader in a way that forces him or her to share the characters’ feelings of isolation and confusion.

Read More

More about The Lake Of Innisfree Analysis

Related Topics

Open Document