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The Life You Save May Be Your Own By James Baldwin And Flannery O Connor

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Culture Area 1 – Americas Although they are both powerful literary works, the artworks of Flannery O’Connor and James Baldwin contain unique differences. O’Connor’s short story, The Life You Save May Be Your Own, dates to 1955 in the U.S., and Baldwin’s artwork Sonny’s Blues was written in 1957 in the U.S. Although they were both written in the same period, both artworks take perspective in different settings. Additionally, they seek different themes; for example, O’Connor explores themes of corruption and selfishness whereas Baldwin explores the theme of identity and brotherhood. Flannery O’Connor and James Baldwin both created powerful works; however, they use different types of literary devices for the purpose of enhancing the style and …show more content…

O’Connor focuses on critiquing the period of the “Decaying South”. The “Decaying South” was a time where society was morally corrupt, and women faced sexism. She portrays this with the characters of Mr. Shiftlet, Miss Crater, and Mrs. Crater. It illustrates the selfishness and cruelty of humankind, which unfortunately still exists today. However, this artwork contributes to the idea of how selfishness is hurtful to oneself in the end. For example, Mrs. Crater's selfishness led to her losing her daughter and Mr. Shiftlet losing something that was good in his life. In addition, she acknowledges the prejudice against people with disability with the character Miss Crater. This was based upon the Nature vs. Nurture debate and the Eugenics Movement in the 1950s. Both these events involved the discrimination of individuals who were deemed to be unfit by society. In contrast, Baldwin dwells upon racism that occurs historically and socially in the U.S. His experience with being born in Harlem and his role in the Civil Rights Movement influenced his writing to bring awareness to the events occurring in the black community and the reasoning behind them. With this, he draws attention to the idea of the lack of individualism black people faced in that time period which unfortunately continues today. Lastly, although they both were written in the same time period, they effectively demonstrate two different

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The Emmet till case and the To Kill a Mockingbird case both have a lot of difference but they also have a like in common. Both cases represent a lot of things that happened in those time periods. Each story signifies equality and justice, but differ in how they started. The despicable hatred of black people in the south was the main plot of each topic. Each black person I sure went though hard times.

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James Baldwin experienced two decades of successful writings in the mid-twentieth century, a time when racial tensions were high in the United States. Born in Harlem, Baldwin lived and adapted to the world of social and racial unrest; though most of us cannot understand these times, Baldwin shared through his writings the hardships many families endured. Baldwin reflects on this difficult time by writing a story titled “Sonny’s Blues”. This story is about two black brothers who are tormented with daily life and struggle to overcome the hopeless confines of the city.

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Desire to be More Two great men from two different times fought great odds to become two of the greatest writers during times when they were pushed to fail. Frederick Douglas born a slave and Malcolm X a known criminal both struggled to find educational opportunities. Unlike other minorities of their time they both strived for more. They wanted to be separated from the norm, and they knew that in order for that to happen they would have to find a way to learn. They both knew in order to make a difference in life they would have to become proficient readers and writers, the fundamentals of education.

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“Sonny’s Blues” is a first person narrative written by James Baldwin, a former African American author. The story is focussed on many different concepts of life and the author's life clearly defines the reason to writing the story. Born in Harlem, the setting of “Sonny’s Blues,” James saw various forms of living as he grew. The author used his younger experiences and time with the church to create this significant writing. In “Sonny’s Blues,” the narrator, an unnamed character shown as an algebra teacher, and his brother, Sonny, grew apart when Sonny found a pull towards both music and heroin.

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First ALot of african Americans didn't have a job or weren’t accepted in jobs. The whites could call a job and get a african american person fired. The poem written by Paul Laurence Dunbar i about how black were were getting treated differently. It was also about how black people had to wear mask because they felt like they had to hide their identity. Then the poem “Mother To Son” written by Langston hughes is about how life can get really challenging sometimes but you should never give up.

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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.

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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.

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Now let's compare the two writings. They were both written about the same time world war 2. Also in the writings they both mention that they were in the Ghetto. Both of the writings tell their experience

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"The Life You Save May Be Your Own" is a short story written by the author Flannery O'Connor. It is also one of the ten stories in her short story collection, A Good Man Is Hard to Find, which was published in 1955. O’Connor uses humor in this story just as she does in her other stories to tell the tale of Mr. Shiftlet’s journey through life, and to explain the changes in his character while living with a major disadvantage. One evening Mr. Shiftlet arrives at the desolate Crater farm in hopes to find a place for work. While doing so he ends up striking a deal that allows him to live on the farm in exchange for fixing up the Crater’s place.

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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.

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Diamond Williams Professor Wolfe LIT2001 3 January 16 Fiction Analysis “Sonny’s Blues” is a short story written by James Baldwin that reflects on the ongoing struggles between failure and atonement amongst two brothers. The older brother who is also the narrator, gives us insight on the struggles in Harlem, and the life he had with his drug addicted younger brother, Sonny. As we follow the narrator, we later discover who Sonny really is. Published in the mid nineteen hundreds, the burdensome of living in Harlem in “Sonny’s Blues” reflects the life that James Baldwin endured.

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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.

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While reading this, I thought that the narrative was still in past time, but when I continued to read it caught my attention that this was going to be a background story about John’s 14th birthday. Another instance of the use of Baldwin’s writing technique is in chapter two part two of “Gabriel’s Prayer”. In this chapter, Baldwin uses his writing

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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

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First, they are written around the same time period and both about blacks being discriminated. Both the poems gave African Americans a little bit of hope that one day they will be allowed to be around whites and looked at as the same. These poems may be different, but they both have the same meaning. If anyone is going through a rough time in their life, they can overcome it. Blacks were treated terribly and went through some of the roughest times, but they never stopped fighting and never lost hope.

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