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What Is The Theme Of Bud Not Buddy Chapter 1

618 Words3 Pages

We're Not in Flint Anymore, Bud Imagine being alone as a child in the 1930's. In the book Bud, Not Buddy, a character named Bud roamed the streets alone as a ten-year-old boy. Bud is a character that lost his mom when he was six, and he has never had a father. He is on a hunt for his father that he believes is a musician. These were tough times during the Great Depression, especially for Bud Caldwell, but things are getting better. Bud, Not Buddy would be a different book if it took place in a different town because Bud wouldn't have been the protagonist of the story, Herman E. Calloway and the band would not have been in the story, and the story might have been in a white person's perspective. For one thing, the story would be very different if Bud weren't the protagonist of the story. In Chapter 13, Bud explains to Herman E. Calloway, what he did to get to him, and the struggles he faced along the way. If Bud were not the protagonist of the story he never would have been able to tell his story to Herman. In Chapter 1, Bud talks about how his mother passed away when he was six-years-old. If he weren't the protagonist the actual protagonist might have had a mother. To conclude, if Bud weren't the protagonist of the story it wouldn't have only been different, it would have …show more content…

Calloway and the band were not in the story. In Chapter 18, Herman E. Calloway accuses Bud of stealing his rocks. If Herman weren't in the book he, and Bud wouldn't have felt a connection through the rocks. Also, if Herman and the band wouldn't have been in the story Bud would not have had the flyers, therefore he never would have had to search for Herman. He also might not have found Lefty Louis, and he could've died from starvation. These are the central reasons that I believe that if Herman E. Calloway and the band weren't in the book it would be very

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723 Words | 3 Pages

Tons of children and adults were very mistreated because of their race in the 1930s. Bud, not Buddy is about a 10-year-old boy that is black. He gets very mistreated because of his race. His mother died when he was 6-years-old and was in an orphanage. He goes a long way to find his dad, but who he expected was his dad was his grandpa.

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1708 Words | 7 Pages

Bud has a difficult start in life, with no idea who his father is, and at the tender age of six, he loses his mom. Bud lives in a group home for a time, and bounces around several foster homes before he takes off in search of his dad. Along the way, he ends up in a Hooverville to get food and to catch a train that leads him to California with his friend Bugs. Unfortunately he misses the train, but uses his enthusiasm to create “Bud Caldwell’s Rules and Things for Having a Funner Life and Making a Better Liar Out of Yourself.” He leads himself into successions with his optimism, which makes him thrive in

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738 Words | 3 Pages

Before the turning point, Bud despised being called by other names because of what his mother constantly told him when she was alive. He also did not have family that he could trust and give love to. “I wasn’t about to let anybody call me Buddy and stick a pencil up my nose all the way to the R. I swung as hard as I could at Todd’s balloon head.” (Curtis, 13). Bud did not allow someone to call him Buddy, as Bud when Bud was called Buddy, he punched Todd Amos.

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255 Words | 2 Pages

In “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin wrote a different type coming of age story. At the end of the story the narrator finally develops a new understanding for his brother, and forgives him. The story’s narrator is a black algebra teacher, whose name is never revealed, who is living in Harlem, a New York City neighborhood. In the beginning of the story the narrator reads about his brother, Sonny, being busted with heroin in the newspaper.

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481 Words | 2 Pages

Imagine being a child all alone in the middle of the Great Depression, or even worse, an infant. In the book "Bud, Not Buddy", Bud is a ten-year-old orphan, whose mother died when he was just six. Bud was sent to an awful foster home, but soon escaped after being put in a shed. After he escaped, he went on a mission to find his father. He did many things he thought he would never do on his journey.

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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.

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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.

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838 Words | 4 Pages

The narrator described the very stereotypical gang members in Harlem being “filled with rage” and “popping off needles every time they went to the head” (Baldwin 123). Lastly, the change in the author's tone was very evident. The readers could notice when the narrator was talking about life in Harlem or Sonny’s drug abuse because it had a very bitter and cold tone. However, when Sonny was talking about his music the tone was hopeful and positive. Baldwin wanted to show that music was the one thing helping with Sonny’s pain.

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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.

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251 Words | 2 Pages

Baldwin gives us an alternative space of darkness. This reference of darkness being depicted by the Narrator is his connection that the nightclub and what it stands for is symbolic to all the things negative associated in Harlem. The Narrator associates Jazz music and drugs as one of the same. “The waitress ran around, frantically getting in the last orders, guys and chicks got closer to each other, and the lights in the bandstand, on the quarter, turned to a kind of indigo.” The narrators idea of darkness is changed in this scene.

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707 Words | 3 Pages

Using his writing as a form of self-expression, James Baldwin, an African American author, spent his life seeking to reveal the cruel reality of African American men. “Sonny Blues” Baldwin’s short fiction, was published in 1957 and takes place during the Harlem Renaissance. The literary work tells the story of Sonny and his brother (an unnamed narrator), as they seek to understand how to navigate the delicate and dangerous waters of familial relationships, their role in society and themselves. However, it is not until the end of the story when Sonny’s brother narrates the powerful, melodic sound of Sonny’s blues that he acknowledges his own pain. It is during his epiphany, when he finally begins to understand Sonny’s pain and the pain of every generation who came before him and after him.

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909 Words | 4 Pages

One will constantly face temporary conflict throughout life, but ultimately they can overcome through a will to on and pursue what makes oneself happy. Baldwin was able to create a picture in the reader's mind due to his personal relation to his characters, he was able to understand the harsh times for an African-American male. It also reflects on the care that siblings have for one another and how even though they have good intentions, they can't always help their loved one follow a positive

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1396 Words | 6 Pages

The narrator is visited by a friend from Sonny’s past and then after reaches out to his brother. Sonny invites him to come hear him play and that is when the narrator understands his brother and in turn understands he himself. James Baldwin was raised by a single mother and later stepfather who was a Baptist minister. He attended school in the Bronx and developed a passion for

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813 Words | 4 Pages

Doesn’t everyone need to be rescued sometime in life? The narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” struggles with his own identity and finding himself. He has a sense of insecurity and conformity to escape his past and where he comes from. The narrator finds himself focusing on his brother’s mistakes in life when in reality; he is questioning his inner insecurities. The narrator believes he must rescue his brother but realizes first he must find rescue himself.

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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.

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