The Black and the Blues Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Black and the Blues - Research Paper Example which depicts the distinct difference between their nature and insights can be considered as the focal points of the story. Truly in the trajectory of life, people are pushed and weathered with numerous battles either economically, personally, socially, or conflicts within the family. through these most who prefer to stay on the safe side, surrender and be submissive to what is dictated by the ordination as they deem that this is a more practical and rational path to take. For the other free spirits, they opt to follow their dreams no matter how surreal the idea may seem yet for them it is something expenditure believing and following. Baldwins story though written in 1957 depicted a crucial message on bitter realities within the society which strongly affected him and the black community of his time and still somewhat remained unchanged in some cases of the world today. The story focused on the thread of an algebra teacher in Harlem who struggled to earn and maintain a middle class status and keep his wife and kids on a safe part of the society and his antonym relationship with his brother Sonny, a man who elected to navigate the road less traveled and pursued to become a jazz pianist though ended up behind bars from possession and addiction to heroin. Trimmer and Urbana (p.165) discussed that the differences between the brothers represent the division within the black community where the storyteller represents the middle class men who strives to live the American dream and aspires for an improved standard of living in the United States while the other group, as represent by Sonny, are those who just accept the fact that they will forever be locked up from the privileges the white people savor. Take note that the setting happened on a post war as the fibber cited his military service to the US government. It is an era where people, particularly the blacks, are rallying for equality and their war again st racism. The narrator tried to understand his brother and struggled to reach out to find answers to his questions though remained blindly to accept the truthful answers. The story reminds us on the importance of sense of hearing and true understanding in every form of relationship and in using these rather than coercion or rigid authority. There was a crack in the story, after their mothers funeral, when they discussed the future of the teenage Sonny. There was tension between the brothers as Sonny declared that he wants to be a jazz musician while the older brother sees that dream to be irrational. This scene together with the one when he offers his wife Isabels place to be Sonnys home manifests the narrators sense of responsibility to his younger brothers welfare. Throughout the story, issues on racism and inequality were strongly reflected. During his time there was strong discrimination for the black people in the racist America. On strong reflection of Baldwins personal str uggle is the part of the story where the narrator recollects the death of their uncle who was driven over by a group of drunken white Americans and recklessly left the carcass on the street. picture from racism was not confined to the characters family but it extends to the entire black community during that time (Reilly 56). Baldwin succeeded in