A Summary of Donald C. Murrays “ James Baldwins...

Mohammed Alhamawi Mr. Johnson English 1302-11 February 27, 2012 A Summary of Donald C. Murrays â€Å" James Baldwins Sonnys Blues: Complicated and Simple† Donald Murray, in â€Å"Complicated and Simple†, talks about how the author is emphasizing â€Å"mans need to find his identity† as the main issue society as well as Sonny and his brother are dealing with throughout the story. The area of Harlem with all its negative influences tend to affect its childrens upcoming. Either to take the difficult route of finding ones self or to fall in the drug trap of Harlem â€Å" its simpler to submerge oneself, at the most dismal level, the limbo of drug addiction, rather than to truly find oneself† ( Murray 353). Murray sheds light on Baldwins use of†¦show more content†¦Murray again highlights Baldwins use of this method only this time he chooses to use it somewhat differently. The darkness is what the family is sulking in to get away from all their troubles until someone â€Å"turns on the light† and wakes them up to the reality of life. Self realization, according to Baldwin, will be reached when a certain shock such as losing something or someone very close to you. Making the person stop and think thus reaching the point of self realization. Examples of this is the narrator and how he somewhat lost Sonny to the drug life and prison. As well as the death of the brother of the narrators father. The final point in which Murray comes to which is at last reaching self realization. Sonny finally feels that he has found his place and calling in life after all the suffering and trouble he had to go to. Baldwin uses some biblical comparison of Sonny taking a journey that will change him â€Å" hearing something else, is dealing with the roar rising from the void and imposing order on it as it hits the air† (Baldwin 356). This Journey that will cause Sonny to finally take that step that Creole pushes him to take with the music playing. Creole plays his role as motivation for Sonny as he is fairly nervous about playin g, â€Å"He wanted Sonny to leave the shore line and strike out for the deep water† (Baldwin 356). He was the father figure that Sonny never found in his real father or in his older brother because they were both dealing

Essay on the Book Night Free Essays

Night Night narrates Ely Wiesel’s test of faith and struggle for life through the horrors of the Holocaust. Twelve-year-old Elie and his family are packed into crowded cattle carts and shipped to the Auschwitz-Birkenau camps. This is where Elie survives tragic events that cause him to question God who could let such suffering occur. We will write a custom essay sample on Essay on the Book Night or any similar topic only for you Order Now In the memoir Night, three events that lead to Elie’s victory over death and questioning of the existence of God are when Elie and all the Jews are separated into different carts, Elie’s struggles in the concentration camps and the final death march. Elie’s former teacher, Moshe the Beadle, comes to warn Elie and his family to not be tricked by the Germans, for they were taking control of trains and transporting them to death camps. Elie’s family doesn’t believe Moshe because his stories seemed exaggerated. Soon after, Elie’s family is forced to live in small ghettos in the center of the town. When the trains pulled up, there was no turning back. â€Å"The Hungarian police made us climb into the cars eighty persons in each one. They handed us some bread and a few pails of water† (Wiesel 22). Elie realizes he and his family are not going to safety. When the train wheels stopped, there was a wretched stench of corpse bodies. They were in Birkeneau. He was shortly separated from his mother and sisters. This momentous event will forever change his family. His faith is massacred, â€Å"Never shall I forget those moments that murdered my God and my soul and turned my dreams to ashes† (Weisel 34). Elie and his father go through many horrific obstacles in the concentration camps. One afternoon, Elie and his father are forced to watch a hanging of three condemned prisoners, two of which were grown men and the other an innocent child. The two men were no longer alive, but the child’s rope was still moving for he was to light and was still breathing. Elie questions himself, â€Å"How could I say to Him: Blessed be Thou, Almighty, Master of the Universe, who chose us among all nations to be tortured day and night, to watch our fathers, our mothers, our brothers end up in the furnaces† (Weisel 67). After watching thousands of Jews die each day, Elie loses his faith in God completely. Before the war is over, the Germans try to eliminate as many Jews as they can before the Americans invade and free the Jews. Elie has just gotten out of the infirmary because of his infected foot. Elie is about to give up at this point, but he sticks through and survives the death march. After the death march had finally come to a rest, Elie’s father becomes very sick with dysentery. After Elie’s father passes away, Elie is upset but is relieved. Elie is struck with food poisoning and spends weeks in the hospital, deathly ill. When he finally raises himself and looks in the mirror—he has not seen himself in a mirror since leaving Sighet—he is shocked: â€Å"From the depths of the mirror, a corpse gazed back at me. † Elie comes to realize, in the process of separating himself from the corpse, he has become, as a result of his time in the concentration camps, can coexist with faith, both in God and in man. In each of the three events described, Elie must face major traumatic life changes that force him to question his belief in God. Despite these terrible struggles, Elie does not allow himself to be consumed with revenge and evil. He maintains goodness in his spirit. Ellie says, â€Å"And even when we were no longer hungry, not one of us thought of revenge† (Wiesel 115). If God is good and Elie is still (good) inside despite his sufferings, then God must still exist. How to cite Essay on the Book Night, Essays

Product of My Environment free essay sample

As I write this essay I think about how much my life has changed in throughout my sixteen years. Unlike my peers I have had many neighborhoods that have made me who I am today. These neighborhoods have taught me things I will never forget about myself and life. 4 Dekalb Avenue- an address I will never forget. It’s the first home I’ve ever known, the place I’ve felt most at home. The house was a beautiful ranch on half an acre of lush greenery in the vast plains of XXXXX County. I recall my sibling and I falling asleep in our parents’ massive (seemed that way at the time) queen-sized bed and my father lifting me up, still half asleep, and laying me down in bed. Moments like this gave me a warm solace. This is the kind of moment that I will forever cherish. We were too young to notice the cracks in my family marriage and how much they grew apart. We will write a custom essay sample on Product of My Environment or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page My parents got a divorce in this neighborhood. As children we did not know what divorce meant, all we knew was our parents were no longer on speaking terms. This pained my siblings and me and this neighborhood was no longer a place of solitude, so we moved to a different neighborhood. This neighborhood taught me my left from my right; it taught me how to tie my shoes, and how to ride a bike. This neighborhood taught me sometimes things don’t go as planned but you must adjust. 21 Continental Place- the first place without my father. It was a large duplex we shared and rented with another family. This is where my family, sans my father, started a new life for ourselves. This neighborhood was a change from the many months spent living with different family members after the divorce. We as a family got into a stable rhythm. My mother took care of my siblings and I, by herself while she worked a nine to five job. We soon grew to dread the early morning ferry horns, visits from unw elcome animals and the distance from our family members. The problems with this neighborhood grew too much to bear. It seemed everything that could go wrong did. My mother always told me that whatever you speak comes to life and if you say things will happen, then they will. She used to always say that we would have our own house and car and be able to do whatever we want. My siblings and I used laugh because it was crazy to think that after all we have been through that would happened. We finally got our own car and soon after that, my neighborhood changed again for the better. 540 Bellmore Avenue- the first house my mom ever owned on her own. This neighborhood is my current neighborhood, It’s longest I’ve ever lived at a place. This was the light at the end of our ever extending tunnel. We finally had something to call our own and what my mother said came to life. Now I will forever believe that words have the power to come true. This neighborhood taught that positiv e things will happen if you will them to. The different environments that I have lived in have shaped me into the person I am today. I have learned that â€Å"the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry† through my parents’ divorce and the problems of our duplex. But, if you believe things will get better, then they will. All the neighborhoods I have lived in are and always will be a part of me.