The metaphor of a “black tunnel” conveys the ongoing search for courage in Tom’s situation and his struggle to face the consequences of his brother’s reckless actions. Tom’s fears limit his individual freedom, however it is his uncle Brendan who later acts as a mentor for Tom, providing him with an emotional outlet and giving him encouraging advice. “I forced myself to get out of
Along with the struggles we see Sonny face we see how one may cope with such a difficult type of situation. Throughout the novel we see a young boy who faces many peer pressure type of conflicts. Despite the difficult level and tremendous temptation to continue down the road one is headed, we see
Sonny’s Blues – Sonny’s Catharsis Throughout James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues” (1957), the narrator is trying to make sense of his brother Sonny, a drug addict musician who had been caught using and selling heroin and sent to prison. He continuously comes back to blaming himself and the people near him for what has happened to Sonny. Nevertheless, he never sees the situation from Sonny’s perspective, until the last scene at the nightclub, which is when he starts understanding Sonny’s life and the role of jazz as catharsis for him. When Sonny first asks his brother, the narrator, to go out with him, the narrator “sensed… that [he] couldn’t possibly say no”. This happens right after he’d been watching Sonny through the window of his Harlem apartment, without the haze of his own ego getting in the way of seeing who Sonny really is.
Even though Amir believes this, he finds it hard to confess his sins to Rahim Khan and his secret can be compared to Soraya’s openness. Amir is clearly yearning to atone his sins throughout the novel as he quotes “I knew all about regret” when he is informed of his wife’s past. Soraya has been able to move on because she has accepted her past and confessed her secrets. As the novel progresses, we see Amir grow in maturity, partly due to his separation from Baba, and can now can accept the opportunity to atone. Rahim Khan, as Amir’s mentor and friend, helps to support the ideas about redemption and why it is still possible, “there is a way to be good again”.
This fall from American attention also led to a new form of music that was just developing in the streets of New York City during the same time period, a new form of music that derives from the same culture, spirit, and same principles as jazz music. A form of music that in time became accepted and integrated into the jazz community. This form of music was Hip Hop. Growing up amidst terrible discrimination within society, many African American’s channeled their pain and suffering into a musical movement. In the 20’s this music was Jazz.
The first place of jazz has many origins: New Orleans, St Louis, Memphis and Kansas city are just a few. Many historians mark the start of the “Jazz Age” on November 12 1917 when the Navy closed a neighborhood called Storyville in the city of New Orleans. The navy feared for its sailors so they closed Storyville’s brothels and nightclubs, forcing hundreds of New Orleans musicians to search elsewhere for their livelihoods (Friedwald 157). But New Orleans was and still remains an important jazz center. The ethnic rainbow of people who went to the bars and whorehouses were a big part of the development of jazz.
Jazz Effecting Change The struggle against society can be the deadliest struggle of all. One child has or will struggle against the emotional escape of drugs and crimes. Eventually, the child joins the ranks of other members of society fighting a war against evil. In Sonny's Blues, James Baldwin brings actual events of the struggles upon Sonny to life. The reader is introduced to Sonny's secret against the pressures of life.
James does not know truly who he is, mainly because he is “dark skinned” while his mother is “light skinned”. But as he grows older, James is influenced by his mother, and her faith in God. Not only does this help James become closer to his mother, but it helps him start to notice who he really is. James’ step-father, Hunter Jordan, also influences him by showing James that hard work is worth it, and it takes a lot of work to support a family as big as they had. This assisted James notice that he has the ability to become anything that he wants to, and he just has to work hard and not lose his determination.
The movie Good Will Hunting is a movie about a young man name Will (Matt Damon) who plays the roll of a gifted individual who has always struggled with his troubling past. The struggles he faced when he was younger affects his life as he gets older, which leads him to get into trouble with the law. Despite Will being labeled as a genius, he has extreme issues that he needs to cope with. This introduces a skilled and experienced therapist named Sean Maguire (Robin Williams, who helps Will straighten out his life. The movie Good Will Hunting is based in Boston, and in the beginning of the movie the audience quickly understands that Will has a knack for getting into trouble.
Wesley lives under the shadow of his brother Frank and as the story progresses he is slowly escaping it. However, despite Wesley’s wilted physique and lack of superiority in the Hayden family hierarchy, he possesses a great deal of moral virtue and mental strengths. First of all, Wesley’s leg injury leads to other factors to develop Wesley as a better and stronger man. In his life he goes through many obstacles, such as his failure to go to war, and thus becoming the underdog of the Hayden family. This is discovered when the patriarch, Julian Hayden, says to his son Wesley “Ever since the war…Ever since Frank came home in a uniform and you stayed home, you’ve been jealous” (118).