We talked in class about how we could use outside information to determine the meaning of a piece. We acknowledged first a major real-life issue that Sonny's Blues addresses, rampant drug use amongst artists. We talked about how Sonny's explanation for his use of drugs is similar to that of other artists and we could say that one message of Sonny's Blues is that drugs can help a person with their art and give them the ability to bare their soul to the world but it comes at a high cost.
Then we talked about two artists that are mentioned in the story, Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker. Both artists are jazz musicians but they have different approaches to the music. I played two pieces by each artist and we compared and contrasted the two. Louis Armstrong's music is much more laid back. It follows a familiar structure and is easy to follow. It has smooth melodies that are easy to digest. Charlie Parker on the other hand is less structured. The melody and rhythm can change mid-note. You have to follow it because it feels like the artist is making it up as he goes (which he probably was). Charlie Parker's music felt more active to us as a class. It grabbed your attention even if you didn't particularly enjoy what you heard. We could imagine listening to Louis Armstrong's music at a restaurant or on elevator, in a place where it could fade into the background. The same couldn't be said for Charlie Parker.
Why do these two artists matter? Why does Baldwin mention them? He mentions them because Armstrong's and Parker's approaches to music reflect the differences in the narrator's and Sonny's approaches to life. The narrator likes rules. He does what is expected of him. His way of life is easygoing and easy for authorities to digest. Sonny's is not. Sonny is rebellious. He likes to go his own way. He doesn't believe in playing by other people's rules. When we add in racial politics and how each character represents a different way of defeating "the man" we have a whole other topic we can explore as we explore the theme of Sonny's Blues.
Research and Homework
WE ARE NOT MEETING WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 8, 2014. You will be reading 3 short stories for me. You going to read all three and tell me a theme or a message for each one. Then you're going to pick one of the three stories to write a 750-word analysis on using the theme you came up with. So to clarify, you will write a theme for each story but you will expand upon the theme of only one story in a 750-word analysis. Do not do any research for this paper. This should be strictly your own thoughts and feelings on the story. These are due by midnight Friday, Oct. 10 via email.
By Friday, you will have written 3 analysis papers on 3 different pieces of work. Your analysis should be based solely on your own thoughts, feelings, interpretations, etc. on the piece. The next part of this assignment is I want you to pick one of your three papers that you feel could be enhanced by research. Maybe the song you wrote on touches on some major social issue that you'd like to know more about. Maybe your movie references other pieces of work and you'd like to understand it's influences. Maybe you wonder what influence the author's own life has on the piece and you'd like to research more about them. Whatever the case may be, your job is to collect sources that give you an even better understanding of your piece than you did before. You're going to do this is an annotated bibliography.
Annotated Bibliography
An annotated bibliography is a collection of sources about a specific topic with descriptions of each source and the conclusions a person could draw from that information. The purpose of an annotated bib is to give accurate descriptions of each source and how it pertains to your topic, that way if someone else is researching that topic, they'll be able to determine if the source might be useful to them. You are going to collect 6 sources on your piece. You are going to write each in MLA format and underneath you are going to give a thorough description of the source that tells us the sources main points and how those points relate to the paper you wrote. When you have collected and described the sources, you should be able to write a one-page summary on the information you found and how it helps OR how it might change your paper. You may start out believing your piece means one thing and than discover after researching it that you think differently. It essentially a piece answering the question, "What I learned about my Piece?" This is due the next time we meet, Monday, October 13, 2014.
Homework
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Read the 3 short stories (located in Class Documents) and tell me a theme for each via email. (Due Friday Oct. 10)
- A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner (a nice little horror story to celebrate it being Halloween month)
- The Red Convertible by Louise Erdrich (a story about a war veteran suffering from PTSD)
- Virgins by Danielle Evans (a story about two young girls and how they lost their virginity)
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Choose one of the three stories to write a 750-word analysis about. (Due Friday Oct. 10)
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Write an annotated bibliography featuring 6 sources about one of the pieces you've analyzed over the past week either the song, the movie, or the story. You're only writing about one. Please don't submit sources on all three. (Due Monday, Oct. 13)
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