Gabe Campbell
H. Salsich
English
21st September, 2008
True Blues;
An Analysis of an Essay About “Sonny’s Blues”
Throughout the essay "James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues': A Message in Music," by Suzy Bernstein Goldman, she is very thorough in her analysis of the story. Throughout the essay, she is in depth with her descriptions and so descriptive to a point where it is as if we’re having the book read and explained to us. Overall, the essay “A Message in Music” is a very detailed, explanatory, and creative essay .
Throughout the entire essay, there is an aurora of knowledge. For example, in the first few lines Miss. Goldman blatantly yet intelligently states that the story is “carrying a vital social message for us today”. To come to a conclusion such as that, vast amounts of thorough reading and analysis would have been necessary. This is something Miss. Goldman seemed to have accomplished because she coolly states ideas such as “Musical terms along with words like "hear" and "listen'' give the title a double meaning” to put the reader in a more notified state to comprehend the essay. Secondly, within the essay, Goldman uncovers and decrypts the characters emotions the might have been hidden to us. For example, Goldman writes, “The shock of recognition forces the narrator to confront his past refusal to accept the miserable truths around him” (Goldman, 21) as compared to, “Their laughter struck me for perhaps the first time. It was not the joyous laughter” (Baldwin,39). Goldman put the original passage under the microscope and prodded it until she came upon the conclusion, much like she did with the rest of her writings. Overall, throughout this essay, vast amounts of knowledge are displayed in the analysis of “Sonny’s Blues”.
Upon reflection of Ms. Goldman’s essay, there were a few qualities that initiated my interest. One quality that Goldman seemed to use frequently was quotations. I personally did not care for this too much because she seemed to use this quite gratuitously. Given the opportunity to fix it, I would have most likely shortened the quotes if not taken a good portion of them out. Lastly, Goldman is very literal yet vivid in her writing. This quality I like because it gives the reader a better understanding of what Goldman is trying to say. For example, when she wrote, ”The second movement opens with the narrator's first letter to Sonny. Sonny's answer, equating drug addiction with prison” (Goldman, 52) she very plainly, yet still using fresh and extraordinary vocabulary to fully immerse the reader into the seriousness of the situation, states her point. Overall, although Goldman’s essay was stained with a few awkward sections, her creative writing style made reading the essay worth wild.
While James Baldwin was very vivid with his writing, Suzy Bernstein Goldman was just as excellent. She broke down every ambiguous sentence and unearthed every possible meaning. Even though there were a few flaws in her writing, the majority of it was faultless. Overall, after examining Goldman’s essay, one prominent point was flaring; the depth and detail she goes into is astounding.
Goldman, Suzy Bernstein. “James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues': A Message in Music.” Negro American Literature Forum (1974): 23 pars. 22 September 2006
Monday, September 22, 2008
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
Rashad Young
English B
Mr. Salsich
9.16.2008
If Your Gonna Dream, Dream Big; an Essay About two Quotes
Walt Disney and Rainer Maria Rilke are two totally different people, but they seem to share the same beliefs. Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Whenever I read this quote I seem to gain some self-confidence because I dream of a lot of things that I wish to do some day. Rilke’s quote is a little bit different but gives me the same main idea, “Don’t search for the answers, that could not be given to you now because you would not be able to live them.” This also seems to a feeling of being secure and makes me feel like I don’t need to worry about pressure, I just need to ride the wave of life and all of my answers will come to me. It also made me think that if I have patience my dreams and answers will eventually come to me rather than having me chase them. They also made me realize that answers and reality are not always everything you need to dream and use your imagination sometimes.
This also made me think about how Disney and Rilke had interests in the future. Walt seems to think about his dreams and what will become of them over time. It also made me think about how big Walt was dreaming bringing cartoon characters to life is not a small task. Although it was a very big dream Disney stuck with it and was able to accomplish many more goals after this one. Rilke’s quote about questions and answers seemed to be based on the outcome of these answers and living everything in between these two points in time. Even if Maria got flustered along the way she was able to “have the patience” to continue and forget about the answers to her questions because the future and the present are two very different things but the one that matters the most is the present because this shapes are past and our future. Rilke and Disney both seemed to have some relationship with their future and both made a wonderful past and present for many people around the globe. These two pioneers of history are a wonderful example of dreams coming true.
English B
Mr. Salsich
9.16.2008
If Your Gonna Dream, Dream Big; an Essay About two Quotes
Walt Disney and Rainer Maria Rilke are two totally different people, but they seem to share the same beliefs. Disney once said, “If you can dream it, you can do it.” Whenever I read this quote I seem to gain some self-confidence because I dream of a lot of things that I wish to do some day. Rilke’s quote is a little bit different but gives me the same main idea, “Don’t search for the answers, that could not be given to you now because you would not be able to live them.” This also seems to a feeling of being secure and makes me feel like I don’t need to worry about pressure, I just need to ride the wave of life and all of my answers will come to me. It also made me think that if I have patience my dreams and answers will eventually come to me rather than having me chase them. They also made me realize that answers and reality are not always everything you need to dream and use your imagination sometimes.
This also made me think about how Disney and Rilke had interests in the future. Walt seems to think about his dreams and what will become of them over time. It also made me think about how big Walt was dreaming bringing cartoon characters to life is not a small task. Although it was a very big dream Disney stuck with it and was able to accomplish many more goals after this one. Rilke’s quote about questions and answers seemed to be based on the outcome of these answers and living everything in between these two points in time. Even if Maria got flustered along the way she was able to “have the patience” to continue and forget about the answers to her questions because the future and the present are two very different things but the one that matters the most is the present because this shapes are past and our future. Rilke and Disney both seemed to have some relationship with their future and both made a wonderful past and present for many people around the globe. These two pioneers of history are a wonderful example of dreams coming true.
The Journey; a Comparison of Quotes
Gabe Campbell
H. Salsich
English
13th September , 2008
The Journey;
A Comparison of Quotes
Nowadays, everybody wants immediate answers to their questions. They want them promptly and punctually without any delay. What they don’t realize is that without the rush and with proper patience, they could unravel the true meanings to their questions. Overall, the quote “the journey is the reward” from the Chinese Proverbs and the poem “Letters to a Young” by Rainer Maria Rilke can be related by those principles.
Upon reflection, there were three prominent connections between the two quotes that stood out. Both emphasize that when you first ask significant questions, you cannot expect to get the answer instantly, but you have to go through the journey of examining your question, and once you do the answer will be the reward. For instance, when asking “what is the purpose of homework” you would have to contemplate the purposes and how they have helped you thus far. The conclusion you would come to would be your reward for the painstaking process you went through. A second way the quotes relate is when you’re young, you are very impatient so when something comes along that you don’t understand you tend to, much like garbage or an old, unnecessary object, throw it to the side. When things confuse and anger us, we really have to take a little time to understand. With the proper amount of patience, we could be rewarded with the answer that we sought after. The third and final reason these quotes relate is that you really need to learn to appreciate your questions and essentially “create” your own journey. When Rilke writes, “I would like to beg you [ … ] to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer” it’s as if he is saying that you have to value your questions. If you have patience to piece together what baffles you, you will walk right into your answer. Overall, when put into perspective, the two quotes are harmonious together.
While looking back on previous years, I realized that this quote could relate to my previous year in 8th grade. The first way the two quotes relate to last year is because I was very impatient with my homework. Some nights I would rattle off quick answers because I got agitated while doing my homework. If I had treated the homework like a journey and took the time to read over the questions and try to work them out and fully comprehend them instead of rushing, I would have more then likely been rewarded with better grades. The second way the quotes connect to last year is my assessment presentation. Once again, this was an occasion where I was very impatient. I started preparing for it a few days before and when I couldn’t find the right words to say I ended up frantic and impatient, worried about the assignment but not enough to take more time, so I simply threw together a few sentences from my essay mixed with a few sentences of my own and this written concoction was so unhelpful I ended up winging the majority of the presentation. If I had treated this presentation like a long and important journey I could have taken the time to ask the questions “what do I need to state and what should I leave out” or “what could I do to improve this” and I would have been rewarded with a much better presentation and a better grade. Lastly, the two quotes relate to my life through my rejection from the Milton Academy. The main reason I didn’t get accepted was because I didn’t apply myself and I didn’t ask questions. For example, if I knew there was a quiz coming up in science, I should have asked myself what I could do to prepare for this quiz instead of just cramming for it the night before. If I had taken the journey of contemplating questions not just in science, but in all my subjects, my grade surely would have been better. Overall, the quotes by the Chinese Proverbs and Rainer Maria Rilke can relate to my life.
In this new, up-tempo world everybody wants to know everything instantly. Nobody wants to take the time to grasp their questions instead of trying to make their own answers, but what people don’t realize is that a simple journey to piece together what their minds are thinking could result in more correct, in-depth answers. Yes, it may take more time, but when put into perspective it truly is worth it to spend a little extra to get the correct answer. Overall, the quote “the journey is the reward” from the Chinese Proverbs and the poem “Letters to a Young” by Rainer Maria Rilke
Key: Bold = FAST word, Bold w/ Italics = Loose Sentence
H. Salsich
English
13th September , 2008
The Journey;
A Comparison of Quotes
Nowadays, everybody wants immediate answers to their questions. They want them promptly and punctually without any delay. What they don’t realize is that without the rush and with proper patience, they could unravel the true meanings to their questions. Overall, the quote “the journey is the reward” from the Chinese Proverbs and the poem “Letters to a Young” by Rainer Maria Rilke can be related by those principles.
Upon reflection, there were three prominent connections between the two quotes that stood out. Both emphasize that when you first ask significant questions, you cannot expect to get the answer instantly, but you have to go through the journey of examining your question, and once you do the answer will be the reward. For instance, when asking “what is the purpose of homework” you would have to contemplate the purposes and how they have helped you thus far. The conclusion you would come to would be your reward for the painstaking process you went through. A second way the quotes relate is when you’re young, you are very impatient so when something comes along that you don’t understand you tend to, much like garbage or an old, unnecessary object, throw it to the side. When things confuse and anger us, we really have to take a little time to understand. With the proper amount of patience, we could be rewarded with the answer that we sought after. The third and final reason these quotes relate is that you really need to learn to appreciate your questions and essentially “create” your own journey. When Rilke writes, “I would like to beg you [ … ] to have patience with everything unresolved in your heart and to try to love the questions themselves. Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer” it’s as if he is saying that you have to value your questions. If you have patience to piece together what baffles you, you will walk right into your answer. Overall, when put into perspective, the two quotes are harmonious together.
While looking back on previous years, I realized that this quote could relate to my previous year in 8th grade. The first way the two quotes relate to last year is because I was very impatient with my homework. Some nights I would rattle off quick answers because I got agitated while doing my homework. If I had treated the homework like a journey and took the time to read over the questions and try to work them out and fully comprehend them instead of rushing, I would have more then likely been rewarded with better grades. The second way the quotes connect to last year is my assessment presentation. Once again, this was an occasion where I was very impatient. I started preparing for it a few days before and when I couldn’t find the right words to say I ended up frantic and impatient, worried about the assignment but not enough to take more time, so I simply threw together a few sentences from my essay mixed with a few sentences of my own and this written concoction was so unhelpful I ended up winging the majority of the presentation. If I had treated this presentation like a long and important journey I could have taken the time to ask the questions “what do I need to state and what should I leave out” or “what could I do to improve this” and I would have been rewarded with a much better presentation and a better grade. Lastly, the two quotes relate to my life through my rejection from the Milton Academy. The main reason I didn’t get accepted was because I didn’t apply myself and I didn’t ask questions. For example, if I knew there was a quiz coming up in science, I should have asked myself what I could do to prepare for this quiz instead of just cramming for it the night before. If I had taken the journey of contemplating questions not just in science, but in all my subjects, my grade surely would have been better. Overall, the quotes by the Chinese Proverbs and Rainer Maria Rilke can relate to my life.
In this new, up-tempo world everybody wants to know everything instantly. Nobody wants to take the time to grasp their questions instead of trying to make their own answers, but what people don’t realize is that a simple journey to piece together what their minds are thinking could result in more correct, in-depth answers. Yes, it may take more time, but when put into perspective it truly is worth it to spend a little extra to get the correct answer. Overall, the quote “the journey is the reward” from the Chinese Proverbs and the poem “Letters to a Young” by Rainer Maria Rilke
Key: Bold = FAST word, Bold w/ Italics = Loose Sentence
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