Loss and Gain

Gabe Campbell

H. Salsich

English

7th October, 2008

Loss & Gain;

A Comparison of Stories

The protagonists from the stories “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald seemed to experience losses and gains regularly. They came in any shape or form and ranged from money to an escape from reality. Without these losses and gains, the characters would have been drastically different. Overall, losses and gains is a frequently recurring theme in the short stories “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald

Throughout the story, Dexter’s experienced a variety of losses and gains. One of the most prominent gains was conventional wealth. All of Dexter’s hard work paid off when he moved to the city and opened his first cleaners. The success was so immense that he opened a chain of them around the city making him incredibly wealthy. Although he had a lot of wealth, the one thing he lost that was most important to him was his fiancé, Irene. That night of the party where he rekindled his long and what seemed to be lost relationship with Judy Jones, he inadvertently kicked Irene out of his life. When Clinton S. Burhans Jr. wrote “in turning from Judy to Irene Scheerer, he had found almost unendurable the loss of these tangible and emotional qualities” it sounds like this was an acceptable decision on Dexter's behalf, but with Judy’s false promises and betrayal taken into consideration, his loss becomes clear. When weighed in, Dexter’s gain of conventional wealth pales in comparison to the loss of some one seemingly perfect for him. With that one mistake, Dexter lost companionship, friendship, and respect. When put in to perspective, losing Irene overshadows Dexter’s gain of wealth. Overall, throughout the story Dexter experienced his fair share of losses and gains.

In Sonny’s Blues, Sonny encountered many losses and gains. Sonny’s most momentous loss was the loss of his parents. Throughout his life, he could have relied on the support of his mom or dad to get him through the day. With that gone, he had no one. When Sonny was addicted to heroin, he still managed to gain an escape from his tribulations with music. When Sonny began to take an interest in piano, it was as if all of his troubles were relinquished. This was by far his biggest gain in the story because he took one of the most addictive substances and effortlessly conquered it with his music. When compared, Sonny’s gain of an escape from drugs by far overshadows his loss of his parents. Deaths of close family members are incredibly devastating because you lose some one you love who is an outlet for you whenever you have problems so when he lost his outlet, he took a dark path which he conquered by finding an new outlet that he could express himself through and unleash his pain. Overall, Sonny’s losses were significant, his gain of an escape was very incredible.

Sonny and Dexter experienced their share of losses and gains. They each experienced obstacles which they overcame even though they were experiencing the gravity of their loss. They also managed to gain things that ranged from wealth to a personal sanctuary. Overall, throughout the course of the stories “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin and “Winter Dreams” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, each protagonist experienced their own form of loss and gain.

Burnhans Jr., Clinton S. ""Magnificently Attune to Life": The Value of "Winter Dreams"" Studies in Short Fiction 6 (2000): 401-12.