Wendell Frink

H. Salsich

9English

20 September 2008

“A Message in Music”

An Analysis of an Essay written by Suzy Bernstein Goldman

Hans Christian Andersen once said, “Where words fail, music speaks.” That’s what Suzy Bernstein Goldman’s essay, “A Message in Music,” is about, how music speaks. This essay contained several qualities that I enjoyed, in particular, how she states the parts of the story, “Sonny’s Blues,” and how she wrote her essay. Ms. Goldman has carefully crafted this wonderful essay about how a message can be sent through music.

Throughout the essay there were several aspects that I enjoyed. Firstly, this essay has two distinctive meanings. The essay was described as discussing the “musicality of Sonny’s Blues” (Goldman), or how Sonny’s Blues is musical. In “particular[] the influence of jazz” music, the type that Sonny liked to listen to and play on the piano, is a large part of Ms. Goldman’s essay, too. The way Ms. Goldman has written this essay is very skillful. She made the essay very musical by using musical terms. For example, when describing the theme, form and image of the story, she states that they “blend into perfect harmony and rise to a thundering crescendo,” and “sounds the initial note” (Goldman) when describing how the narrator finds out about Sonny’s arrest. Ms. Goldman has made this essay truly worth reading.

Ms. Goldman had several parts of her essay that I enjoyed. I liked the way Ms. Goldman stated the parts of the story, instead of just monotonously saying the second or third part. She would put the parts as “the second movement” or “the third movement,” which kept me more interested. I also liked the way that she wrote the essay. She not only summarized “Sonny’s Blues,” but also provided the feelings and emotions of the characters. Throughout the essay she used quite a few quotes and excerpts, ranging from a couple words to a couple of sentences to a couple of paragraphs. This essay, with its different way of stating the sections of Sonny’s Blues and the amount of quotes and excerpts from the story, makes you want to read more.

Johann Sebastian Bach once said: "Music is an agreeable harmony for the honor of God and the permissible delights of the soul." Music makes Sonny's soul full of delight and joy, and Ms. Goldman finds this delight and joy and describes it in her essay “A Message in Music,” which is about how music speaks and heals long term hatred in the story “Sonny’s Blues.” Her way of writing her essay was exceptional. A message can be sent through music and that is exactly what Suzy Bernstein Goldman has written about in her essay.

Goldman, Suzy Bernstein. “A Message in Music.” eNotes Oct. 1974: 231-233. 20 Sept. 2008 >.