Throughout the entirety of the poem the mother compares her life to stairs that are broken down, dark, missing steps, and steps with tacks in them but she states she has never stopped climbing “But all the time I’se been a-climbin’ on,” and she used repetition by repeating a line to drive home the fact that her life hasn’t been easy. “And life for me ain’t been no crystal stair.” Using these two methods the mother clearly states that even though life isn’t easy but you must keep climbing and…
The poem tells the story of a young black girl exploring and experiencing what it is to become a black woman in her changing social circle. “it’s dropping food coloring in your eyes to make them blue and suffering their burn in silence. It’s popping a bleached white mophead over the kinks of your hair and primping in front of the mirrors that deny your reflection.” (Smith,9) The food coloring in her eyes, and the bleaching of her hair can only symbolize her need to grow into the more “accepted” form of society, the white skinned, blue eyed, blonde haired men…
This poem includes a lot of repetition in more than one occasion. For example when the author constantly repeats phrases such as “a girl is a girl” and “laughy laughy” that alone sends a message to the reader. That message is that when someone has an opinion, especially a stereotypical opinion his mind is set on that opinion and will not change his mind. Also, it helps understand the theme or meaning of the story a lot more.…
On 05/10/16, Mr. Stevens was charged with Reckless Driving and sentenced to 30 days level 5 suspended for 1 year at level 3.…
Another interesting use of this method of theme application which Murray stated is the scene where the family is sitting together. “There is no escape from the darkness for Sonny and his family. Dreams and aspirations are always dispelled, the narrator comments, because someone will always 'get up and turn on…
The novel begins at the funeral of a young boy’s grandfather in the year 1949. The boy is introduced as sixteen-year-old John Grady Cole who lives in San Angelo, Texas. John Grady is not close with his father but he meets with him and his father gives him a special saddle. Also, John Grady tries to buy the family ranch from his mother but she refuses. (IM)-John Grady decides he does not have anymore use in Texas so he and his friend Rawlins plan to run away. The boys leave and ride south into Mexico. Along the way they meet a young boy who looks around thirteen but says that he is older. He also claims that his name is Jimmy Blevins. It is obvious that he lies a lot so Rawlins does not trust him and keeps telling John Grady that they should…
The repetition of this phrase shows a generalisation that the younger generation holds towards authority, indicating a preconception towards authoritative figures. The final lines of the song links back to the title and meaning of the song.…
“The Blues is an impulse to keep the painful details and episodes of brutal experience alive in one’s aching consciousness, to finger its jagged grain, and to transcend it, not by the consolation of philosophy, but by squeezing from it a near-tragic, near-comic lyricism.”…
Sonny’s Blues is a famous short story written by James Baldwin. The story tells about the brotherhood between 2 black-men siblings – an elder brother and his younger brother named Sonny. Sonny wanted to be a musician but his brother disagreed with him, the conflicts between them and his unableness to reach his dream to become a musician led Sonny to start using heroin.…
A suspenseful and horrific piece of literature, “The Monkey Paw” is written by W.W Jacobs. A quaint family of three receives an unusual monkey paw that is capable of making any three wishes come true. Despite the caveat of a curse attached to the paw, the family chooses to make a wish, evoking from the story a suspenseful attitude as the reader becomes wrapped up in finding out the Smiths’ fated ends. With the combination of W.W Jacobs’ settings, characters, and foreshadowing, the theme of the story, “that fate cannot be decided upon by man” is delivered pointedly and with style.…
The story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin makes excellent use of multiple literary elements. Namely, I think the writer utilizes symbolism and the nuances of point of view to give the story a deeper connotation that could not be said plainly. The meat of the story is about an unnamed older brother’s relationship and differences with his younger brother, Sonny. Sonny’s aspiration to become a jazz pianist leads him in an opposite direction than his brother, and into a world where the common suffering is dealt with by heroin and music. The fundamental differences between the brothers in their lack of understanding for each other and their gradual acceptance of one another is highlighted and explained by what the symbolism adds to the story and the change in the narrator’s point of view at the end of the story.…
A high school algebra teacher and a drug addict brother. Two different personalities who want nothing but a brotherly relationship. The unknown narrator cares about his brother Sonny but blames himself for who his brother has become. He wishes he could have protected his brother more and in doing so, prevent him his brother’s drug addiction. Sonny and his brother’s relationship is nowhere close to perfect but tries to prove that people can change. In Sonny’s Blue’s, Baldwin uses symbols of Jazz and Blues music, and colors of light and darkness to show their brotherly relationship and their capability of having a good relationship.…
The poem begins with the speaker at a shopping mall and hears It’s a Hard Rain’s a- Gonna Fall by Bob Dylan. By listening to this, the speaker begins to question how we live our lives. The speaker…
In “The Northwest London Blues,” Zadie Smith conveys a strong stance against the closing of libraries. She believes libraries are more important than just the books read and implores the reader to defend their libraries. To bolster her argument, Smith deftly employs acknowledgement of counterarguments, word choice, and rhetorical questions to sway her readers.…
Hughes uses syntax as a language device in “The Weary Blues” to show the singer is not just singing about his feeling, but of Harlem as a whole: “Droning a drowsy syncopated tune, /Rocking back and forth to a mellow croon, /I heard a Negro play,” (1-3). In the opening lines Hughes places the subject and the verb of the sentence at the end. He uses this sentence structure show the relationship between the singer and his audience and the dual effect the music has on the performer and anyone listening. The singer is droning and swaying as he performs, but so is his audience as they listen, thus they become merged in the sentence because it describes their interaction. Hughes suggests that the blues is a shared experience and…