Character

=Writing Assignment:= Read "Sonny's Blues" where there is a dynamic [|protagonist]. Baldwin and Sonny's Blues Write an essay 1,000-1,200 words or about (two pages, double-spaced) exploring how that **character** evolves over the course of the story, providing evidence from the story to back up your argument.

//It should be pointed out that the protagonist is not always the [|hero] of the story. Many authors have chosen to unfold a story from the point of view of a character whom, while not central to the action of the story, is in a position to comment upon it. However, it is most common for the story to be "about" the protagonist; even if the Main Character's actions are not heroic, they are nonetheless usually vital to the progress of the story. Neither should the protagonist be confused with the [|narrator]; they may be the same, but even a first-person narrator need not be the protagonist, as they may be recalling the event while not living through it as the audience is.//


 * To post your response, click on the Discussion Tab** at the top of the page, paste in your essay/response and click post. Then everyone can read all the responses; I can read and grade, and **everyone can respond to at least two people in the class in no less than 150 words.**


 * Synopsis of "Sonny's Blues"**

Told from the point of view of the title character's unnamed brother, this short story explores the bonds of brotherhood and the human need for expression. As the story opens, Sonny's brother, a respectable schoolteacher, has just learned that Sonny has been arrested for heroin use. When he gets out of prison, the two brothers are reunited. But the narrator has trouble understanding that both Sonny's addiction to drugs and his life as a blues musician have been attempts to express the rage and pain within him - until he hears Sonny play for the first time. He says about his brother's music: "I seemed to hear with what burning he had made it his, with what burning we had yet to make it ours, how we could cease lamenting. Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did."

In an interview, Baldwin spoke about the impetus for "Sonny's Blues." "I grew up with music, you know, much more than with any other language," he said. "In a way, the music I grew up with saved my life."


 * Information about key references** [|reference]

In "Sonny's Blues," the protagonist, an aspiring jazz musician, draws a distinction between the musical style of Louis Armstrong and the "bebop" of Charlie Parker. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, the bebop style, pioneered by Parker (known as "Bird") and others, was characterized by quick tempos, harmonic complexity, and improvisation. Standing in contrast to the more conservative, old-guard jazz of Armstrong, bebop was considered a bold, revolutionary force in music, and had broad implications in social and political spheres as well.
 * Bebop**

Like many other artists and writers, James Baldwin left for France in an effort to escape the racism of American society. While Europe offered him some respite and an opportunity to write, he soon found racism to be just as pervasive there.
 * Expatriate**

From early adolescence through his late teens, James Baldwin belonged to the Pentecostal Church of Mother Horn. There, he found solace from racial harassment and sexual exploitation. The presence of the church, and particularly the spiritual experiences of the "black church" known to many African American Christians, can be felt in much of Baldwin's writing, especially //The Fire Next Time//.
 * Religious Influences**

James Baldwin's novels and essays were written at a time when the African American literary scene was dominated by men. Contemporary criticism suggests that in much of Baldwin's literature, there is an effort to debunk the stereotype, long-held in portions of mainstream white society, that black men were over-sexualized and animalistic.
 * Black Masculinity**


 * Just a reminder of the definition of Character.**

1) The person in a work of fiction. 2) The characteristics of a person. Short stories use few characters. One character is clearly central to the story with all major events having some importance to this character - he/she is the PROTAGONIST. The opposer of the main character is called the ANTAGONIST. In order for a story to seem real to the reader its characters must seem real. Characterization is the information the author gives the reader about the characters themselves. The author may reveal a character in several ways: a) his/her physical appearance b) what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams c) what he/she does or does not do d) what others say about him/her and how others react to him/her Characters are convincing if they are: consistent, motivated, and life-like (resemble real people) 1. **Individual** - round, many sided and complex personalities. 2. **Developing** - dynamic, many sided personalities that change, for better or worse, by the end of the story. 3. **Static** - Stereotype, have one or two characteristics that never change and are emphasized e.g. brilliant detective, drunk, scrooge, cruel stepmother, etc.
 * __CHARACTER__** -- There are two meanings for the word character:
 * //Persons in a work of fiction//** - **//Antagonist and Protagonist//**
 * //The Characteristics of a Person -//**
 * //Characters are...//**