In Carson McCullers’ “The Ballad of the Sad Cafe”, the ending coda shows the work of the Forks Falls chain gang. The chain gang is made up of “twelve mortal men, seven of them black and five of them white boys from this county” (458)1. The song starts when “One dark voice will start a phrase, half-sung, and like a question. And after a moment another voice will join in, soon the whole gang will be singing […] the music intricately blended [...] the music will swell [...] Then slowly the music will sink down until at last there remains one lonely voice”(458). The song of the chain gang correlates the life of the town and Miss Amelia as they change, but eventually goes back into what they were in the beginning.2
There is always silence before the start of the song, much like the town because “there is nothing whatsoever to do” (397). On the night that Cousin Lymon first appears in town, Miss Amelia asked him a question that is like how the “dark voice” which starts the song and “like a question”(457). She asked, “How do you mean “kin”?”, which starts the ballad of the cafe (400). This question allows for the possible connection that Lymon might possible be related to Miss Amelia and starts a new change in her. There was “only a few times in her life had Miss Amelia invite anyone to eat with her”, which then she lets Cousin lymon stay with her and starts the inevitable change in herself(404). After they finished eating, she allowed Lymon to stay in the room above the store.
Like the next phrase in the song, Cousin Lymon joins in and blends together like the “swinging light made [...] one great, twisted shadow”(405). The shadow is representing the harmony of the two and is like the harmony of a duet. This harmony is the love that st...
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...; Clock without Hands. New York: Literary Classics of the United States, 2001. 397-458. Print. Primary text used in this study
McNally, John. “The Introspective Narrator in "The Ballad of the Sad Café." South Atlantic Bulletin 38.4 (1973): 40-44. JSTOR. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Analyzing the importance of the narrator and his view point
Stebbins, Todd. Stebbins, Todd. "Mcculler's THE BALLAD OF THE SAD CAFE." Explicator 46.2 (1988): 36-38. Academic Search Complete. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Analyzing the harmony in The Ballad of the Sad Cafe
Whitt, Margaret. “From Eros to Agape: Reconsidering the Chain Gang’s Song in McCullers’s Ballad of the Sad Café.” Studies in Short Fiction 33 (1996): 119-22. Rpt. in Carson McCullers’ “The Ballad of the Sad Café.” Ed. Harold Bloom. Philadelphia: Chelsea House Publishers, 2005. 87-90. Argues that the love in the novel is agape rather than eros
Wideman, John Edgar. "Our Time". Ways of reading: An Anthology for Writers [ninth edition]. Ed. Bartholomae, David and Anthony Petrosky. N.Y.|Boston: Bedford/St. Martin Press. 2011.655-694. Print.
The mood established by Edgar Allan Poe in his short story, "The Cask of Amontillado," plays a crucial role in conveying to the reader his underlying theme. For example, when Montresor, the narrator, st...
In both poems, Eros is misunderstood and forgotten. The proper respects for the one who grants love, and thus happiness is not given. Through the different uses of diction and imagery, different tones were established in the two poems. In Bridges’ “EPÙÓ,” Eros is shown to be the forgotten beauty, and in Stevenson’s “Eros,” Eros is portrayed as the broken, tired, and misunderstood god. Contrasting, yet similar, both poems depicted Eros, the god of love, as a neglected god, often finding himself in situations where improper respects were paid.
the novel. "Luckily the clock took this moment to tilt dangerously at the pressure of
“The Story of an Hour” and “The Hand” both has remarkable similarities and differences. They share a common theme of women and marriage and the sacrifices they make for their family. The setting in both stories is significant to understand the role of women hundreds of years ago. The symbolism portrayed in “The Hand” is about relationships and marriage. When a relationship is new and everything is wonderful there are not any fears or regrets. As time goes by even the most desirable qualities in someone will begin to be an annoyance rather than a joy.
Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia.12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013. Print.
In the commencement of the story, the narrator is shocked and in disbelief about the news of his brother’s incarceration, “It was not to be believed” (83). It had been over a year since he had seen his brother, but all he had was memories of him, “This would always be at a moment when I was remembering some specific thing Sonny had once said or done” (83). The narrator’s thoughts about Sonny triggered his anxiety that very day. It was difficult to bear the news of what his brother had become, yet at some point he could relate to Sonny on a personal level, “I hear my brother. And myself” (84). After the news had spurred, the narrator experienced extreme anxiety to the point of sweating. Jus...
Chopin, Kate. "The Story of an Hour." Heritage of American Literature. Ed. James E. Miller. Vol. 2. Austin: Harcourt Brace Jovanich, 1991. 487. Print.
Schoemaker, Jacqueline. “Travel, Homecoming and Wavering Minds in Lyrical Ballads and other Poems.” 'A Natural Delineation of Human Passions': The Historic Moment of Lyrical Ballads. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 2004.
In the lyrical and heartrending short story Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin tells the tale of two brothers, both having taken a different path to survive, and how these paths have estranged them. One brother, the narrator and a button-down algebra teacher, lives a straight-forward life with a wife and two kids. The other brother, Sonny, is a heroin hooked, jazz crazed, musician who views life in a much different light. During the course of their difficult relationship the narrator, through remembrance of previous death experiences in his life, acceptance of Sonny’s choices , and hearing Sonny express his sorrows and suffering through his music is able to open his heart to the previously unaccepted Sonny and rekindle their fraternal bond.
Written by Jamie Ford, Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet follows the life of Henry Lee, a young Chinese-American boy living in Seattle in the 1940’s during World War II, and his reflections on his youth later, in the 1980’s. The novel illustrates the theme that loyalty is important in times of hardship. Henry deals with both loyalty and the absence of it as he copes with his broken relationship with his father, his forbidden, but strong friendship with a Japanese girl, Keiko, and his awkward connection with his son.
Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia.12th ed. New York: Pearson, 2013.58-78.Print.
Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” The Jazz Fiction Anthology. Ed. Sascha Feinstein and David Rife. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2009. 17-48.
Many of our today as “normal” considered values are everything but self-evident. One of the most striking aspects in the novel is time; and our relationship towards it. “ We yearned for the future. How did we learn it that talent for insatiability. ” In this particu...
Chopin, Kate. “The Story of an Hour.” Backpack Literature: An Introduction to Fiction, Poetry, Drama, and Writing. Eds. X. J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. 3rd ed. New York: Pearson, 2010. 261-263. Print.