Analysis of The Blue Hotel by Stephen Crane
"The Blue Hotel" by Stephen Crane is a story about three travelers passing through Fort Romper, Nebraska. Pat Scully, the owner of the Palace Hotel, draws the men to his hotel that is near the train station. In the hotel the three men meet Johnnie, son of Scully, and agree to play a game of cards with him. During the game, the Swede declares Johnnie as a cheater; this gives rise to a fistfight between Johnnie and the Swede. The Swede wins the fight but leaves the hotel with a false sense of confidence. He goes to a nearby bar and boasts about his victory and eventually gets himself in a fight with a gambler; and Swede eventually is killed. The central idea behind the action in the story is that a person might play a minor role in a terrible act and think that it's ok, but when the outcome is seen it can be that the person who play minor roles may be equal to the persons at large.
There are five main characters in "The Blue Hotel." The most dominant of them is "a shaky and quick-eyed" Swede who acts very nervously and strangely. Pat Scully is a very keen, soft and polite owner of the hotel, who makes sure that his customers are satisfied with him. The third main character is Johnnie -- son of Scully, who is young and enjoys playing cards. "A tall bronzed cowboy" who is very sympathetic towards Johnnie during the fistfight, is yet another main character. Perhaps the least dominant main character is the Easterner; he is a quiet and...
The author Ken Kesey was born in La Junta, Colorado and went to Stanford University. He volunteered to be used for an experiment in the hospital because he would get paid. In the book “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, Kesey brings up the past memories to show how Bromden is trying to be more confident by using those thoughts to make him be himself. He uses Bromden’s hallucinations, Nurse Ratched’s authority, and symbolism to reveal how he’s weak, but he builds up more courage after each memory.
According to Liukkonen, James Baldwin is well known for his "novels on sexual and personal identity, and sharp essays on civil-rights struggle in the United States." "Sonny's Blues" is no exception to this. The story takes place in Harlem, New York in the 1950's and tells of the relationship between two brothers. The older brother, who is the narrator and a participant in the novel, remains unnamed throughout the story. The novel is about the struggles, failures and successes of these two African American brothers growing up in the intercity as a minority. The encounters that the narrator and his brother, Sonny, have throughout the story exemplify Baldwin's theme of personal accountability and ethical criticism.
Sonny’s Blues is first-person narration by the elder brother of the musician struggling with heroin addiction and issues with law. However, on closer inspection it appears that Sonny’s unnamed brother is also very troubled. His difficulties cannot easily be perceived and recognized especially by the character himself. The story gives accounts of the problems Sonny’s brother has with taking responsibility, understanding and respecting his younger brother’s lifestyle.
Sonny’s Blues written by James Baldwin appears to suggest that family and faith are important aspects in someone’s life and that each person has a different way of dealing with their own demons. The author writes with an expressive purpose and narrative pattern to convey his message and by analyzing the main characters, the point of view of the narration, the conflict in the story and the literary devices Baldwin utilizes throughout his tale, his central idea can be better understood.
Murray, Donald C. James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues': Complicated and Simple. N.p.: Newberry College, n.d. Literary Reference Database. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.
The central characters in "Sonny's Blues" afford one another a place in which to suffer. The relationships between these brothers and their mother reveal the ways in which family members allow each other moments of weakness in order to access and resolve personal grief. By allowing one another to suffer, the pain becomes easier to bear. They gain a sense of empathy that helps them to face the life ahead of them. The narrator feels "for the first time, how the stones of the road she had walked on must have bruised her feet" (439). It is this feeling of companionship that pushes these characters forward against the trouble.
Conflict is opposition between two forces, and it may be external or internal,” (Barker). There are two styles of external conflict that can be examined within the plot of “Sonny’s Blues”. The first of these is character versus society. This is the outer layer of the external conflict observed between Sonny and the society, which his life is out casted from. The meat and potatoes of the external conflict however, is character versus character. Sonny lives a lifestyle that his brother seems to be incapable of understanding. The internal conflict lies within the narrator. It is his struggle to understand his brother that drives the plot. The climax occurs when Sonny and the narrator argue in the apartment. The argument stems from the narrators complete inability to understand Sonny’s drug usage and life as a musician, and Sonny’s feeling of abandonment and inability to make his brother understand him. This conflict appears to come to a resolve at the resolution as the narrator orders Sonny a drink following hearing Sonny perform for the first time. It appears as though this is the moment when the narrator begins to understand, perhaps for the first time, his brother the
In conclusion, Sonny’s Blues depicts the love of a brother through the narrator, who at the beginning was disengaged, unsupportive, and emotionally distant. However, the turning point was when Grace died. This triggered a great turmoil of feelings that overflowed the narrator leading him to a major and impacting change. Instead, he turned into being involved, supportive, understanding, honest, and accepting of his brother Sonny; regardless of the reality that there was no guarantee his pain would not consume his life.
Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues." The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 1992: 409 - 439.
Struggle, drugs, separation and reunion, that is what James Baldwin illustrates in Sonny’s blues. It is the story between two entirely different brothers as they struggle to discover who each one of them really is. “Sonny’s Blues” is narrated through the nameless older brother through first person with limited omniscience. Point of view is the narrator’s position in relation to the story which is depicted by the attitude toward the characters and Baldwin purposely picks to tell the story in the first person point of view because of the omniscient and realistic effects it contribute to the story overall. The point of view in this
First of all, the identity of Sonny is contrasted sharply with his brother, the narrator. The most obvious difference between the two is their names. Sonny's name is prominent and part of the story's theme. Sonny's brother, on the other hand, is never given a name. Despite being the voice and the perspective of the story, the narrator does not have a distinct identity. He is known solely by his relationship with others, his status as a brother, a son, a husband and a father.
The short story Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin is written in first person through the narrator. This story focuses on the narrator’s brother sonny and their relationship throughout the years. This story is taken place in Harlem, New York in the 1950s. The narrator is a high school algebra teacher and just discovered his brother in the newspaper. This story includes the traditional elements to every story, which consist of the exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and the resolution.
The agreed upon contract between the government of Bangladesh and Niko Resources Ltd. consisted of Niko being able to revive two abandoned gas fields in Bangladesh to replicate their famous Indian success story. Although no fatalities were reported in the two blowouts, Niko Resources Ltd. became the central focus of Bangladeshi politicians, journalists, activists, and villagers who tarnished their reputation while seeking compensation. In order to achieve a win-win outcome in the next phase of negotiation while reconstructing the reputation of Niko Resources Ltd. it is essential to acknowledge the underlying interests of both parties. Therefore, proposing an overlap of interest between both parties along with suggesting cultural differences that may be impacting further negotiations and their respective solutions can be a useful tool in achieving the preferred outcome.
The struggle for survival by mankind can be found in many different settings. It can be seen on a battlefield, a hospital room or at sea as related in “The Open Boat”, written in 1897 by Stephen Crane. The story is based on his actual experiences when he survived the sinking of the SS Commodore off the coast of Florida in early 1897. “The Open Boat” is Stephen Crane’s account of life and death at sea told through the use of themes and devices to emphasize the indifference of nature to man’s struggles and the development of mankind’s compassion.
The short story Sonny’s Blues was written by an author name James Baldwin in (1957). The narrative of the story talks about his younger brother who was busted for heroin. The younger brother is known as Sonny’s. The narrator continue with his normal life as a school teacher as if he did not just find out terrible news about his younger brother. However, he could not get the fact that his younger brother was busted for heroin out his mind. The author never wrote Sonny until the author daughter had gotten really sick. From there you can see how the two brothers was related and what they have been through in their life. We learned that the brothers had lost both their parents. As the author continue he describe his father to be a drunken man who