Lydias Essay 2

Lydia Schulz
Mr. H. Salsich
English 9
16, September 2008
Learning to Listen
Discussing an Essay on “Sonny’s Blues”

When I first read Sonny’s Blues, I didn’t realize exactly how much I had missed. I thought I had been reading carefully, but after reading Suzy Goldman’s views on the story, I realized that compared to her, I didn’t take in anything at all. While I thought it had been a good story and well written, she delves much deeper in discussing many different levels of the story. In her essay, James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”: A Message In Music Goldman discusses more than I could ever take from that story.
I found this to be a very thoughtful piece of writing. Many of the points made were very shrewd and insightful to the main point of Sonny’s Blue’s. Ms. Goldman’s essay covered most of the key elements in the story and showed the importance of each. One point in the essay at which I noticed this was when Goldman says,” For that first true acceptance of himself, Sonny tells the narrator,‘ You’re my brother.’” One of the essential points talked about in this essay was listening and actually hearing. When Goldman states, “the narrator finally hears his brother’s sorrow in his music, hears, that is, Sonny’s blues,” she subtlely points out that the story was telling us to listen to the ones we love and actually hear what they are saying. This theme continues to crop up throughout the essay, emphasizing its importance. On the whole, this essay covers not only the story of Sonny’s Blues, but also the lessons that go along with it.
I enjoyed reading this thoughtful essay for many reasons. For instance, I liked the style of writing. The frequent excerpts from the book worked well to help emphasize the author’s point, which helped to make them more meaningful. I also noticed that the writing was complex in that there were many expanded sentences, but the writing was still very to the point. Another reason I liked this essay was because of what I thought to be the theme: listening. As Goldman continually hints at this idea, she plants it in our minds and has us think about what it means to truly listen while reading her writing. This certainly worked because as I read, I found myself contemplating what we really hear when we think we are listening. I think that Ms. Goldman did a wonderful job of covering the main points of this story and I greatly enjoyed learning her point of view.
After reading Ms. Goldman’s essay, I feel I have gained a much better understanding of “Sonny’s Blues.” Although I am sure it would take a very long time to get everything I could from the story, I now can comprehend one of the main themes of the story: listening. Now that I have understood it in this literature, I am more equipped to practice my listening and being more attentive to people. Maybe I will be able to finally really hear people in their tragedies, just like our narrator finally heard Sonny.


Works cited:
Goldman, Suzy Bernstein. "Sonny's Blues: James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 22 September 2008. .

Ceilie's Essay

Ceilie Moore
Mr. Salsich
English 9
22 September 2008
An Essay About An Essay:
An Essay On Suzy Goldman’s Essay On “Sonny’s Blues”

Sonny’s Blues, by James Baldwin, is a touching story about two African American brothers living in Harlem, dealing with their own difficult lives, as well as trying to not let each other drown in the chaos of life. Unfortunately, Sonny, the younger brother, struggles to stay above water as he deals with his addiction with drugs, and eventually gets arrested. The unnamed older brother is left to get his brother out of his mess and while contemplating on how to save Sonny, he reflects back on memories of their brotherhood. Suzy Goldman gives a perfect summary in her essay, “James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues: A Message In Music” on the happenings of this short, but powerful tale.
Goldman’s essay is a well organized, sublimely written summary of the short story, Sonny’s Blues. The essay starts off explaining the narrator’s dismay when finding out that his very own brother was caught and imprisoned for doing drugs. She discusses how once the narrator discovers the terrible truths to his brother’s whereabouts, he finally admits to himself about how oblivious he was forcing himself to be, not wanting to admit to himself of Sonny’s habit. “Yet this rude discovery sounds the initial note in these two brothers’ growing closeness”, (Goldman 1) meaning that when Sonny was arrested, he and his brother could not be more distant from each other, but because of the catastrophe, the two are brought together to clean up the mess they’d made of their lives. Goldman continues to synopsize the story by going through the flash backs and the present tense of the story line. She is brought to the final scene in the book, of which she analyses. She dissects the simplicity of Sonny’s jazz band playing at a club, into a conversation between two people. She sees the music being played and they way each note speaks to another as the two themes of communication and music being brought together. Overall, every analogy, similei and piece of input Goldman adds into her summary of the story is deeply thought out, agreeable and in my opinion, true as could be.
In Goldman’s essay, she managed to both give an accurate summary of Sonny’s Blues, while subtly putting in her own opinions. When I first started to read the essay, I felt like I was reading the book, Sonny’s Blues, all over again, just with different wording. I was very confused as to why such a good writer like Goldman, would reword an entire short story, when the description of the article said that is was an essay of Ms. Goldman’s opinions. Every paragraph she wrote was just an abbreviated version of the book, which seemed very misleading as to what the purpose of Goldman’s essay. After realizing the main point of the essay was unclear, I read it again and picked up on smaller things I didn’t notice before. As Goldman was summarizing the story, she was also putting in her own opinions and ideas, making the story easier to understand. For example, “There is a greater brotherhood among people than mere kinship. Moreover, the narrator realizes that their music saves them[…]” says Goldman, as this quote gives reason to a portion of the story, one part that many readers may find confusing. In the end, I think Goldman’s interpretation of the essay could seem tedious and repetitive at first, but once read over carefully, it is much more helpful than confusing.
Sonny’s Blues is a timeless tale with classic morals that stay true through today. From valueing brotherhood to never giving up, James Baldwin teaches readers of these morals through the eyes of one brother reaching out to another. Author Suzy Goldman uses this story and these values to write her own telling of the short book, with her own opinions and inputs subtly, but powerfully, written in. Sonny’s Blues is a heartfelt story for all ages that can do nothing less than inspire and empower its readers.


Works Cited
Suzy Bernstein Goldman. "Sonny's Blues: James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 22 September 2008. .

Timmy's Essay 2

Timmy O’Brien
Mr. Salsich
English 9
22 September 2008

Living Life by the Music:

An Essay on an Essay about “Sonny’s Blues”

        How can one live without music in his or her life? It may seem easy to some, but if you think about it, you realize how much of it we hear without even trying to. For example, you can hear excerpts of song on the radio from cars passing by, or someone singing randomly on the street. Either way, we must realize the importance of music and then let it into our life.
        In her essay, Goldman talks about the importance of music in the lives of Sonny and the narrator. She suggests that when the narrator learns of Sonny’s arrest, he starts to take in the sounds of the children around him and allows memories to come back. Goldman says that “the last boy particularly suggests Sonny, the young man who makes himself heard and transcends …the darkness, with his song.” In saying this, she brings up the idea that even the smallest thing can have a big impact deep within your heart. Goldman also talks about Sonny, saying, “Sonny was at the piano playing for his life.” This implies that, without music and its value to him, Sonny would be living only for the prospect of death. Therefore, music is not only important in his life; it is his life – his only spark of happiness. In the end, Goldman describes the musical connection between the two brothers – the narrator’s realization “that [Sonny] could help [them] to be free if [they] would listen”, but he could never be free until they did.
       In this essay, I think that Goldman is basically trying to give us a descriptive summary of “Sonny’s Blues”. She breaks the story up into five parts, which I found very interesting because, for me, the story flowed nicely and was just one story. The sections of this essay start with the narrator learning about his brother’s arrest and end with the narrator learning the secret behind Sonny’s life. I found that strange because it was a very broad topic to write about in just 3 pages. One thing I really like about this essay was that, when Goldman decided to go into detail on something, she spared nothing. For instance, I didn’t understand the part where James Baldwin says that the narrator started to feel for one of Sonny’s old friends and decided to listen to the words he was saying. After reading Goldman’s essay, I realized that the reason the narrator had never really heard the man’s words was because he didn’t always care about other people, but when he realized that everyone had a story, he wanted to learn it, and learn it he did. Overall, I thought the essay was descriptive, interesting, and almost magical to the confused mind.

        In the end, this essay really gave me the true impression of music in life. It shows that music can cure souls, but also kill them if one becomes too attached and can’t break free. It shows that when you listen to music, you are joining in on a worldwide trek for happiness. Most of all, it shows that you care for one of the most important parts of our culture – the music that lives in everybody, and after years of struggling, finally comes out.
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Works Cited:

Suzy Bernstein Goldman.
“James Baldwin’s ‘Sonny’s Blues’: A Message in Music”. Negro American Literature Forum, Vol 8, no. 3, Fall, 1974. Pp. 231-233.

Sarah's Essay Numero 2

Sarah Shourds Shourds 1
Mr. Salsich
9th Grade English
22 September 2008
Never Be Unheard:
An Essay on an Essay, by Suzy B. Goldman

The essay, "James Baldwin’s ‘Sonny’s Blues’: A Message in Music", written by Suzy B. Goldman, was written with "perfect harmony" and "carr[ied] a vital social message for us" about the story Sonny’s Blue’s, written by James Baldwin. (Goldman) She tells about her opinions on the short story, and thinks that if everyone just listened to one another, that the world would be so much easier. The essay later tells about Sonny and his brother, two complete opposites, attract and learn to piece the puzzle of life together. Goldman’s essay was truly moving, and helped my understanding of "Sonny’s Blues".
Suzy Goldman varies her sentence lengths, uses FAST words as much as possible, and helped my understanding of Sonny’s Blue’s. Goldman helped by piecing up every aspect of the short story, and explaining every detail that needed to be explained. For example, she took a lot of passages from the story and explained them into four different movements. Each movement was basically how she thought the story was divided up, and dividing the story up like this helped better my understanding of each flashback, and each present day recap. Also, Goldman used FAST words such as "equating" and "recapitulating". These FAST words helped Goldman’s essay run smoother, and she used them in such context that it was easy to know what each word meant. In this sentence, " The fourth movement begins by recapitulating and developing the first," the meaning of recapitulating clearly means to summarize, and the sentence makes that clear (Goldman). Goldman is a very swift writer and uses great techniques that help her writing flow with dignity.
It’s hard to summarize an essay like so, because Goldman basically pieced apart Sonny’s Blue’s and summarized that short story. The message that Goldman so vividly wrote about was very true- make yourself heard before it’s too late. Sonny, as Goldman said, was "unheard". I think Sonny was unheard for so long because he didn’t put all of his heart into his music, and when he finally did, he was heard by his fellow peers. Goldman then knows that the narrator feels Sonny’s strength’s, and can tell that he was being heard by others. Goldman basically breaks the story into five definite sections - the first "movement" begins with Sonny’s arrest, the second "open’s with Sonny’s first letter", the third is based on the word "safe" and is a flashback of Sonny’s father, the fourth recaps on the first movement, expanding in greater detail about little Gracie’s death, and the final "movement" is the theme. The first, second and third "movement[‘s]" are of Sonny being immature, and revolving around heroine to answer his problems. In the last two "movements" Sonny realizes that letting his problems play through his fingers and into people’s ears, rather than bottling up his problems and using a drug to cover it, helps him feel better and like a better person.
Suzy Goldman’s essay touched on the very essential keys in life- to listen to one another, and let to let no voice go unheard. Sonny knows the feeling of being unheard, but don’t let yourself feel like that. Goldman’s essay was written with strong techniques and was written with great power. "Sonny’s music stirs special memories in the brothers’ lives, but these blues belong to all of us, for they symbolize the darkness which surrounds all those who fail to listen to and remain unheard by their fellow men." (Goldman)






Works Cited:

Suzy Bernstein Goldman. "Sonny’s Blues: James Badlwin’s ‘Sonny’s Blues’: A Message in Music."
Short stories for students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowsky. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998.http://www.enotes.com/sonnys-blues/james-baldwins-sonnys-blues-message-music
January 2006. 19 September 2008.

lydias essay 1

Lydia Schulz
Mr. H. Salsich
English 9
16, September 2008
Is it so Cliché?
An Essay Comparing Two Quotes
After hearing it so many times, when someone says that you need to live in the moment it sounds a little cliché. Once I better understood these quotes, however, those four words seem so much m ore important. You really do need to “live your way into the answer.” The journey certainly is the reward.
The main idea that Rilke is trying to get across is to be patient and that we should think about this in everything we do. He talks about, “books written in a very foreign language.” This seems to be encouraging us to be inquisitive and try to learn things. However, we also have to be patient, as learning how to read a book in a foreign language takes time and practice. Rilke also says to, “live everything,” meaning that we are to take the opportunities that are thrown at us. If we do not take chances in life, we gut stuck in a safe zone from which we might never emerge. If this is the way we live, we may look back on life and regret. The fundamental point of the quote is to be patient. All of your questions may not have answers at first, but the thing you have to do is wait for them to come to you. It all has to do with being patient and trusting that time will sort things out for you.
I think that this quote relates to another quote that is written on the wall in the hallway: “the journey is the reward.” This quote is a Chinese proverb. Many people would say that you are rewarded most at the end of a journey. This quote tells us that it is actually the journey and what you learned form it that is the most important reward. What these quotes say to me is that you need experience in life to learn yourself. That experience (the journey) will help you to be patient when the answers don’t come right away. That experience will show you how to “live your way into the answer.” Finally, these quotes tell us to live for the moment, or, “live everything.” It really is the present that counts, not what happens in the future. What is happening now is the reward. It seems to me that these quotes have exceedingly similar messages.
These two meaningful quotes have taught me many things. I have learned that you would do better to live completely in the moment, although I had already grasped this message from numerous magnets and bumper stickers. The main thing I learned is that the end result is not the most important reward. It is the steps you took to reach that goal that really count.

Ceilie's Essay

Ceilie Moore

Mr. H. Salsich

English 9

16 September 2008

Advising the Journey: 

An Essay on Two Quotes and a Project

When entering the main building of Pine Point School, you see various (FAST word) quotes resting on the walls, guiding both students and teachers throughout the say with tips on how to succeed, achieve their goals and never give up. There is one quotation that sits above the doorway, a Chinese proverb that reads, "The journey is the reward." There is another quote, not on the wall, by German poet Rainer Maria Rilke about advising young ones on how to find the answers to their questions. The two quotes not only take us on a journey to the deep meaning of the two statements, but also teach us a lesson on how life should really be lived. 

Rilke's quote and the Chinese proverb both advise people, especially today's youth, of multiple things on their journey through life. In Rilke's quote, he says, "You are so young [...] have patience with everything unresolved." What he means by those words is that what remains uncertain will figure itself out in the end. And while you wait for those questions to sew themselves into answers, love and cherish the life you're living because "the journey [of life] is the reward", not the end result. (loose sentence) Another way the quotes both send a helpful message to people is they both see the questions you ask in life as precious gold. "Love the questions themselves" because the questions you ask are what define you and make you who you are. Questions are the real "rewards" in life, while the answers are just signs that read "Dead End" because one all your questions are answered, what else is there to live for? The third way in which the Rilke quote and the proverb give advice to the world, is that they both say that you'll find your way to the answers, so don't go searching for them. The proverb is stating that the events that occur on your journey through life have no effect on the outcome, so live for the moment because those memories you make along the way are the true "reward." Rilke also says something much like this when he explains, 

"Someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer," meaning there is no need to fret about answering your questions because you will eventually stumble upon them, maybe without even noticing or expecting it.

After comparing these wise quotes to each other, I noticed they compared to something else, the eighth grade assessment project. The first way they are all alike is that when we did our volunteer work for the project, we had to love the work we did in order to get the real experience out of it. We didn't like doing the work as much as we wanted to get it done, much like in the Rilke quote when he talked about how you had to "love the questions" as opposed to just wanting their answers. To relate the project to the Chinese proverb, the "reward" we received for our performance at the end of the Assessment "journey", was knowing we helped people in need. Another reason the quotes and Assessment relate to each other is that the project was a long, grueling (FAST word) "journey" that we had to travel and patience was key  to succeed in the Assessment. We had to be patient with the exhausting amount of work we were given because even though it was a lot to take in, we knew that if it wasn't done, the consequences were extreme and ones we did not want to face. We also had to do many different things with long lengths of time in between, such as our essays and our volunteer hours,  but we knew "someday far in the future [...] [we would] live [our] way into the answer" and that answer was the end of the project. (loose sentence) The final way that the quotes and Assessment tie together was when we received our grades. After Assessment was over, we had a two-week vacation and over that span of time, we were going to be given our grades. Mail is an unpredictable thing, so we had to wait for our final "answer" of how we did to come to us, instead of us "search[ing] for our answers." In the end, I think Assessment was one of those journeys that the proverb was describing because the things we did along the way were the rewards that we received, and the grades we all got were just letters that judged how well we presented our achievements to an audience. 

In the end, although the two quotes are different in length and one may be longer than the other, what they are saying is just as strong and wise. The two quotes are perfect advice to those eagerly searching for the answers to their questions. Both quotes talk about how the memories we share and the friends we make that you make in your lifetime are the real treasures in this so-called journey. The outcome of life is just fate falling into place. 

Sarah: Essay 1

Sarah Mariah Shourds
Mr. Hamilton Salsich
English 9
15 September 2008

Opposite's Attract:
An Essay About Relating a Poem and a Quote

Life is one of the most difficult tasks in life that we must achieve day after day. But why ask your life long questions now? Why even think about the future when you have other issues your more concerned about? These are the questions people ask day in and day out, when really people should just take advice from the famous German poet Rainer Maria Rilke, and not "search for the answers," because, "then you will not be able to live them." Or you could think of life as Abraham Lincoln did and just say, "the future comes one day at a time." Rilke wants people to not revolve around the question- to let the question be solved on its own. [Loose Sentence] Abraham wants people to live to the fullest- "one day at a time." You could always live life to the fullest and answer your life long question during that like Rilke and Lincoln did, or you could just answer your question and live every day the same as the last- your choice. [Loose Sentence]
Lincoln and Rilke both believe that a person should live life to the fullest, and that you should never try to answer any questions too fast. Rilke believes that if you live your life to the fullest, that in time your unanswered question will be answered whether you know it or not. He thinks that if you try to live your life too fast, that not only will your answers not be answered, but you would not understand "the foreign language" that your life has revolved around. He seems to be saying that if you leave the question alone, like a furocious [Fast] beast, then the beast would become more serene and the question would become more worthy of answering. Lincoln takes on a similiar aproach in his quote. It seems he thinks that no matter how scary things can be in the future, that "[t]he best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time." He wants people to not be afraid of what is coming, but to think of it in their own, optimistic way. These two quotes are similiar because they both encounter the meaning of life, and to not live it as only "one day at a time." If the your answer is not found within, then why even ask the question? In order to ask the question, you have to live through it first, and think of the future not in such a scary matter, but as the answer unfolding inside. You may not even know when your question is answered, and when you don't, it means your living your life to the fullest, which Rilke believes everyone should do. No matter how different these two quotes may be, they compare and contrast in so many ways that it's easy to relate them. Either way, both think that living life to the fullest is key when trying to answer your question.
TS Individually, each of the quotes could be interpreted in many different ways. SD Lincolns quote, "The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time," could mean to not worry about the future, and always live like you were dying. CM The future "comes one day at a time" and if you worry about that one day, it might not come in the usual cycle. CM Worrying takes up too much energy, and there really is no point in worrying about the future. SD Rilke's quote, "Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you won't be able to live them," on the other hand, could basically mean if you search for the answers for anything and never give up, you may never get the answer you had wished for. CM Spending too much time probing [Fast] for an answer could not only be a waste of time, but not as much of an in-depth answer as you could've gotten if you had just waited for the answer to come to you. CM When it's the right time, and place, the answer will come to you- whether you know it or not [Loose Sentence]. SD When you combime these two quotes together, you get a very passionate and true passage, such as this- "Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because the best thing about the future is that comes one day at a time." CM This quote could simply mean nothing to you, but when you piece it apart, it makes total sense. CM It's basically stating to not worry about living life, just remember that you live it "one day at a time". CS Don't be heartbroken if when you search for your life long, unanswered question and you don't discover anything. CS2 Just remember that you answer that question "one day at a time".
Both of these quotes make two valid statements such as living life to the fullest. Both quotes relate in numerous ways, and when put together, make a statement that is so powerful and invincable, [Fast] it makes you want to re-think about what your unanswered question truely is. Lincoln and Rilke have two different ways of reaching out to people and letting them know that you only get one life. When combined, the quote could sound like this: " Don't search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because the best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time."

Timmy's essay 1

Timmy O’Brien
Mr. H. Salsich
English 9
16 September 2008

Choose your Questions Carefully:

An Essay about a Quote and a Poem

        Questions are interesting things to think about because, though they are intangible [FAST],they can sometimes feel as solid as a rock. For example, if someone asked you to marry him or her, you might feel winded, but if someone asked you the question, “Why?” would you even answer it? Maybe you would give a round-about answer and be on your marry way, but how can you answer a question that has no definite answer? You could dodge the question, or you could be like Rainer Maria Rilke or George Bernard Shaw and answer by way of telling them how to find the answer.
        Rilke and Shaw both think that one shouldn’t ask foolish questions – that one should keep going with life and will someday run into the answer [loose sentence]. Rilke seems to think that the answers to the unasked questions will find their way to you in due time. He thinks that if you “live the questions now [] perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually […] live your way into the answer.” He seems to say that if you leave the question alone like you would a vicious animal, it will become tamable and then answerable. Mr. Shaw has a different yet similar idea. He thinks that people shouldn’t see things and ask, “Why?” but that people should realize their own dreams and create accordingly. He thinks that if someone asks a foolish question it is only because they have not yet thought of the obvioius. These two thoughts are similar because they both address the futility [FAST] of asking questions that one cannot fully comprehend the answer to. If you can’t fully grasp the meaning of the answer, what would be the point in hearing it? You must slowly be immersed by the question, and then and only then will you be ready for the answer. Either way, they both think that answers are a tool for knowledge, and they must be given out only when they will be used to the fullest extent.
        They also both seem to say that questions and answers should be thought about, dreamed about, and cared about, or else it won’t be appreciated to its fullest extent. Rilke wants questioners to surround themselves in the question – to think and dream about the answer, and if they can do that, then they are ready [loose sentence]. If the questioner thinks about the question like a “locked room[] or [a] book[] written in a very foreign language”, then he or she can learn to love them. In loving them, they are preparing themselves for the end and the answer. Shaw wants people to think of every “why” in their life, and think of a “why not” to counterbalance it. He wants people to not just be skeptical, but creative. He seems to be saying, “If you see something you don’t understand, think of something you can do to make it more understandable and fix your own problem.” Rilke and Shaw seem to be on the same page because they both want people to live the questions. Rilke wants people to love their questions try to become one with them, whereas Shaw wants people to create their own questions and, in turn, develop into part of them. When they have completed that task, they will be ready to face anything in the world. Overall, both of these men want the questioners to love what they can ask, and ask what they love – the questions themselves.
        Whether asking them or answering them, questions are an important part of life. From Rilke’s standpoint, you must ask the questions to be able to live them, and when you have lived them through and through you can be able to answer them. From Shaw’s perspective, you must find the “why not” that corresponds to every “why” in order to succeed in life. Either way, questions are vitally important part of a good life and well-rounded knowledge.

Welcome!

Welcome! You have just entered the workings of four ninth graders. On this blog we will be posting essays, poems, etc. We hope you enjoy our blog!

Sincerely,

Ceilie, Timmy, Lydia and Sarah

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