When looking at the blog posts from our classmates that were written about James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” there was constant discussion about the theme of struggle and missed opportunity. Each blog writer in some way mentioned how the disadvantaged and drug fueled lifestyle of Sonny was due to institutional oppression. Abarrer6 alludes to this oppression in his blog when he states, “Through the text the readers come to understand not only that poverty and a lack of opportunity creates a dark atmosphere that has the potential of leading individuals down a path of drug use but also that it is very difficult to leave drugs and ultimately this life behind”. This was a common idea expressed by several classmates. However, Jchicoi makes the interesting claim that the theme is centered around the idea of brotherly love. He calls attention to the quote “it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.” made by Baldwin referring to Sonny’s drug addiction. Based on this quote, he makes the claim that “Baldwin expresses the importance of brotherly love and that through writing or music even the poorest of brothers can triumph through any amount of suffering”. This was a very interesting idea that really stood out when reading all of the blog posts. When it came time to discuss significant literary or rhetorical techniques featured in the text, many classmates discussed at great length, Baldwin’s frequent use of flashbacks. Asimmon’s mentions this in her blog post and says “Baldwin uses flash back to foreshadow this point in the brothers’ lives and also to help the reader get a better understanding of what they have gone through“. This is certainly a viewpoint that several of our classmates shared.
In addition, there were several common themes that our peers had written about in the fifth blog post about Ginsberg’s poem Howl. Throughout each blog post, our peers emphasize how unconventional the form and technique of this poem is written. What a reader would consider a “normal” poem with correct punctuation, complete sentences or rhyme, Ginsberg went in the opposite direction. Ginsberg’s goal of wanting to be different was achieved. Several peers point out that this poem helped change the literary community. Madness is a key and prevalent theme throughout Howl. Jlohr’s blog points out that “the whole piece already feels like the ramblings and thoughts of a madman” and quotes section I, “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness…”(jlohr). This was a common piece of text quoted. Ginsberg shows his disapproval of living in a society that wants individuals to conform. In several blog posts, our peers write about how Ginsberg uses a lot of symbolism and imagery in Howl. The vivid images allow the reader to understand the destroyed society that he is writing about. The use and the form of free verse further add to the madness of the poem. This is interesting because Ginsberg believes that he is not mad but that the society around him is mad.