Darkness and The Light
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The Darkness and the Light
In the story "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin, we see many uses of imagery, symbolism, and figurative language. Whereas the major idea of this essay will cover imagery, one would be remiss not to discuss other literary elements so eloquently weaved into this tale detailing the struggles of African Americans in 1950s Harlem, New York.
Imagery includes any words and phrases that appeal to "a reader's five sense sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch" (Language of Literature 192). Baldwin masterfully illustrates each scene which enables the reader to place themselves is the urban jungle that is Harlem. This atmosphere is created to detail the dark influences that bring Sonny into the abyss of drug addiction. However, redemption comes at the end as Sonny finds a way to move from the darkness and into the light.
Baldwin grabs the readers' attention in the first two sentences of the text, "I read about it in the paper, in the subway, on my way to work. I read it, and I couldn't believe it, and I read it again (1773)." Baldwin creates a familiar sensation in the reader which causes one to recall a time of reading something in total disbelief. One could liken it to reading a bank statement only to find several hundred dollars deposited without the account holder knowing...