Flashback in Sonny Blues
Writers often utilize various literary devices in order to enhance, or empower their works. One of the most effective of these devices is flashback. Flashback is commonly used to tell the reader more about the history of the plot, and also the history of the characters within the plot. In Elizabeth Bowen's "The Demon Lover", for example, flashback is used to explain Kathleen and the way she acts today based on events that took place in her past. Bowen writes: Kathleen behaved well then, some months later, her fiance was Reported missing, presumed killed(102). This, being told after Kathleen finds the letter from this fiance some twenty-five years later, helps the reader to understand Kathleen's surprise. It also serves to explain more about the people and events that have influenced her throughout her lifetime. The concept of flashback is not only employed, but mastered by James Baldwin in his short fiction, "Sonny's Blues". Baldwin's brilliantly smooth transitions from past to present, and then back to past, almost redefine flashback and influence how it is used today. Baldwin tells the story of "Sonny's Blues" through the eyes of Sonny's brother, a limited narrator. In the present, Sonny is in jail. He wa
It would be simple for readers to find themselves in the midst of this flashback without knowledge of it. With a single word (safe), Baldwin enables the reader to slide back in time with the narrator, Sonny, and their family. Baldwin's ability to do this so efficiently gives the story a more realistic feel. Then she stopped and the room was silent, exactly as it had sometimes been on those Sunday afternoons. Mama kept looking out into the streets. James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" is a short story, not twenty pages in length, that describes the life and times of a narrator, his brother Sonny, and his life long struggle to understand and relate to his brother. He wants to know Sonny. He wants to know where he has been, where he is going, who he is, and who he wants to become. We are taken through the many stages of Sonny's life with the incorporation of flashback, which can be deemed necessary after understanding its value to the plot. A reader may have a difficult time understanding Sonny, or his blues without it.
Some common words found in the essay are:
Sonny's Blues, Demon Lover, , Blues Baldwin's, sonny's blues, James Baldwin, reader understand, narrator sonny, transitions past, smooth transitions past, smooth transitions, age fourteen, flashback flashback, baldwin writes,
Approximate Word count = 818
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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