John updike’s a&p versus james baldwin’s sony blues essay

While Sammy and Stokesie are impressed by the women, the store’s manager Lengel, admonishes them. As the women are walking out, Sammy quits his job, claiming that he opposed Lengel’s treatment of the women. While he hoped that the women saw him doing this, he walks out to find that they have already left. Sonny’s Blues is a narrative by James Baldwin, which recounts the experiences of the narrator, who is Sonny’s older brother. Sonny finds out through a newspaper story, that Sonny has been arrested and jailed for selling and using heroin. Both narratives are set in post-war America, following the end of the Great War and World War II. In A&P, the narrative is set during the 1960s, when the world was going through numerous social changes and upheavals.

One of the changes that were present at the time, particularly in the European society was women’s struggle for equality. Women were expressing their disapproval of the oppressive system by engaging in acts of rebellion. This is evident in the young women’s decision to walk into the grocery store in questionable clothing. The author’s decision to use the first-person narrative ensures that the author is brought much closer to the actions of their characters. It makes both stories more relatable to their readers. Differences Themes The two narratives have varying themes, which are highlighted throughout the story. To begin with, the most prominent theme present in A&P is consequences. All the characters in the story suffer the negative consequences of their actions.

Conversely, the themes present in Sonny’s Blues present a stark contrast to those in A&P. The dominant theme is loss and suffering. The narrator has endured multiple incidents of loss in his life. They include the death of both his mother and father, the loss of his daughter, and the horrors of the war. Furthermore, he also has to watch his brother go through his addictive behavior. ” In a separate instance, he refers to “the cup of trembling. ” This statement alludes to the suffering that Sonny had endured, and seeks to liken his experiences to Jesus’ suffering. This imagery indicates that Sonny’s suffering is both inevitable and a source of redemption. The narrator’s prose also contains a biblical tone.

The words Baldwin uses have biblical undertones. This indicates that the author not only lacks authority but that his reliability as a narrator is highly questionable. A majority of his opinions, such as his comment on the female mind and the need to go through with gestures are purely Sammy’s and not Updike’s. Characters The final difference observed in Sonny’s Blues and A&P is the characters. In Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues, the characters are African-American men, whose lives are characterized by a lot of suffering. These characters advance themes, such as racism, poverty and the struggle of African-Americans. However, they also share a few noticeable differences. For example, the themes highlighted are different as one story places more emphasis on women’s sexual power and consequences, while the other highlights struggle, loss and race.