Throughout the semester, Professor Henderson has opened student’s minds to a plethora of short stories and videos, but two stories really struck out to me. The stories that challenged my thought process the most were Ernest Gaines’s short story, “The Sky is Gray,” and James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues.” “The Sky is Gray,” by Gaines, is a story around the theme of growing up too soon, from a young man’s perspective. The protagonist, James, is a young child who has to grow up too soon due to his father being away in World War II. James’s mother, Octavia, forces him to give up his childhood in order to help his family survive in the harsh world. On a cold and weary day, James accompanies his mother on a trip into town. While on this …show more content…
The story revolves around two brothers and their relationship with one another. The narrator, Sonny’s older brother, and Sonny argue over how Sonny chooses to live his life. Sonny is an aspiring musician who engages in drugs to help manage his internal pain. The narrator feels responsible for Sonny and his troubles, but he doesn’t truly understand Sonny or the demons Sonny keeps hidden. Sonny and his brother finally bond when Sonny’s brother hears him play the piano. Sonny releases all of his pain and inner troubles through his passion, which is music. The character, Sonny, prompts me to evaluate the way that different people handle problems by releasing their stress through diverse outlets. The reaction of Sonny’s inner darkness with his light brings about a beautiful creation in his music. This challenges me to believe that no matter the struggle, I can ease my pain by putting my whole self into what I love to do, like Sonny puts all of him into his music. Sonny’s Blues clarifies that no one really recognizes what someone else could be going through and why they would cope the way they