Hemingways A Well-Lighted Place and Baldwins Sonnys Blues
Human suffering can be observed to be among the prevailing themes in fiction the highlight of an individuals person becomes a subject of exploration and curiousity, and in fiction, the process of resolving a characters surface requires breaking into his or her issues. The common thread between these two stories can then be seen in how the characters can be strongly explored with regards to their conflicts, realizations and motivation. It can be gathered from these two short fictional works that human nature is very complex even for those who seem to have it together. In Hemingways work, there is the old man with plenty of money who dared kill himself, whereas in Baldwins, the narrators life strongly contrasts with the demons of his past and his relationship with his brother. Even when subject to an environment of normalcy, human suffering surfaces because of the realities of separation, the constant need to explore and understand ones identity, and finally, to come to terms that theres no other way not to suffer.
The realities of separation can be seen in some peoples need for isolation the need to break away from their environment and to just highlight themselves as a person becomes an opportunity of assessment, or at least, to position ones self in a vacuum of nothingness. The old man in A Well-Lighted Place chooses to stay alone in one table, drinking brandy. The story that surrounds him in which he tried to kill himself already shows his tendencies to keep people away from him. His pretensions of deafness also separates him from the people around him, especially the waiters that surround him in the cafe. This separation therefore highlights how the old man contrasts with his immediate reality of youth and vibrance, something he had lost long ago. This contrasts with the youth and the possibilities that the two brothers in Baldwins story still had. In Sonnys Blues, Sonnys choice to separate from his brother is a means for him to really establish that they have been distant in the first place. The lack of a strong brotherhood connection is a pretension that Sonny does not want to get into, and for his brother, delaying his correspondence while Sonnys in jail is a way for him to maintain the distance from his troubled past.
This combination of separation and isolation shows how these characters experience the conflicts of their environment, in which case it is through these actions that they are able to find the resolution. Nonetheless, this does not discount the fact that they still suffer in one way or another. In comparison, how these characters respond to separation demonstrate their conflicts. The old man has been clearly in the dark place, but he chooses to go out in a well-lit cafe and sit under the shadows of the leaves that are cast on his table. For Sonny and his brother, their separate lives does not prevent them from coming into contact. It can be seen that both characters from the two stories have isolated themselves from a particular environment, but contact remains to be an important part of their lives.
In relation to separation and isolation, human suffering surfaces because an exploration of ones identity may have to mean excluding the influence and wishes of others. When Sonny reaches the realization that he wanted to become a musician, his brother seems to merely tag along with this dream. And then when Sonny expresses he is going to join the Army, this is met with opposition by his brother. Because of the difference in character between the two the brother, who is seven years older than Sonny, cannot seem to express enough confidence that his brother can do anything right. This is because it seems that Sonnys choice may lead to one form of suffering to another. For the old man, separation and isolation seems to be the only way for him to come to terms with his personal suffering. With his attempted suicide, his identity and person has boiled down to nothing his view in life, as probably spoken through the older waiter (was nada y pues nada y pues nada...), is an embrace of nothingness. This embrace is further emphasized with his will to live in nothing, and that is in death. Both characters share their sentiments for finding themselves in the midst of their respective realities. However, the difference is that Sonny finds passion, his brother finds the comfort in being realistic, and the old man found nothing.
Finally, human suffering can be seen in the concession to suffering. Sonnys brother has conceded to suffering, and his life has been about try(ing) all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it..., whereas Sonny asks, Why do people suffer Maybe its better to do something to give it a reason, any reason. Sonnys brother concedes to suffering by acknowledging it and fighting it, whereas Sonny concedes to it by trying to figure it out. Both brothers suffer in their own ways, but suffering is already a given. For the old man, suffering is a given too, but his means to end it was to end himself.
These characters show character conflicts in terms of how they address human suffering. Sonnys brother takes the classic route by making things seem alright in his life he takes a wife, has children, maintains a house and a job as a school teacher. On the surface it seems that suffering must be minimal for him because he has everything. However, it can be gathered from the story that his suffering runs deep in his veins. His relationship with his brother, albeit their differences, is his only root to the past, and will most likely determine his connection to the future. Similar to the brother, the old man may also not have any reason to suffer. With his wealth, the reason for his suffering maybe nothing, but in the end, his inner conflicts resolve to identifying that the reason he is suffering is that even in the midst of everything he has nothing. For Sonny, he is the one who seems to suffer most with his conflict with the law and his addiction however, he may seem more fulfilled with his passion to become a musician and to live a conflicted life which he seems to want in the first place.
Based on these, these characters live by their respective conflicts but the differences are evident. Sonny acknowledges his own conflicts and resolves it by living a dangerous life. His brother, on one hand, tries to avoid conflict by facing up to it and by living a life where conflict is minimized. The old man, however, lives in what seems like a conflict-free life, but his search for his own conflict is a means for him to feel human or himself. Such actions and motivations are rooted in their respective realizations when it comes to their relationship to others and relationship with themselves. Apparently, it is through human suffering that they all feel human but how they deal with this reality makes all the difference.
The realities of separation can be seen in some peoples need for isolation the need to break away from their environment and to just highlight themselves as a person becomes an opportunity of assessment, or at least, to position ones self in a vacuum of nothingness. The old man in A Well-Lighted Place chooses to stay alone in one table, drinking brandy. The story that surrounds him in which he tried to kill himself already shows his tendencies to keep people away from him. His pretensions of deafness also separates him from the people around him, especially the waiters that surround him in the cafe. This separation therefore highlights how the old man contrasts with his immediate reality of youth and vibrance, something he had lost long ago. This contrasts with the youth and the possibilities that the two brothers in Baldwins story still had. In Sonnys Blues, Sonnys choice to separate from his brother is a means for him to really establish that they have been distant in the first place. The lack of a strong brotherhood connection is a pretension that Sonny does not want to get into, and for his brother, delaying his correspondence while Sonnys in jail is a way for him to maintain the distance from his troubled past.
This combination of separation and isolation shows how these characters experience the conflicts of their environment, in which case it is through these actions that they are able to find the resolution. Nonetheless, this does not discount the fact that they still suffer in one way or another. In comparison, how these characters respond to separation demonstrate their conflicts. The old man has been clearly in the dark place, but he chooses to go out in a well-lit cafe and sit under the shadows of the leaves that are cast on his table. For Sonny and his brother, their separate lives does not prevent them from coming into contact. It can be seen that both characters from the two stories have isolated themselves from a particular environment, but contact remains to be an important part of their lives.
In relation to separation and isolation, human suffering surfaces because an exploration of ones identity may have to mean excluding the influence and wishes of others. When Sonny reaches the realization that he wanted to become a musician, his brother seems to merely tag along with this dream. And then when Sonny expresses he is going to join the Army, this is met with opposition by his brother. Because of the difference in character between the two the brother, who is seven years older than Sonny, cannot seem to express enough confidence that his brother can do anything right. This is because it seems that Sonnys choice may lead to one form of suffering to another. For the old man, separation and isolation seems to be the only way for him to come to terms with his personal suffering. With his attempted suicide, his identity and person has boiled down to nothing his view in life, as probably spoken through the older waiter (was nada y pues nada y pues nada...), is an embrace of nothingness. This embrace is further emphasized with his will to live in nothing, and that is in death. Both characters share their sentiments for finding themselves in the midst of their respective realities. However, the difference is that Sonny finds passion, his brother finds the comfort in being realistic, and the old man found nothing.
Finally, human suffering can be seen in the concession to suffering. Sonnys brother has conceded to suffering, and his life has been about try(ing) all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it..., whereas Sonny asks, Why do people suffer Maybe its better to do something to give it a reason, any reason. Sonnys brother concedes to suffering by acknowledging it and fighting it, whereas Sonny concedes to it by trying to figure it out. Both brothers suffer in their own ways, but suffering is already a given. For the old man, suffering is a given too, but his means to end it was to end himself.
These characters show character conflicts in terms of how they address human suffering. Sonnys brother takes the classic route by making things seem alright in his life he takes a wife, has children, maintains a house and a job as a school teacher. On the surface it seems that suffering must be minimal for him because he has everything. However, it can be gathered from the story that his suffering runs deep in his veins. His relationship with his brother, albeit their differences, is his only root to the past, and will most likely determine his connection to the future. Similar to the brother, the old man may also not have any reason to suffer. With his wealth, the reason for his suffering maybe nothing, but in the end, his inner conflicts resolve to identifying that the reason he is suffering is that even in the midst of everything he has nothing. For Sonny, he is the one who seems to suffer most with his conflict with the law and his addiction however, he may seem more fulfilled with his passion to become a musician and to live a conflicted life which he seems to want in the first place.
Based on these, these characters live by their respective conflicts but the differences are evident. Sonny acknowledges his own conflicts and resolves it by living a dangerous life. His brother, on one hand, tries to avoid conflict by facing up to it and by living a life where conflict is minimized. The old man, however, lives in what seems like a conflict-free life, but his search for his own conflict is a means for him to feel human or himself. Such actions and motivations are rooted in their respective realizations when it comes to their relationship to others and relationship with themselves. Apparently, it is through human suffering that they all feel human but how they deal with this reality makes all the difference.
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