Title: Exploring Tragedy, Music, and Redemption in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin
In this paper, you will analyze the short story, “Sonny’s Blues” and mention its themes such as drug addiction, incarceration, death, and the healing power of music. Explain why these themes (or the themes you plan to examine) are important to study in literature.
Research Overview:
1. Access the library database provided by HCC Library. You may only use material from the HCC Library.
2. Search for articles and essays about related topics like drug addiction, incarceration, music therapy, etc.
3. Read through the articles and essays to gather information and ideas for your research paper.
Analysis
1. Read “Sonny’s Blues” carefully, focusing on how the characters grapple with addiction, incarceration, and loss, and how music serves as a coping mechanism. Your thesis sentence should be towards the end of the introduction. Please underline it.
2. Take notes on significant scenes, quotes, and character interactions.
3. Compare your observations with the insights from the articles and essays you found in the library database.
4. Look for connections between the characters’ experiences and real-life situations.
Writing the Paper:
1. Start with an introduction where you explain the focus of your paper and why it’s important to explore the themes of addiction, incarceration, and music in “Sonny’s Blues.” Explain why these themes (or the themes you plan to examine) are important to study in literature. Underline your thesis statement. Note- the thesis should be towards the end of the introduction.
2. In the main part of your paper, discuss how the characters in the story deal with tragedy and suffering, and the role of music in their lives.
3. Use examples from the story and the articles you found in the library database to support your arguments.
4. Conclude by summarizing your findings and reflecting on the significance of the themes in the story.
Please write in third person. Your essay should be about four pages, plus a Works Cited page.
Citing Your Sources:
1. Make sure to give credit to the articles and essays you used by including them in your paper’s in-text citations and on the Works Cited page.
2. Follow the MLA guidelines for formatting your citations.
Remember to ask a librarian if you need help finding articles in the library database or understanding how to use citations correctly.
