Compare & Contrast Essay

Submitted By lenanguyen_
Words: 1042
Pages: 5

The scale for sibling’s relationships can go as high as the sky or as low as the ground. James Baldwin’s, “Sonny’s Blues” and Alice Walker’s, “Everyday Use” are great example of two completely different sibling relationship yet with the slightest amount of similarity. Both storyline gives an exceptional amount of details elaborating on responsibility, acceptance to family views. Each story has a theme of it’s own reflecting on life decisions and guidance that allows the reader to think.
Growing up as a child, Sonny's brother in “Sonny’s Blues”, always had to take responsibility when it comes to Sonny. His mother claimed that even though Sonny was a good kid, those are the ones that need to be watched the most. Sonny's brother was given a mission by their mother to guide Sonny into the right direction. Due to the death of their parents, Sonny's brother took action in raising Sonny. Sonny's brother had to make sure Sonny was doing alright and not just getting by with school and having his head in the correct path, “Well, you may think it’s funny now, baby, but it’s not going to be so funny when you have to make your living at it, let me tell you that” (Baldwin 373). Even though down the road, Sonny made a mistake and had to pay the price, his brother never gave up on him. Sonny didn’t have any devotion towards anything other than music, jazz music. Not only did Sonny have a strong passion for jazz music; he wants to make a living out of it. When Sonny informed his brother on his affection, Sonny’s brother wasn’t sure whether Sonny was being serious or not. Sonny’s brother was very hesitant on this concept, until Sonny deliberately elaborated to his brother about what it feels like to listen to good jazz music. Sonny asked his brother to come out to the joint to watch him play to get a better understanding. At first, Sonny’s brother was not very supportive of the idea of Sonny wanting to make a career out music. It wasn’t until hearing Sonny play for the first time that changed his perspective, “Sonny’s finger filled the air with life, his life” (Baldwin 385).
Sonny doesn’t want to be just like everybody else he knows, he doesn’t want to be ordinary. He wants to be something that allows him to be himself, make a living out of it. Sonny feels like the only way that is possible is through music. Music reveals Sonny as a person and he doesn’t have to hide anything. In society, being a musician isn’t a career choice that people are very fond of and it probably wouldn’t have been something his parents would approve of. Children are expected to get an education and make a productive living out of that or join the army. Yet, Sonny’s brother still choose to put aside family views and let Sonny do what makes him happy, what makes Sonny feel alive.
Unlike Sonny and his brother, Maggie and Dee from “Everyday Use”, have a very different kind of relationship. Dee never took responsibility for Maggie, she was always more concerned about herself. Even though they’re siblings, Dee didn’t interact frequently with Maggie either, mainly because Maggie was always hiding behind Dee’s shadow. Without Dee there to be Maggie’s mentor, Maggie lacked self-esteem and was very self-conscious about herself. Dee left parenting and guiding Maggie to her parents so she can focus more on herself, she knew exactly what she wanted, “At sixteen she had a style of her own: and knew what style was” (Walker 171).
Even though Sonny’s brother doesn’t quite grasp the concept of why Sonny wants to make a living out of music, he still tries to accept the fact that that makes Sonny happy. Dee