“Sonny’s Blues” and “Paul’s Case”
Answer the following below.
“Sonny’s Blues” and “Paul’s Case” is quite different in many ways; one is a tragedy while the other has a hopeful ending. However, both tell the stories of young people attempting to cope with family, home life, upbringing, and future goals (note: Sonny is the younger brother, but the narrator is also dealing with these issues in his own way). Both works also seem to tell the stories of people who are marginalized by society: the narrator and Sonny in “Sonny’s Blues” are black, while it is hinted that Paul in “Paul’s Case” may be gay. How central are these themes to the stories? How do the authors address these in the stories directly and indirectly? How important are these ideas to each story’s central idea? (You may write on one or both stories.)
