"Sonny's Blues" Characterization Assignment After reading James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues," respond to each of the following quotes by providing key information and then interpreting what the quote offers in terms of theme or characterization. For each quote provided, write a short, well-written paragraph that addresses the guiding questions below: ? What is the context of the quote? Who said it? When? To whom? What is it in reference to? (Plot points) ? What does the quote tell us about a character in the story? What character traits, motivations, fears, etc., are revealed in the lines? OR, how does the quote underscore some theme from the story? What makes this particular quote significant? (Analysis) Comment on some technical aspect of characterization you learned about at the beginning of Chapter 3. Is this quote an example of direct (telling) or indirect (showing) ? characterization? Is the character featured in the quote round or flat? Static or dynamic? 

1. "He had been picked up, the evening before, in a raid on an apartment downtown, for peddling and using heroin." 2. "And now, even though he was a grown-up man, he still hung around that block, still spent hours on the street corners, was always high and raggy." 3. "Some escaped the trap, most didn't. Those who got out always left something of themselves behind, as some animals amputate a leg and leave it in the trap." 4. "And thank God she was there, for I was filled with that icy dread again. Everything I did seemed awkward to me, and everything I said sounded freighted with hidden meaning." "It doesn't do any good to fight with Sonny. Sonny just moves back, inside himself, where he can't be reached." 5. 6. "I ain't telling you all this . . . to make you scared or bitter or to make you hate nobody. I'm telling you this because you got a brother. And the world ain't changed." 7. "I don't want to stay in Harlem no more, I really don't It's time I was getting out of here." 8. "[I]t wasn't like living with a person at all, it was like living with sound." 9. "Everybody tries not to. You're just hung up on the way some people try--it's not your way." 10. "He wanted Sonny to leave the shoreline and strike out for the deep water. He was Sonny's witness that deep water and drowning were not the same thing."

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

1 This quote is said by the narrator Sonnys brother in reference to Sonnys recent arrest This quote reveals the character traits of Sonny that he is someone who is willing to take risks is rebellious ... View the full answer