Discussion 5.1 Introduction As discussed in our lecture about Baldwin, his goal was to accurately portray the African American Experience of his time and place – Harlem in the early to mid-20th Century. The notion of accurate portrayal took on the same weight with Baldwin as it did with Ernest Hemingway when he was writing “Hills Like White Elephants.” Both of these authors strode to create stories that got to the truth. For Baldwin, getting to the truth was not simply a matter of exploring the truth of his main characters; the goal was to select characters and situations that would paint a larger picture that gave the reader insight into the African American experience and the struggle before the civil rights movement and integration.  Initial Post Instructions With “Sonny’s Blues” we have complex characters who, in one case, served the county in uniform and came home to raise children; in Sonny’s case, that homeward journey led to addiction and a love of jazz.  What does Sonny’s experience symbolize in the face of his brother’s? Is he responsible for his own addiction? Is his love of jazz music a distraction that he should do his best to overcome? Or is Baldwin using the character of Sonny, his addiction, and his talent to point to something larger that was taking place in the African American society of his time? Discussion 5.2 Introduction We’ve seen the short story come in multiple forms as we have made our way through the term. Style has led us from stories as wide ranging as “The Young Goodman Brown,” to “Hills Like White Elephants,” to “Snow.” Not only have the plots of these stories and the authors writing styles varied greatly, but also so did the way in which they used the short story form. Think back to our discussion of Joe Sacco’s “Refugeeland.” Sacco was not only using the graphic novel style, he was using text that seemed better suited to a travel brochure or a television promo than one that accurately described the fate of the Palestinians. And yet, the end result of juxtaposing image and words was far more powerful than a straightforward approach detailing facts.  Initial Post Instructions With Gilman, once again we have an author playing with form. For this discussion question, address the following: What exactly are we reading? Given the way in which this story is told, what does Gilman expect us to believe we have picked up? Is this a standard narrative? How does this form suit the mental illness of the main character (consider our previous discussions of form and function)? What is the cause of the protagonist’s mental illness? Is there something this lead character is reaching for that could save her? Is there someone denying her solace? What would it take for this character to recover? ...

1. Discussion 5.1
Introduction
As discussed in our lecture about Baldwin, his goal was to
accurately portray the African American Experience of his time
and place – Harlem in the early to mid-20th Century. The notion
of accurate portrayal took on the same weight with Baldwin as
it did with Ernest Hemingway when he was writing “Hills Like
White Elephants.” Both of these authors strode to create stories
that got to the truth. For Baldwin, getting to the truth was not
simply a matter of exploring the truth of his main characters;
the goal was to select characters and situations that would paint
a larger picture that gave the reader insight into the African
American experience and the struggle before the civil rights
movement and integration.
Initial Post Instructions
With “Sonny’s Blues” we have complex characters who, in one
case, served the county in uniform and came home to raise
children; in Sonny’s case, that homeward journey led to
addiction and a love of jazz.
What does Sonny’s experience symbolize in the face of his
brother’s? Is he responsible for his own addiction? Is his love
of jazz music a distraction that he should do his best to
overcome? Or is Baldwin using the character of Sonny, his
addiction, and his talent to point to something larger that was
taking place in the African American society of his time?
Discussion 5.2
Introduction

2. We’ve seen the short story come in multiple forms as we have
made our way through the term. Style has led us from stories as
wide ranging as “The Young Goodman Brown,” to “Hills Like
White Elephants,” to “Snow.” Not only have the plots of these
stories and the authors writing styles varied greatly, but also so
did the way in which they used the short story form. Think back
to our discussion of Joe Sacco’s “Refugeeland.” Sacco was not
only using the graphic novel style, he was using text that
seemed better suited to a travel brochure or a television promo
than one that accurately described the fate of the Palestinians.
And yet, the end result of juxtaposing image and words was far
more powerful than a straightforward approach detailing facts.
Initial Post Instructions
With Gilman, once again we have an author playing with form.
For this discussion question, address the following:
What exactly are we reading? Given the way in which this story
is told, what does Gilman expect us to believe we have picked
up? Is this a standard narrative?
How does this form suit the mental illness of the main character
(consider our previous discussions of form and function)?
What is the cause of the protagonist’s mental illness? Is there
something this lead character is reaching for that could save
her? Is there someone denying her solace?
What would it take for this character to recover?