Analysis Of Walter Van Tilburg Clark's The Portable Phonograph

When Sonny plays the piano his brother “heard what he had gone through.. I saw my mother’s face again, and felt for the first time” (275) The narrator is reminded of the struggles he went through and relates back to

Suddenly, the knock on the door stops the doctor in mid bite. He dazes out as if he can't remember what he was doing or where he is. The pouring of coffee from his wife triggers his mind back into action, and he proceeds as if nothing happened. The final analysis is that Dr. P.'s life has revolved around music for so long, that it must continue through song. Although is mind is still in contact, his inner-sight is distorted. The rhythm of life is a powerful beat that keeps the simplest of problems hidden.

Both texts and their authors talk about the memories assiciated with the objects that they had or meaned something to them. One of the examples of an object's memory was, "a piano brought down from syracuse, the one my mother played as a girl. This shows how the narrator associates the piano with the memory of their mother playing it as a child. An example of a memeory from passage 2 is, "tin box, oh how you remind me of the swell of other seas, the roar of

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” conveys how music serves as a form of communication, both at a small and large scale. Charting the development of the communication between Sonny and his brother allows us to view how the unnamed brother fails to meet Sonny at his emotional level by not understanding his pain. I argue that the text introduces Sonny as someone who “has never been talkative” to set the foundation for his growth from being voiceless to speaking both vibrantly and effortlessly through music (Baldwin 113). Over the course of the text, the unnamed brother begins to listen to Sonny to discover the connection between music and emotion. Therefore, the text argues that music is a crucial mechanism to communicate with one another—more specifically

The story “Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin is about a jazz musician and his brother in 1950’s Harlem. The story centers on Sonny who uses jazz music as an escape from his depression. James Baldwin captures the art of jazz during this time period. The themes in this short story are perhaps varied, but all of them revolve around some form of suffering. One theme shows how music can promote change and understanding within relationships. A second theme reveals suffering caused by guilt. Yet another theme references the results of suffering brought about by searching for ones’ identity and how that leads to misunderstanding. There are also subthemes concerning racism and poverty.

The story mentions at one point that the music stops and so does the barmaid. It has her full attention and she waits for it to start back. The music is the manipulator and she is its marionette waiting for it to guide her again. A few more examples that music soothes and comforts the soul are the mother gently humming while Sonny is out on the streets, Sonny’s brother, the narrator, whistles to keep from crying after reconciliation with Sonny fails. At first glance these may seem to be insignificant details, but when analyzed they prove that music is a source people lean on for comfort whenever they are in a state of worry or despair.

A distinctly visual aspect of demonstrating the experience of the characters kindles curiosity in the audience to involve and instill emotional understanding of the context. Through the use of distinct and unique techniques, composers create an emotional response that can have a significant effect on the responders’ attitude on the world. The play ‘The shoe-horn sonata’ explores the crisis of circumstances as John Misto depicts the forgotten history of the women captured and imprisoned during WW2. Misto explores the experiences of the Australian nurses and the government’s response to their pleads of salvation, to emotionally bind the audience and the characters. Likewise, David Douglas Duncan involves the audience by evoking a feeling of pity and empathy in his Korean War photograph. He creates sentiment for the loss of innocence and employs distinctly visual elements to convey the horrifying nature of war. He profoundly highlights power in the photograph to explore the despair felt by the weak fleeing Korean citizens. Hence, both authors elevate the context with a visual representation of the individuals’ struggles to create curiosity and emotional rapport with the audience to improve the understanding of the characters experiences.

The cellist’s music affects Dragan who in the beginning of the book is an empty shell devoid of any emotion or bravery. Dragan explains, “He can

The character openly feels empathy for his daughter, and near the middle of the piece the character seems to feel helpless as he describes the way his daughter “seemed to crave a companion, or an activity that would lift her spirits.” He soon discovers musical therapy as that exact activity and it gives him a feeling of hope. He has a way now to open a channel where she can express herself through music “in a way that she cannot express-has never been able to express-in

Memory is presented as either a way of life or a community of change, as demonstrated in ‘Aspens’, ‘Old Man’, ‘Aldestrop’. He does this through the variety of techniques such as change in form, use of imagery and alternations in the tone of each poem to explore memory. As well as this, Thomas explicates the devastation of emptiness due to the consequence of war, which is portrayed through the use of soft consonantal sounds or the use

As to dealing with repetition, The two lines “The Negro / With the trumpet at his lips” are repeated (1-2, 9-10, 33-34). The repetition of this picture fills in as both a steady indication of the difficult memories that inconvenienced the trumpet player and an approach to fortify his enthusiasm for music to facilitate that pain. Additionally, the repetition of these two lines implies that the trumpet player has in some ways end up plainly reliant on music. This idea is affirmed by the third stanza, in which the speaker states, "the rhythm/from the trumpet at his lips/is ecstasy/distilled from old desires—," alluding to his waiting desire "that is longing for the sea/where the sea's a bar-glass/sucker size" (21-24, 29-32). This shows he utilized alcohol in the past to overwhelm his agony, before supplanting it with music for the help. Additionally, the last stanza portrays music just like a "hypodermic needle/to his soul," alluding that he has an addiction to music (39-40). Without the music

In Charles Frazier’s Cold Mountain, the theme of music is one of the novel’s most powerful themes. From symbolizing character growth to the healing of physical wounds, music plays an integral part in this novel. While many critics will point out that music has little effect on the human psyche, Charles Frazier shows his belief that music does indeed have a profound effect on the human mind throughout Cold Mountain. Throughout the novel, Inman, Ada, Ruby, Stobrod, and many other characters experience music that allows them to keep faith against the odds or even heal their wounds! There are three major types of music used in this novel; hymn music, folk music, and “natural music”. It is through these types of music that

Ludwig van Beethoven once said, “Music, in truth, is the mediator between intellectual and sensual life”. Though he and his music were from an entirely different era, both still have relevance in our lives today. Music from the past is all around us on the radio, in commercials, and on the big screen. For example, one of Beethoven’s most famous symphonies, “Symphony No. 9”, makes an appearance in many movies. It even makes an appearance in Die Hard. Though we like to think that which is old is obsolete, we are everyday reminded that this is not true.

Throughout its history, music has permeated the significant events of American history. Its effect on American society and the way the American people cope with each event has only grown as popular music evolves and new genres reach more and more individuals. People can remember where they were and their exact surroundings to amazing detail when asked about life-changing events in history. Older generations will remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Their children will remember when Kennedy was assassinated and when man walked on the moon. Their grandchildren will remember much of the turmoil of the ‘70s and ‘80s and their great grandchildren grew up in the world impacted by the events of September 11, 2001. Even one’s surroundings during the start or end of a relationship or personal events such as graduation, getting a driver’s license, or getting married can all be paired with the music that was popular at the time.

Both Poems are faced with the problematic situation of inner hassle. Piano’s narrator struggles with his oppression of his emotions in sentimentality. When he is listening to the sounds of the chant from the women singing he says “In