Kaelin Crim. Review of Donald Miller, Blue Like Jazz: Non-Religious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality (Nashville, Tennessee, Nelson Books, 2003) The book was a great explanation of what the Christian faith looked like from a brand new set of eyes. As Miller took us through his own life struggles, while at the same time explaining each incident in detail, it was clear that his faith was a new life entirely. He talks about his own spiritual journey in the form of a series of essays. The rich emotional impact of jazz was the arch metaphor that Miller came up with. It is shown as the deepest sort of intimacy. I never heard of the term “arch metaphor” before I read this book. The term isn’t listed in the dictionary either. In Chapter 20 he says, “The first generation out of slavery invented jazz music. It is a music birthed out of freedom. And that is the closest thing I know to Christian spirituality. A music birthed out of freedom. Everybody sings their song the way they feel it, everybody closes their eyes and lifts up their hands”. This is an important idea to note because you could say that the title came from it. Comparing jazz music to Christian spirituality makes sense to me but it is uncommon just because of the fact that you don’t play or sing jazz when at church on Sundays. At the same time it does makes sense because when you think about jazz and Christian spirituality they both focus around feelings, which is important. I would say that it could be a metaphor and a
All the stories in the book are spiritual learning experiences that Bob learns in his life and shares it with the world. One thing shared in the book that was pretty much the most inspiring thing I have ever read was how he camped out by the Dean’s office because of how badly he wanted to get into law school. He got what he wanted and he currently pursuing his career as a lawyer. I thought that was amazing how he never gave up. It made me think that’s how we need like that for God. When we feel like God is not there to answer us right away, we need to continue to keep praying and calling for God until he does give us an answer. Never give up no matter how hard life
Discuss place and how James Baldwin uses elements of setting to convey Sonny’s Blues’ larger message or theme.
Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright is a must read for any Christian looking to expand their understanding of faith. Surprised by Hope gives us a full understanding of salvation as it is revealed in the Bible. This book also tells us how we should act in our lives and in this world as God’s redeemed people. It reveals incredible insight that is important to us because it explains just how crucial our role in this world is. Wright talks about the way things currently are and how they will be with the resurrection and our salvation. The book expands on the Christian mission and what it means to live with hope and faith and attempts to answer the very famous question: What is heaven?
Lastly, Chris Mccandless got to fulfill his dream, live his own life, and now he even got to find his inner self, find out who he truly is. Chris was the kind of person that lived dangerously unlike most people, he was different “It is hardly unusual for a young man to be drawn to a pursuit considered reckless by his elders...Danger has always held a certain allure. McCandless, in his fashion, merely took risk-taking to its logical extreme” (Krakauer, 182). Chris’s true self-was one that was riskful and daring until he could finish the task. Furthermore, he was different from others and throughout his journey, others could see that. In the end that was the kind of person Chris Mccandless was, and this is the person he became after fulfilling his dream and living his own life. In contrast, others did
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.
In James Baldwin's, Sonny's Blues, the title itself is symbolic of the blues in the matrix of the African-American culture of music and suffering. To understand the significance of the blues, one must first define the blues, where the blues originated, and how it is related to suffering and how it is communicated in music.
Jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro Life in America: the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul—the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile. Yet the Philadelphia clubwoman… turns up her nose at jazz and all its manifestations—likewise almost anything else distinctly racial…She wants the artist to flatter her, to make the white world believe that all Negroes are as smug as near white in smug as she wants to be. But, to my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist …to change through the hidden force of his art that old whispering “I want to be white,” hidden in the aspirations of his people, to “Why should I want to be white? I am Negro—and beautiful.”
Jazz to me is one of the inherent expressions of Negro life in America: the eternal tom-tom beating in the Negro soul-the tom-tom of revolt against weariness in a white world, a world of subway trains, and work, work; the tom-tom of joy and laughter, and pain swallowed in a smile. Yet the Philadelphia club woman , turns up her nose at jazz and all its manifetations-likewise almost anything else distinctly racial... She wants the artist to flatter her, to make the white world believe that all Negroes are as smug and as near white in soul as she wants to be. But, to my mind, it is the duty of the younger Negro artist, to change through the force of his art that old whispering "I want to be white, hidden in the aspirations of his people, to "Why should I want to he white? I am Negro-and beautiful"
Even though Miller makes assumptions in his writing, he does keep the reader’s attention with a face-paced tone and long sentences with similes. For example, when Miller says “The notion that the principal, or only, purpose of going to college is to win a ticket of admission to the great upper middle
“JAZZ” is a documentary by Ken Burns released 2001 that focuses on the creation and development of jazz, America’s “greatest cultural achievement.” The first episodes entitled, “Gumbo, Beginnings to 1917” and “The Gift (1917-1924), explain the early growth of jazz as it originates in New Orleans and its expands to Chicago and New York during the Jazz Age. In assessing the first two episodes of Ken Burns' 2001 documentary, "JAZZ," this essay will explore the history of jazz, the music's racial implications, and it's impact on society. In doing so, attention will also be given to the structure of the documentary, and the effectiveness of documentary film in retelling the past.
The message of my work is to try and highlight the importance of showing how a person’s faith can have a positive and life-changing impact on their lives. I have done this by looking into the lives of two early Christian missionaries and portray how they would 've felt about their journeys, who they met and what they were teaching others. In doing so, I try to portray, to the best of my ability and knowledge, the apostle 's thoughts and just how strong their conviction and faith in God was.
In any medium the last words of an author, lyricist or screenwriter are the most powerful of the entire piece. An ending can completely ruin a perfectly good piece if it isn't what it should be. It can also redeem a mostly mediocre piece by being exactly what it should be. Often the best endings are ones that do not end the way the reader wants them to, but end the way the reader knows they should. Baldwin is definitely an author who knows how to end a story.
Miller writes the story in a very unique way. He gives his readers a chance to explore the words written on his pages, with the hope that the reader is able to draw their own conclusions from his work. His unparalleled approach to the essay forces the reader to use critical thinking in order to make since of the essay. Miller’s feelings about reading, writing and the
Fictional writing is generally done just to entertain readers. Some authors create stories with a singular point of view, while others introduce more complex plots and storylines. When it comes to author James Baldwin’s short story Sonny’s Blues, there is much depth given to the storyline and the characters. Sonny’s Blues has been analyzed by many different people throughout time because the story has many elements. From Baldwin’s skillful use of metaphors and similes to his incorporation of religious references, this story is insightfully and complexly written. A simple story about a man and his brother leaves readers with an inside look into family, drug addiction, socioeconomic struggles in the Black community, and the language of Jazz
Jazz, a novel by Toni Morrison, explores many different aspects of African American life in the early part of the twentieth century. This novel tells a story of the difficulties faced by black families living in the United States. Toni Morrison describes in detail a few of the upsetting situations they had to face. She also subtly throughout the book places one or two lines that tell a tale of injustice. Jazz is a novel filled with many stories of inequality affecting the black community.