1.
Read the first few paragraphs and then stop.
What potential for conflict do you see here? What do you expect to happen in
the rest of the story? (For this particular story, what effect
does the use of “it” throughout the first two paragraphs have on you as a
reader?)
a.
I see potential conflict between two brothers
over life decisions. I can see that one brother has lost contact with another
and is now shocked to find out that his estranged brother has been busted for
drugs during a raid. I expect the story to unfold a troubling relationship
between the two brothers, to provide some background, and to see their
relationship as it is now unfold. The use of the word “it” makes me feel as
though “it” is being used to replace a description of an even that happened
that is so horrible that he doesn’t want to say it aloud, or talk about “it”.
It means to me that this brother cares deeply for the other, otherwise he would
not be bothered so much by the article.
2.
What is the inciting incident or destabilizing
event? How and why does this event destabilize the initial situation?
a.
Sonny and the Narrator have an argument about
Sonny becoming a musician. The narrator disagrees with this decision. This
event destabilizes the initial situation because it is the new reason for rise
of conflict between Sonny and the narrator.
3.
How would you describe the conflict that
ultimately develops? To what extent is
it external, internal, or both? What, if any, complications or secondary
conflicts arise?
a.
The conflict that develops is the narrators
struggle between being happy with his success and wanting to escape the hurt of
his past and, now, his present with his brother. I think that the conflict is
predominantly internal, but with the secondary conflicts being external. Some
example of the secondary conflicts in the story would be the location of where
they live, how hard it will be for Sonny to escape his world of drug addiction
with that lifestyle still surrounding him every day.
4.
Where, when, how, and why does the story defy
your expectations about what will happen next? What in this story—and in your
experience of other stories—created these expectations?
a.
At the end of the story when Sonny’s brother
goes to watch him perform, I didn’t think that would ever happen, but even furthermore,
I did not expect for Sonny’s brother to have the realization that he did while
watching him perform. He finally sees how music is Sonny’s escape, and the way
that the story was set up, with his brother always doubting and never allowing
himself to experience those feelings that there may be hope after all for his
brother, made me feel that the story would end like that. I felt as though this
was not a story that would provide a hopeful feeling in the end, I thought it
was going to be more of a realistic, very small step in the right direction at
the end, possibly. When instead, he had a revelation.
5.
What is the climax or turning point? Why and how
so?
a.
The climax is definitely when Sonny and his
brother begin arguing in the apartment. They both share their feelings of
anger, and struggles with abandonment, etc. Sonny’s brother admits to not being
able to fully understand Sonny and his desire to be a musician. This is the
climax because this is where it all comes out, everything that has been
unspoken and just buried beneath the surface, is spoken out loud.
6.
How is the conflict resolved? How and why might
this resolution fulfill or defy your expectations? How and why is the situation
at the end of the story different from what it was at the beginning?
a.
The conflict really does not get fully resolved
until the very end of the story when Sonny’s brother goes to watch him perform.
I see this as resolution because it means that his brother is at least opening
up to the idea that he actually knows nothing about Sonny’s world, and maybe
there are things that he needs to see in order to understand why he makes
different life choices than what he thinks Sonny should be making. This situation at the end of the story is
completely different from in the beginning because in the beginning Sonny’s
brother was always doubting and disagreeing with everything that Sonny says and
thinks (even if he did not voice it every time). Now, he is opening himself up
to Sonny’s world, where Sonny gives his brother a different meaning to the word
success.
7.
Looking back at the story as a whole, what seems
especially significant and effective about its plot, especially in terms of the
sequence and pace of the action?
a.
The way that the author paints a picture of what
Harlem is like, for the rest of us to understand it, really gives significance
to the struggles and challenges of everyday life there. It also gives huge
significance to the success that Sonny’s brother has as a teacher with a
family. The plot is effective in setting the pace for the story in the sense
that you can tell when something is going to happen with Sonny, and it helps
you to understand the feelings and decisions made of each of the characters.
8.
Does this plot follow any common plot pattern?
Is there, for example, a quest of any kind? Or does this plot follow a tragic
or comedic pattern?
a.
The quest in the story is definitely for the two
brothers to grow closer, build a relationship, or at least to understand each
other. There are many tragedies throughout, stories of people dying and other
stories of substance abuse.
