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Essay / Research Paper Abstract
A five page paper looking at James Baldwin's short story in terms of the way it uses the metaphor of ice -- and the contrasting metaphors of light, liquid, and heat -- as symbols of self-expression and emotional openness, or the lack thereof. Numerous quotes from the story are included. No additional sources.
Page Count:
5 pages (~225 words per page)
File: D0_KBsonny2.rtf
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Unformatted sample text from the term paper:
The unnamed protagonist of the story, a high school teacher, has just learned that his younger brother Sonny has been arrested for possession and sale of heroin: "It was not
to be believed and I kept telling myself that, as I walked from the subway station to the high school. And at the same time I couldnt doubt it. I
was scared, scared for Sonny. He became real to me again. A great block of ice got settled in my belly and kept melting there slowly all day long, while
I taught my classes algebra. It was a special kind of ice. It kept melting, sending trickles of ice water all up and down my veins, but it never got
less. Sometimes it hardened and seemed to expand until I felt my guts were going to come spilling out or that I was going to choke or scream. This would
always be at a moment when I was remembering some specific thing Sonny had said or done" (Baldwin, 74). What is remarkable about that passage is the way Baldwin is
able to describe a feeling we have all had when weve been extremely upset for a protracted period of time. The "ice", of course, is natures attempts to numb the
terrible shock and pain of learning about Sonnys arrest, and the fear that the narrator feels for his brothers future. The feeling of the ice melting and trickling through his
veins is similar to the sensation of goosebumps, or having a chill run up ones spine. The fact that the narrator has to continue to teach his classes despite being
in the most intense emotional anguish intensifies the symptoms he experiences internally. Baldwin tells us the ice "hardens", however, when he thinks of "some specific thing Sonny had said or
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