A 4 page paper which examines the power of first person narrative in James Joyce’s Araby and James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues. The paper argues that Joyce’s is the more powerful of the two as it relates to the narrative style. No additional sources cited.
Name of Research Paper File: JA7_RAabblu.rtf
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listed below. Citation styles constantly change, and these examples may not contain the most recent updates. First Person Narrative: Joyce and Baldwin
Research Compiled for by J.A. Rodgers, August 2010 To Use This Paper Properly, Please Introduction James
Joyces Araby and James Baldwins Sonnys Blues are two very intimate and powerful short stories that utilize first person narrative styles. In the case of Araby the first person narrative
is told by a boy as he comes of age. In Baldwins case the narrative is that of a grown man as he learns about his brothers life and identity.
The following paper examines the two and argues that Joyces is the more powerful of the two because it is solely focused on the narrator while Baldwins story is primarily
about Sonny, who is the narrators brother, not the narrator himself. First Person Narrative: Joyce and Baldwin As mentioned, Joyces story is about a young boy coming of
age. The story is focused on the boys perception of his own world and not the world of anyone else. This is seen in the following lines: "Every morning I
lay on the floor in the front parlour watching her door...When she came out on the doorstep my heart leaped" (Joyce). This is an incredibly intimate and personal look into
the narrators life and desires as a child. In the case of Sonnys Blues the narrator is a grown man and he is learning to understand his brother, Sonny. Towards
the beginning he states, "I was scared, scared for Sonny...A great block of ice got settled in my belly and kept melting there slowly all day long, while I taught