In-Class discussion of Fiction "Cathedral" & "Sonny's Blues"

"Cathedral"
Who is the main character?
The husband(the narrator) of a woman who has an old friend coming to visit.

What conflicts face this character?
This character seems a bit cranky at first, like he doesn't want to have company and have to entertain someone else during the time he usually gets drunk and stoned. He doesn't like blind people, and the guest coming is blind. He is conflicted in how to behave, what to say...and he had some preconceived notions about blind people already which set the negative stage for himself.

What actions does the character take, or what changes does the character make.
The character offers the guest all of his vices...drinks....pot....seat on the couch, and company with his wife. The character tried to engage in conversation...all the while second guessing if anything he says is OK. The character changes his opinion due to a fine education from the blind house guest about how much seeing people and blind people have in common.

Describe this character. Is he/she kind, cruel, sympathetic, impatient, etc? Use detailed passages from the text to support your view.
The character is kind of like a child. Has his own world, his own views, does what he wants, and relies on his wife for company...he has no friends! He's ignorant perhaps....and only cruel with his opinions and limited ability to accept other people as they are. Stereotypical and prejudiced. i.e. paragraph 10: "You don't have any friends, period, besides goddamn it, his wife's just died! Don't you understand that? The man lost his wife!"

"Sonny's Blues"

Who is the main character?
The narrator. Sonny's older brother.

What conflicts face this character?
The narrator is conflicted because he promised his Mom that he would take care of his little brother should anything happen to her. But, when his Mom did die, he came home from the Vietnam War just for the funeral...and he couldn't be available to care for his brother. So, his little brother moved in with the narrators intended bride...for a short time. The narrator is conflicted by the fact that his younger brother is a drug addict....and he thinks it's because he has a "death wish"....but in actuality, the younger brother is just escaping the pain in his life.....self-medicating. The narrator loves his brother, but hates the addiction and the way the drugs change his little brother from sweet and innocent to slouchy and dirty.

What actions does the character take, what changes does the character make?
The character finds there is a place to love his addict-brother and appreciate his gift of music, without contributing to his habit. The music he hears reminds him of his loss...and reminds him of his pain....and he appreciates that in the end. The character can remember his pain, and truly feel it...without wanting to escape it like his younger brother does. Just a difference of how we all deal differently with pain and emotion.

Describe this character. Is she/he kind, cruel, sympathetic, impatient, etc? Use detailed passages from the text to support your view.
The character is sad, and confused, and concerned. He really tried to avoid the realization that his younger brother was a drug addict, but finally it stared him in the face. The character feels like the perpetual big brother...always knowing his little brother may never become a responsible adult. He is kind, though....and seems to always cut some slack for his drug-addicted bro, hoping for rehabilitation in the future. Sonny has a connection to his pain and feels deeply for others. The narrator has been a little hardened and has become less able to accept his pain or even acknowledge it.
"And it brought something else back to me, and carried me past it, I saw my little girl again and felt Isabel's tears again, and I felt my own tears start to rise."
Background data on James Baldwin and "Sonny's Blues"....
and a reminder to know that we can't truly know how it felt/feel to be African-American and poor, but we gain so much insight by the sharing of this story and the parallels drawn between suffering, religion, racism, commitment.
http://cai.ucdavis.edu/uccp/sblecture.html#harlem