Please read the following article on how to do a close reading of a text. Then provide your best close reading of the following passage from "Sonny's Blues."
http://www.mantex.co.uk/samples/closeread.htm
"We live in a housing project. It hasn't been up long. A few days after it was up it seemed uninhabitably new, now, of course, it's already rundown. It looks like a parody of the good, clean, faceless life-God knows the people who live in it do their best to make it a parody. The beat-looking grass lying around isn't enough to make their lives green, the hedges will never hold out the streets, and they know it. The big windows fool no one, they aren't big enough to make space out of no space. They don't bother with the windows, they watch the TV screen instead. The playground is most popular with the children who don't play at jacks, or skip rope, or roller skate, or swing, and they can be found in it after dark. We moved in partly because it's not too far from where I teach, and partly for the kids; but it's really just like the houses in which Sonny and I grew up. The same things happen, they'll have the same things to remember. The moment Sonny and I started into the house I had the feeling that I was simply bringing him back into the danger he had almost died trying to escape."
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My best close reading for this passage would be to determine that they live in a house that is new, but has been lived in so it does not seem as new anymore. The way he describes all the objects around him, such as the grass and hedges, make it seem like nothing can make their house feel as new as it had been. The house they live in reminds them of the one they both grew up in, and it will always have a special place in their heart. The house felt so much like the same one they grew up in that he was hesitant to bring Sonny there to live in because he did not want anything that happened in the past to reoccur again.
ReplyDeleteI interpreted this passage as them moving into a new house in a low income area. The houses are brand new yet because of the area the houses are in and the people who occupy them, it no longer looks new. Big windows are in the houses but they don't work to make the houses look any bigger. The hedges can't keep out the bad things that are found on the streets like violence and drugs. The new area in which they live is similar to the area that Sonny had grown up in, where Sonny had gotten into his trouble. Bringing Sonny to this new house may just bring him back to his old ways.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the article about close reading, I reread this passage of Sonny's Blues a few more times than I normally would. What I got from this passage was that they moved into a new housing project, but to them it did not feel as if it was new because of the other occupants. Another reason why it did not feel as it was new was because of the area it was in. Both of these things affected the appearance of the project and made it feel more rundown than it actually was. The surrounding area is described with things such as "beat looking grass," hedges, and "big windows." Yet none of these things make the project apealling, this is because it reminds them of something in the past. At-least I think that is what this passage from the story is saying. They are afraid that the past will almost come back to haunt them or repeat itself, and this can be a very scary thing.
ReplyDeleteWhen closely reading this passage in Sonnys Blue's I found that it was not merely telling how the house looked, it was telling a story of struggle. The fact that the new house looked run down already almost mirrors how the people inside he house feel, run down and sturggling to make ends meet. The large windows that show the world around them are ignored as a TV is the "window" of choice because it actually brings hope or release from the area they are in. They do not want to look out the windows because the windows show a world they do not want to be in. The playground being a dark place where it is only visited at night by kid who are not interested in the playground at all. When the narrator brings Sonny in the house and fears he is just bring Sonny back to their daunting past the passage can be intepreted as Meghan said, a fear that the will or can come back to repeat itself for better or for worse.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the housing project is actually run down. That's just the way the brother is looking at it. He's reminiscing on the old houses he Sonny grew up in. He's also scared that being in a house that reminds him of his past will also remind Sonny of his past and he'll resort back to drugs again. When the brother says, "The big windows fool no one, they aren't big enough to make space out of no space" he's saying the house is small. Despite this and his fear for Sonny, the brother knows that this house is the best house to live in. It's close by to where he works so the commute isn't far. Also, it's a good place for his kids to grow up in because it's near a park.
ReplyDeleteI think that he is showing contrast to the good things in his neighborhood but then mixing in the negative aspects of it as well. Just like what Patrick said about the windows. They don't bother looking out the windows because they just watch the television and learn from that instead of whats going on around them. Maybe learning negative styles from what is portrayed on television. Also where he said something about the kids who don't play jacks, skip rope etcetera able to be found in the park after dark, showing that they are up to no good and there are a lot of those types of kids around.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading about close reading, I realized there could be many things about a story I never pick up on. Whether it be a certain phrase, dialogue, or vocabulary. Everything contributes to a stories meaning. In this passage about Sonny's blues I realized his brother did not want to bring Sonny back into what they already lived. He talked about the hedges and the grass and the windows. All he had to say was negative things and how the house had been so run down. Learning of how maybe this house had caused such a chaotic past is not what Sonny needs, and his brother didn't want to bring him back into that sort of 'danger'.
ReplyDeleteThey are moving into a somewhat new building, but it isn't really new because it is rundown and has probably already seen more different people then an average building. He wants to believe it is a nice area but it is really not. The things around all sound like good things to have but when you look closer they are not as nice as you might have expected. Things like the grass and the hedges would normally be portrayed as good things but to him they are not, they are beat looking and offer no protection. He mentions the park, but says how the kids are there after dark, suggesting that they can only be up to now good. The house reminds him of his past, but he has no choice but to live there due to the level of convienience for him and the kids.
ReplyDeleteMy interpretation after close reading was that the narrator lives in a housing project that is new, but no matter how much work is done to it, it will never resemble “the good, clean, faceless life”. Like Greg said, the narrator wants to believe that it is nice. When he goes on about the streets I don’t think he literally means the cars driving by or the pavement. He says that the hedges will never be big enough to keep out the streets because he does not mean streets; to me it seems as though he is talking about gangs, or the things that take place on the streets; no matter what they do they will always feel the presence of the streets. I also agree with Sarah that the occupants of the housing project would rather watch something on the TV, something that to them is way better then to see the reality that is right outside their very windows. Also, the fact that he says that the windows are big makes it seem as though the windows can never fully be ignored. When he goes on about the play ground and how the kids only go there at night, he is somewhat hinting at the fact that they are not doing good things while at the park at night, such as drugs, violence, or vandalizing. The narrator thinks that it is a good place, due to the fact that his job is close by and that his kids can go to the park a lot. He feels a connection to this place because it brings back his childhood with Sonny. However, once he brings Sonny back into the environment that got him started down the wrong path, the narrator felt bad, almost as if he was going to stop Sonny’s progress and send him back to where he came from.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this passage more closely, I realized that there was much more than just the description of the house. The house is somewhat new but already rundown which mirrors Sonny's struggling life. The big window tries to make the house look better but it does not help it at all. Sonny grew up in this house so any memories of his past are associated with his past. Since Sonny’s past is mostly negative, everything about the home is negative. The part about the playground was hinting at part of Sonny’s bad past when it is said that the children who do not play jacks and other activities can be found at the playground after dark. The very end of the passage brings up how bringing Sonny back into that house could end badly. Sonny walking into the house is more than just walking back to where he grew up, he is walking into his dangerous past.
ReplyDelete-John Choquette
When close reading this passage, I read that they moved into a housing project that is new, but it doesn't seem that new because of people who have lived there and the location it is in. The description around the area is there is "beat looking grass lying around" and "hedges that will never hold out the street". Also, the big windows in the house doesn't make the house look any bigger. After focusing on this passage, the area of where Sonny was living could have been a reason for his behaviors that brought him down the wrong path but living here was not an option for Sonny.
ReplyDeleteScott Van Winter
ReplyDeleteAfter reading this passage more closely, I read that this particular place is much more than a housing project; it is a story of the lives that occupy and have occupied any place resembling a housing project. Any place that has a high turnover rate of residence is usually dragged through the mudd quicker than stand alone houses. This building represents the dangers of the area and the ability of the environment to suck the life out of its inhabitants. The description of the area is very important to the way Sonny and his brother look at their own lives. The building was convenient for the brother to live, but it will likely provide the same life experiences that he and Sonny shared as kids. Some kids can get out and some cannot. The windows were large, but the kids probably did not want to look out of them, because the outside is the life they try to forget. The reality of the streets is too real, too often, they do not need to be reminded of it. The playground description is important because Sonny was one of those kids that went there at night. It shed light on Sonny's past and his bad choices.
When I close read this I took it to mean that the house is new in a not so new neighborhood which causes the house to appear older. this all made it look older than it actually was. I think to them it seemed older also because it reminded them of where they grew up which means it wasn't a very big change. This could be a bad thing because of everything Sonny went through when he was there. I agree with Shannon also when she says it could mean that they feel like their lives are run down so the house is a reflection of where they have been and what they have been through. The big windows could represent Sonny trying to improve his life like the windows are trying to improve the house but failing because it doesn't make it look any bigger.
ReplyDeletemy close reading for this passage is that even though they moved into a new housing project since the area is low income and has alot of crime it doesnt really matter that the houses are brand new. It still has the same danjers that a old housing project would have and are imposible to escape. The house reminds them of their past childhood and the memories that they once had. I got the feeling that they werent good memories, memories of drugs and violence. That is why he was cautious of bringing Sonny to the neighborhood because he did not want his old habits to reoccur again.
ReplyDeleteMy interpretation of the passage is that even though the house is relatively new, the people who lived theere before made it look run-down just as quick as it was put up. I think the author also tries to make us focus more on the neighborhood than how the house looked. When he says "The big windows fool no one, they aren't big enough to make space out of no space." he tries to tell us that even though the windows are big, people can still see how run-down the house looks. He mentions the kids and the playground to give an example how things are not going to change from generation to generation, which is sort of how urban neighborhoods are run now. In the last sentence, the narrator explains how the house is nice, but the environment is still messed up which won't help Sonny become a better person in any way.
ReplyDeleteI found the article about close reading pretty interesting. After I reread this passage a few times, I came to find that they moved into a new housing project, but to them there is something about it that doesn’t feel new. There’s something about the surrounding area that weighs heavily on the house’s so-called newness. It’s describes as "having beat looking grass lying” and “hedges that will never hold out the street.” These are all things that are all too familiar. The house they live in now reminds them of the one they both grew up in. It’s as if all the memories came flushing back now that they’re in this house. For Sonny, when he went through that dark time, he grew up in a house just like this and everyone’s afraid it’ll bring him back to that low point in his life. They don’t want the past to repeat itself.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the delay...I just got out of work.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading the story and the close reading worksheet, I think what the passage means is that the apperance of the house does not fool them at all. The narrator and Sonny lived in a similar house, and they know all the bad stuff about the house, so the appearance means nothing to them. Like the hedges, they know the bad things that happend on the streets "drugs", and even nice hedges can't keep the drugs out of the house.
When applying close reading to this passage I determined that the author’s was living in a new building that was probably in such a bad neighborhood that it became rundown very quickly and not well taken care of. When describing the views and greenery, it is evident that this is most likely a low-budget housing complex, as opposed a luxury building on Park Avenue. It implies that the house is in a bad neighborhood when the author says, “The playground is most popular with the children who don't play at jacks, or skip rope, or roller skate, or swing, and they can be found in it after dark,” because is New York playgrounds close at a certain hour and the people who hang out there after they close are always looking for trouble. I think the last sentence implies that Sonny had some really hard times growing up and the author felt as if he was bring back painful memories for Sonny by taking him there.
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