Not gonna lie . . .

             . . . this was a little tough. I simply had trouble getting through it and understand it. Maybe some of the sudden and unusual changes in time and situation threw me off. I read the story once threw, rereading a lot as I went (out of necessity), then I skimmed throw it once again, then I Googled the SparkNotes for it, which revealed a ton of things I hadn’t considered. But, rather than discuss what SN had to say about it, I’ll look at the three things that stood out to me.

            First, our unnamed narrator thinks, “It was what I was thinking and so it seemed to me he had no right to say it.” As brief as this is, and how far from pivotal to the story it may be, it jumped out at me. It hit me as an insight of something that I experience, but never noticed. I love when a text describes something I thought was unique to me, or was something I couldn’t express. But I’ve felt this way before.

            Second, similar in brevity, “My trouble made his real.” That’s neat. Forced sympathy. I mean, people can say they are sympathetic or feel sympathetic, but is being sympathetic different from feeling sympathetic? A lot of this story has ties to not understanding someone else, or feeling for them.

            Third, and this is probably most relevant as it pertains more the overall story: Music. I think that’s the key here, but I can’t explain how or why. Sonny wants to be a Jazz musician, and his dream isn’t without obstacles. But his visible struggles while playing piano at the bar change his brother’s perspective. The whole music scene was pretty cool, actually. The way music is described as communication is cool. And I can really relate to the contrast sensations between the performer and the listener. I’m confident that very few people, if any, will ever really feel the things I feel when I play music. Sure, other musicians feel equally high, but I mean to say that I couldn’t feel the things they feel either.

            I feel that I currently have little to contribute to discussion, but I’m absolutely stoked to hear the dialogue about this story, so I can get some literary clarity on it. I’m sure I’ll understand more of it quickly, and be able to jump in soon, but I’m a little off at the moment, I feel.