Scarlet Caruso

Mr. Salsich

English

October 17, 2008

Have you ever wondered what you have lost and gained from experiences that have happened to you in your life? In these two books, Sonny’s Blues and Winter Dreams, the main characters lose something special and gain something special. In Sonny’s Blues the thing that he won were better than what he lost but in Winter Dreams it is quite the opposite. They both have great gains and sad losses.

In the book Sonny’s Blues, the main character of the story, Sonny, loses a lot of things and gains some too. In the story, he gains a closer bond to his brother once Sonny plays his blues for him. They bonded through the music Sonny played for him and then his brother understood how he could get himself wrapped up in all those bad things. His family was upset that he took the path most kids growing up in Harlem did and decided to do drugs. I think that the things the he obtained were much greater than the loss. In the end he won back some of that respect from his brother. Finally getting someone to understand your problems is a wonderful thing, and having it comprehended through music is even more amazing. The protagonist, Sonny, lost many things but getting to know his brother more, made up for them all.

In the short story Winter Dreams, Dexter, the story’s protagonist, also gains and loses important things. One thing that Dexter forfeited was the love of his life, Judy Jones. He had a choice between the woman the public wanted him to marry and the woman he loved, but ended up with a woman he could never truly love. One small thing that Dexter learned was that, you can’t always get what you want. It’s a gain he will carry with himself for the rest of his life. It’s something everyone must learn. Even though he learned a precious lesson, he could have had the love of his life, therefore I believe that what he gained does not make up for what he lost. He could have the only woman he had ever loved. Like Clinton Burhans says in the essay Winter Dreams, ‘Magnificently Attune to Life’, “all his winter dreams, except for Judy Jones, have come true.” The main character Dexter lost something greater than anything he could have gained.

As you now know, both of these story’s protagonists have lost and gained something. They both have something that has perished, whether it was a big loss, a miniature loss or a loss they didn’t even notice. The things that they gained from their experiences were small and big as well. Overall these main characters had things that they loosed and gained

Works Cited:

Clinton S. Burhans, Jr.. "Winter Dreams: ‘‘Magnificently Attune to Life’’: The Value of ‘‘Winter Dreams’’." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 15. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 9 October 2008. .