November Blues

Blues music symbolizes different things to different characters in the novel. At first, November doesn’t understand why her mother listens to the blues every day and admits that she hates “the guitar-belting, sorrow-singing blues wailers” (77). However, as she becomes more mature, she begins to appreciate the blues. When November is in the car with Kofi and Dana on the way home from the game with Excelsior, and her first contractions begin, she asks Dana to play some blues music, saying that the music now has “this strange calming effect” (256) on her. In the final chapter of the book, November switches on the radio and finds the blues station, fully enjoying the “melodies of sorrow and joy” (305). She admits that she used to think that blues is “dumb, old-timey music” (315), and now realizes that “you gotta deal with some stuff before you can really feel the blues” (315). Thus, November’s changed attitude toward the blues symbolizes her transformation and her newly-found maturity.

The fact that November grows to like the blues is also an indication of her increased closeness with her mother. Mrs. Nelson calls the blues her “daily relaxer” (77) and listens to it every day when she comes home from work. The music helps her to keep painful memories at bay because when she listens to it, she feels as if she puts “all that pain in a box on a very high shelf” (34). Therefore, in the novel, the blues also becomes a symbol of resilience and optimism. At the end of the story, blues music functions as a bridge between mother and daughter.