Sonny's Blues

Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

1. What different emotional impacts can music have on listeners? How are mood and the genre of music related?

Teaching Suggestion: It might be helpful to have some music playing as your students come into class—jazz or blues, to set the scene.

• Charlie Parker, The Essential - This YouTube video features a release from jazz legend Charlie Parker, Sonny’s musical idol. Students can listen for the piano and discuss its role in the music—when it “comps,” or accompanies the lead, and when it takes the solo.

2. In media res is a Latin term used to describe a story that begins in the middle of the plot’s narrative chronology. The phrase literally translates to “in the middle of things.” “Sonny’s Blues” begins this way. Why might an author choose this narrative technique? What effect does it have on the reader?

Teaching Suggestion: It might be helpful to divide students up into small groups and assign each group a fairy tale to plot on a plot diagram. Then, have them identify moments in the story that would be effective ways to start the story in media res. Students should be careful not to begin their stories in the traditional fairy tale manner, with “Once upon a time…” or “In a kingdom far away, there lived a young prince…” as these beginnings establish setting and tone in a way that “Sonny’s Blues” does not. 

Differentiation Strategy: For students who would benefit from assistance in generating focused ideas, it might be helpful to use a plot diagram such as Freytag’s Pyramid to map out a story that most students know—“Goldilocks and the Three Bears,” “Cinderella,” “Little Red Riding Hood”—then begin their story at the point of the inciting incident. This would aid them in beginning their story in media res.

• Definition of In Media Res - SuperSummary provides descriptions and examples to explain this technique.

Personal Connection Prompt

This prompt can be used for in-class discussion, exploratory free-writing, or reflection homework before reading the story.

What music would you choose to be the soundtrack of your life? Focus either on a particular time or consider your life as a whole and choose music that reflects the emotions you experienced. Which track or tracks did you select? Why?

Teaching Suggestion: If students need an example, you might consider sharing music that accompanies a movie trailer or a character’s entrance in a film. After watching and listening, discuss how the music accentuates pivotal moments in the characters’ lives.

Titanic - This 2-minute trailer is accompanied by excerpts of the award-winning soundtrack and can be used to illustrate how we use music to mirror our circumstances and experiences.