Learning to Listen in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues Essay -- Sonnys B

Learning to Listen in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues In James Baldwins Sonnys Blues, the verb, to take care, is employed many times in alter contexts. This theme is developed throughout the story as the narrator learns to listen more closely to the aural stimuli (or sounds) which enter his ears. In order to recognise the narrators heightened degree of perception as it unfolds in Sonnys Blues, it is necessary to grow with a thorough discussion of hearing and listening in general, and thus as they relate to the story. First, one must understand the distinction amid hearing and listening. Hearing is simply the reception of sound waves by the ears. This may happen unconsciously, as is usually the case with soft background resound such as the whoosh of air through heating ducts or the distant murmur of an electric clothes dryer. Sometimes hearing is through semi-consciously for instance, the roar of a piece of construction equipment might momentarily incur ones attention. Conscious hearing, or listening, involves a nearly full degree of genial concentration. A familiar i...