Ty's exam essay

Ty LeVarge
Mr. Salsich
English 02
June 4, 2009

Diversity Among People:
An Essay on How Two Characters are Related to a Poem

People are different in the world. There are different races, different personalities, different nationalities, and different languages. Not all people are the same. We learn to accept the differences of the people around us.

In the story, “Sonny’s Blues”, Sonny relates to the poem “Yes” in his own way. Sonny was a man who had no control over himself and was always in despair (FAST) through drugs. Sonny was a colored adult who had complications and could only relieve himself through music. He plays the piano like he was born to play. In the poem “Yes”, William Stafford talks of how sudden things can happen at any time. He talks about the disasters such as Armageddon and earthquakes. He talks of how it can happen at any time; during the day, at night, even right now. Sonny can be changed, like the environment when a disaster strikes. As soon as Sonny puts his fragile fingers on the keys of a piano, he changes inside his inner soul. He plays his problems on the piano and everyone can hear them and understand them. Overall, Sonny changes quickly and can let loose a tempest when he plays his piano.

Similar to Sonny, Dexter Green in Winter Dreams relates to a different poem named “The Real Work” by Wendell Berry. Dexter was just a young golfer who met a girl named Judy Jones, who he liked and became close with her. She later left him because she fell in love with another man. Dexter later wishes that he could have been more loving of her, so that they could have stayed as a couple. Similarly, Berry states in his poem that only the working people get the rewards of working hard. If someone’s mind is not filled with questions, then you are not performing at your minimum. The only people that are hard working people, are the ones that have swarms of questions in their thoughts. Dexter has many questions during his life that remain with him for many years without leaving his thoughts. Most of these thoughts are about Judy and why she left him. He is paralyzed by so many thoughts and ponders them for hours on end. Dexter is a complex character who has many difficulties in his life, but is able to calm himself.

People, fictional and real are all different. Everyone has their changing periods and change differently. Dexter and Sonny are similar in more ways than they are different. No person is the same as anyone else.