Alexie in Absolutely True Diary and Baldwin in "Sonny's Blues"

A. Why do you think Alexie in Absolutely True Diary and Baldwin in "Sonny's Blues" decided to tell their stories partly through artforms other than words? We see many of Junior's drawings, and in several styles, and Baldwin uses contrasting musical styles as a key motif in "Sonny's Blues." Write one or two paragraphs on each work (do not compare and contrast.) For background on Alexie, read the interview with illustrator Ellen Forney at the back of 'Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian." Why does the book use contrasting styles and how does it tie in with writing styles/moods from chapter to chapter? For Baldwin, listen to and learn about the radical change from traditional jazz (like Louis Armstrong), to modern Bebop ('Bird'/Charlie Parker). Do some web research before you write. Why did many middle-class, religious, and older blacks attack and dislike Bebop? Who in 'Sonny's Blues' is aligned with each? Why do you think Baldwin uses contrasting jazz styles and gospel music to tell this particular story about an African American artist and his family?
In Alexie’s novel entitled Absolutely True Diary, she used the character of Arnold Spirit Jr. in order to show the struggles and conflicts of Native Indians. Accordingly, it could be seen that the narrator (Junior) has somehow expressed his own opinions using artwork rather than expression. The reason for this is because Junior was faced in an identity-crisis whereby he suffers a kind of internal contradiction. For example, there are times when he strongly feel as a part of the community when he is in Reardan, whereas he feels exactly the opposite when he is inside the Spokane Reservation. It was explicitly stated in the story that regardless of where he is, he experienced some kind of bullying and aggression due to his look. Accordingly, it could be seen that Junior has used his cartoons since it represents a stronger emotional significance for him as compared to words and expressions. For him, his drawings represent graphic divide between the experiences between the two places as well as his tragic experience in both places.
The main reason why Baldwin uses contrasting music in his work is because each of the music utilized for the story represents a period of the African-American’s past, which then provides some context to the narrator’s life. On the one hand, it was shown that Baldwin used jazz in some parts of his story. It must be remembered that jazz is a dominant music associated with the African-American’s past when they were still living in the past. Jazz originated in New Orleans in the 20th century, yet studies have shown that it has the elements and the nature that are characteristic of both European and African music. Thus, this represents the origin of the African Americans. On the other hand, bebop is a more modern and ‘northern’ as compared to jazz, which is was born in Harlem. Harlem is considered to be the center of the modern ...