Poverty in Everyday Use, Sonnys Blues, and The Cathedral...

Poverty in Everyday Use, Sonnys Blues, and The Cathedral Works Cited Not Included Comparing ?Everyday Use?, ?Sonny?s Blues? and ?The Cathedral?, one can conclude that they share a common meaning. Although all three stories consider poverty as their theme, each chooses to elaborate it in a different manner. In fact, ?Everyday Use? emphasizes on the state of extreme poverty in which certain people live. On the other hand, ?Sonny?s Blues? contributes to the theme by describing the poverty of spirit of Harlem?s ?inner kids?. Carver?s ?The Cathedral?, however, prefers to explore the notion of poverty as a state of one?s mind rather than the environment in which one lives. In ?Everyday Use?, Alice Walker chooses to develop the idea of†¦show more content†¦In fact, these boys grow rushingly until they reach the height where they could no longer grow because their heads ?abruptly bump against?(5) the low ceiling of their actual possibilities. These boys see no sense for their life, as there is nothing that can motivate them to study and believe that they will actually succeed: They were filled with rage. All they really knew were two darknesses, the darkness of their lives which was now closing in on them, and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness and in which they now, vindictively, dreamed, at once more together than they were at any other time, and more alone (5) Instead, their poverty of spirit transforms them into isolated, ?fierce animals? that are filled with extreme rage towards others. They no longer look like other kids, as even their laugher bears no joy but is mocking and insular, and intends to denigrate others. Furthermore, the author questions the usefulness of teaching to these ?spiritually poor boys?. Since their futures are so hopeless, there is little benefit of teaching to them. In fact, there is no purpose for the narrator ?talking about algebra to kids that may all popping off needles every time they went to the head. Maybe it did more for them than the algebra could.?(4) In ?the Cathedral?, Carver chooses to explore a completely different aspect of poverty. Contrary to ?Everyday Use? and ?Sonny?s Blues?, CarverShow MoreRelatedJames Baldwin s Short Sonny s Blues And Raymond Carver1132 Words   |  5 PagesBeing able to relate to people can often be a huge problem. In both James Baldwin’s short Sonny’s Blues and Raymond Carver short story Cathedral. The main focus of the story is realization. In both stories the main characters are challenged with situations in which they must break free of their judgments. Both characters undergo a transformation and views life through the eyes of another character. What are their transformations and how are they similar, how they are different, and what does the