Eleanor's Essay, Loss and Gain

Eleanor Hilton
Mr. Salsich
English 9
7th October 2008

What will we gain and what will we lose?
Comparing Loss and Gain in Sonny’s Blues and Winter Dreams

Loss and gain are two of the words that the human race moves around. Everybody loves to gain, but hates to lose. This is no dissimilar within ‘Sonny’s Blues’ and ‘Winter Dreams’. Both Sonny and Dexter lose something or someone they loved, but gained something in return that was not necessarily an item.

Wherever there is a loss there is always a gain and, unfortunately wherever there is a gain, there is usually a loss. One loss for Sonny would be when he was addicted to drugs. His life then became revolved around heroin instead of being revolved around jazz, and blues music. He became so immersed in drugs that it was like all of his feelings, and his life was being sucked up by a giant sponge. Luckily life for Sonny was not all bad. Soon after the tragic loss, there was a gain. This was a life-long gain, the friendship with his brother that had long gone for many years before then. ‘Sonny’s Blues’ might be an inspirational story, but I believe that there were more losses than gains, or the losses were larger than the gains to come. This puts the story a little out of balance, which could have had a negative effect. However it is the future we look to, and as the story, ‘Sonny’s Blues’, potentially could keep going, it feels like it has a brighter outlook to a story that has the two words plastered at the bottom of it, ‘The End.’. ‘Sonny’s Blues’ is no Cinderella story; it has to do with life’s reality, and the fact that with a loss, there is always a gain.

Just like ‘Sonny’s Blues’, ‘Winter Dreams’ has a remarkable relationship with loss and gain. Dexter, the stories protagonist, only had one major loss, unlike Sonny. This was when ‘the images of [Judy’s] youthful beauty and desirability’ (Clinton S. Burhans) had faded away after being told about her marriage. He was torn apart, but at least then he could finally move on in life. Before and after this event there were many gains. He was now know as, ‘one of the best’ instead of being know as the caddy, like he was in his younger years. He also became extremely rich, whereas in his childhood he and his family were poor. Then there was the diminutive gain that occurred after Judy Jones really left his life; he could finally move on. Unlike ‘Sonny’s Blues’, the story had more gains than losses. However the story still balances out, as the single loss was so big compared to the small gains. His love for Judy had taken up some of the story, while the other scattered gains took up the rest of the pages. In reality, Dexter would have been a very lucky man in everything, except for love.

Loss and gain are important words not only in reality, but to stories and books alike. Infact you could spin most stories around the phrase, including ‘Sonny’s Blues’ and ‘Winter Dreams’. There could be a gallant win in a battle, but unfortunately there will probably be a few casualties to your comrades. Or maybe you lost a game in sports, but the parents prepared an excellent snack. Everywhere in the world losing and gaining happens.

Works Cited:
Clinton S. Burhans, Jr. “Magnificently Attune to Life” : The value of “Winter Dreams,” Studies in Short Fiction Vo.l. 6. October 7 2008
http://www.enotes.com/winter-dreams/magnificently-attuned-life-value-winter-dreams

key:
purple-FAST words
green-purposeful repetition