“Sonny’s Blues” addresses a broad range of themes associated with racism and social injustice, while also examining the problems within the African American community on a more intimate and personal level. Specifically, the quote describing the woman with the tambourine, while being seemingly unrelated to the rest of the story, is central to the understanding of challenges that African American women faced. In the line “The woman with the tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by very little from the woman who stood watching her,” the understanding that the two women share in silence speaks louder than any public statement of oppression. The passage in question allows taking introspect into the nature of sisterhood, as well as the idea of shared support and care that African American women offered each other in the wake of oppression inflicted upon them due to their race and sex. Therefore, the quote is central to the study of the underlying themes of gender inequality and the oppression of women along with the discrimination based on race.
Please analyze the significance of the quotation below with reference to the short story’s theme or symbolism: “The woman with the tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by very little from the woman who stood watching her, a cigarette between her heavy, chapped lips, her hair a cuckoo’s nest, her face scarred and swollen from many beatings, and her black eyes glittering like coal. Perhaps they both knew this, which was why, when, as rarely, they addressed each other, they addressed each other as Sister. As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first condition, while dreaming of their last.”
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Academic.Tips. (2022) 'Please analyze the significance of the quotation below with reference to the short story’s theme or symbolism: “The woman with the tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by very little from the woman who stood watching her, a cigarette between her heavy, chapped lips, her hair a cuckoo's nest, her face scarred and swollen from many beatings, and her black eyes glittering like coal. Perhaps they both knew this, which was why, when, as rarely, they addressed each other, they addressed each other as Sister. As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first condition, while dreaming of their last.”'. 7 September.
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Academic.Tips. (2022, September 7). Please analyze the significance of the quotation below with reference to the short story’s theme or symbolism: “The woman with the tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by very little from the woman who stood watching her, a cigarette between her heavy, chapped lips, her hair a cuckoo's nest, her face scarred and swollen from many beatings, and her black eyes glittering like coal. Perhaps they both knew this, which was why, when, as rarely, they addressed each other, they addressed each other as Sister. As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first condition, while dreaming of their last.”. https://academic.tips/question/please-analyze-the-significance-of-the-quotation-below-with-reference-to-the-short-storys-theme-or-symbolism-the-woman-with-the-tambourine-whose-voice-dominated-the-air-whose-face/
References
Academic.Tips. 2022. "Please analyze the significance of the quotation below with reference to the short story’s theme or symbolism: “The woman with the tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by very little from the woman who stood watching her, a cigarette between her heavy, chapped lips, her hair a cuckoo's nest, her face scarred and swollen from many beatings, and her black eyes glittering like coal. Perhaps they both knew this, which was why, when, as rarely, they addressed each other, they addressed each other as Sister. As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first condition, while dreaming of their last.”." September 7, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/please-analyze-the-significance-of-the-quotation-below-with-reference-to-the-short-storys-theme-or-symbolism-the-woman-with-the-tambourine-whose-voice-dominated-the-air-whose-face/.
1. Academic.Tips. "Please analyze the significance of the quotation below with reference to the short story’s theme or symbolism: “The woman with the tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by very little from the woman who stood watching her, a cigarette between her heavy, chapped lips, her hair a cuckoo's nest, her face scarred and swollen from many beatings, and her black eyes glittering like coal. Perhaps they both knew this, which was why, when, as rarely, they addressed each other, they addressed each other as Sister. As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first condition, while dreaming of their last.”." September 7, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/please-analyze-the-significance-of-the-quotation-below-with-reference-to-the-short-storys-theme-or-symbolism-the-woman-with-the-tambourine-whose-voice-dominated-the-air-whose-face/.
Bibliography
Academic.Tips. "Please analyze the significance of the quotation below with reference to the short story’s theme or symbolism: “The woman with the tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by very little from the woman who stood watching her, a cigarette between her heavy, chapped lips, her hair a cuckoo's nest, her face scarred and swollen from many beatings, and her black eyes glittering like coal. Perhaps they both knew this, which was why, when, as rarely, they addressed each other, they addressed each other as Sister. As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first condition, while dreaming of their last.”." September 7, 2022. https://academic.tips/question/please-analyze-the-significance-of-the-quotation-below-with-reference-to-the-short-storys-theme-or-symbolism-the-woman-with-the-tambourine-whose-voice-dominated-the-air-whose-face/.
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"Please analyze the significance of the quotation below with reference to the short story’s theme or symbolism: “The woman with the tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by very little from the woman who stood watching her, a cigarette between her heavy, chapped lips, her hair a cuckoo's nest, her face scarred and swollen from many beatings, and her black eyes glittering like coal. Perhaps they both knew this, which was why, when, as rarely, they addressed each other, they addressed each other as Sister. As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first condition, while dreaming of their last.”." Academic.Tips, 7 Sept. 2022, academic.tips/question/please-analyze-the-significance-of-the-quotation-below-with-reference-to-the-short-storys-theme-or-symbolism-the-woman-with-the-tambourine-whose-voice-dominated-the-air-whose-face/.