“A Kind of Joy”: Laughing and Grinning through “Sonny’s Blues
The protagonists in James Baldwin’s 1957 short story “Sonny’s Blues” are constantly smiling and laughing. The story’s narrator notices these gestures and utilizes them to grasp at clarity when clarity seems out of reach. This article examines the narrator’s focus on this duo of facial expressions wh...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Manchester University Press
2022-09-01
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| Series: | James Baldwin Review |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.manchesteropenhive.com/view/journals/jbr/8/1/article-p51.xml |
| _version_ | 1811182520878759936 |
|---|---|
| author | James Nikopoulos |
| author_facet | James Nikopoulos |
| author_sort | James Nikopoulos |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The protagonists in James Baldwin’s 1957 short story “Sonny’s Blues” are constantly smiling and laughing. The story’s narrator notices these gestures and utilizes them to grasp at clarity when clarity seems out of reach. This article examines the narrator’s focus on this duo of facial expressions which reliably denote positive emotion. The relationship we maintain between our smiles and our laughter structures many of the narrator’s interactions with the story’s hero. More though, this relationship between smiles, laughter, and a kind of joy resembles the relationship Baldwin has described between the blues and the world this genre of music depicts. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:33:06Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-1ff5e94706ac437fa91e2454474638d5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2056-9203 2056-9211 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T09:33:06Z |
| publishDate | 2022-09-01 |
| publisher | Manchester University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | James Baldwin Review |
| spelling | doaj.art-1ff5e94706ac437fa91e2454474638d52022-12-22T04:31:47ZengManchester University PressJames Baldwin Review2056-92032056-92112022-09-0181516510.7227/JBR.8.3“A Kind of Joy”: Laughing and Grinning through “Sonny’s BluesJames Nikopoulos0Nazarbayev UniversityThe protagonists in James Baldwin’s 1957 short story “Sonny’s Blues” are constantly smiling and laughing. The story’s narrator notices these gestures and utilizes them to grasp at clarity when clarity seems out of reach. This article examines the narrator’s focus on this duo of facial expressions which reliably denote positive emotion. The relationship we maintain between our smiles and our laughter structures many of the narrator’s interactions with the story’s hero. More though, this relationship between smiles, laughter, and a kind of joy resembles the relationship Baldwin has described between the blues and the world this genre of music depicts.https://www.manchesteropenhive.com/view/journals/jbr/8/1/article-p51.xmlaffectemotionnonverbal communicationhumorafrican american |
| spellingShingle | James Nikopoulos “A Kind of Joy”: Laughing and Grinning through “Sonny’s Blues James Baldwin Review affect emotion nonverbal communication humor african american |
| title | “A Kind of Joy”: Laughing and Grinning through “Sonny’s Blues |
| title_full | “A Kind of Joy”: Laughing and Grinning through “Sonny’s Blues |
| title_fullStr | “A Kind of Joy”: Laughing and Grinning through “Sonny’s Blues |
| title_full_unstemmed | “A Kind of Joy”: Laughing and Grinning through “Sonny’s Blues |
| title_short | “A Kind of Joy”: Laughing and Grinning through “Sonny’s Blues |
| title_sort | a kind of joy laughing and grinning through sonny s blues |
| topic | affect emotion nonverbal communication humor african american |
| url | https://www.manchesteropenhive.com/view/journals/jbr/8/1/article-p51.xml |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jamesnikopoulos akindofjoylaughingandgrinningthroughsonnysblues |