Sunday, 24 May 2009 - 5:09 PM EDT

The narrator does not understand why Sonny wants to be a musician and not finish school/enlist in the army. He asks Sonny a bunch of questions like who is a famous musician you admire (Sonny answers with "Charlie Parker") and will you be able to make a living doing this? It turns out Sonny wanted to leave because of the drugs, but when he returned, nothing had changed, just that he was older. When the narrator sees Sonny perform at the nightclub, he is filled with a flood of emotions. He sees Sonny doing something he loves, and finally understands.

Monday, 25 May 2009 - 7:58 PM EDT

I think that the narrator is confused about many things in his life. I think it all started when his mom told him the story of his dad’s brother. After that story he made a promise to help his brother and to watch over him. He didn’t keep his promise after he left, because the next time he really talked to his brother was after his mom’s funeral.

          After their mom’s funeral the brothers had a discussion about Sonny’s future. This was the first time that the narrator heard that Sonny wanted to be a musician. Sonny wanted to drop out of school and enlist in the army or navy so he could get out of going to school. The narrator didn’t understand how enlisting in the army or navy would help him further his career in music. He eventually convinced him to stay with Isabel and her parents.

          Later on the narrator found out that Sonny had been skipping out of school to play music and that he had left to join the navy. The narrator got upset with his little brother’s decision and didn’t understand why he would do that. Later he found out that he wanted to leave town because of a drug problem.

          When Sonny came to live with the narrator’s family, they soon realized he hadn’t changed from when he was younger. Then one day sonny invited the narrator to come listen to him play, he accepted and came with him to the village. After hearing Sonny play he soon understood why he loved music so much. He saw the happiness it brought to Sonny.

Monday, 25 May 2009 - 10:34 PM EDT

The narrator teaches his students many things but I think he could also be seen as almost a student because the kids teach him alot as well.  He also doesn't know everything about Sonny in the beginning, but he eventually learns why Sonny did some of the things he did.  I think he can also be seen as a student because he can always learn more, even if he already knows a lot.

I think the narrator is confused about the choices Sonny made and he doesn't really know what to do about it.  He doesn't understand why Sonny joined the army but he knows there is nothing he can do to help him anymore.  He doesn't connect with music the way that Sonny does so he doesn't really understand what he feels.  He thinks Sonny should have chosen another path that he would for sure be able to succeed in.

I think it is hard for them to learn from each other because they are so different from one another.  In the end, the narrator eventually realizes what the music means to Sonny.  He also learns that Sonny had his own reasons for joining the army.

Monday, 25 May 2009 - 10:40 PM EDT

After his mother's death the narrator longs to be the older brother that he never really was. He wants to be wise and tell Sonny how he should be taking control of his life and tell him he needs to think about the future. At this point in the story he doesn't know how to learn from his brother's ambitions and can only think that Sonny is going to ruin his life.

When his mother told him about what happen to his dad's brother the narrator realizes that no matter what his brother gets into he needs to make sure that Sonny always knows that he is there. But after Sonny ran away they only fought and he thought that Sonny was dead to him. He didn't understand how much his brother really needed him and the struggles he must have been going through. The trouble he caused were probably a cry for help. 

Once his daughter died and he recieved a letter back from Sonny he learned that his brother needed him and was sorry for everything he had put on the family. It was still hard for the narrator to see what was going through Sonny's head but he knew that he needed all the support he could find. 

When the narrator finally agreed to go with Sonny, and listened to him play, he could see in Sonny's face how much the music was truly important to him. Although the addictions had hurt his brother in so many ways he could see that through it all Sonny was able to find something that really mattered to him and he understood how much that meant. Music was and alternate drug for Sonny, it made him come alive in a way the narrator had never seen before, and because of this he knew that his brother was truly himself when he was behind that piano. 

Monday, 25 May 2009 - 10:58 PM EDT

I think the narrator learns many things from his brother. Sonny teaches him that recieving an education is not the only way classified as "intelligent". There are many situations in life that can make you seem smart. It's good to be knowledgable about more than one subject.

When the narrator went to Sonny's performance at the end, I think he learned that words can be transfered without being spoken. Sonny has been through many tough times in his life, but he has lived through and and learned to cope. The narrator thought that once you did something, you stayed like that, but Sonny taught him that ways and habits can change and be a great help in life. You would have more experience with a variety of situations.

Monday, 25 May 2009 - 11:40 PM EDT

         The first example that I thought of showing the teacher feeling the role of a student was the idea of an ice block in his stomach and icy cold veins.

        The teacher longed to help his brother Sonny out in every way he could. One of the obstacles in this was that he was not well educated about the world of addiction. He wanted to be the one to do the actual teaching and helping of Sonny's addiction and when he could not do it, he felt incomplete.

        Another example of the teacher feeling similar to a student is when he went with Sonny to listen to his music. When he became aware of how the music brought out Sonny's true self, many things clicked for him, much like a student finally understanding something they have been stuck on for a long time.

Monday, 25 May 2009 - 11:41 PM EDT

The narrator finds himself as a teacher in this story.  He, unlike his brother, is living his life without the escape that drugs, specifically heroin, provided his brother, Sonny. He is considerably older as well which allows him to fill the more mature, deeper thinking role.

    Sonny has a completely different view on life.  He is focused on a less stable career.  He is trying to live off his love and passion for playing music.  The narrator, at first doesn’t understand how the music is, in a way, filling Sonny’s life and making it worth living.

   As we read on, the narrator realizes that there are other paths in life than the stable lifestyle he leads.  He begins to comprehend the differences that his and Sonny’s lives have experienced and how the music can be an expression for his trials and perseverance through life.      

Monday, 25 May 2009 - 11:41 PM EDT

Usually as a teacher your role is to teach the student but in the story the teacher actually becomes the student.

The narrator did not understand why Sonny did all the things he did, like doing drugs.  He does not understand the actions Sonny takes and feels disconnected from him.  This disconnection is mostly because of the different views these brothers have.

Soon the narrators role as the teacher switches to the student when Sonny tells him why he acts this way he does.  For example, Sonny did drugs because it helped him with his music and it gave his music meaning. In addition, he learned that Sonny joined the navy to get away from all of the drugs.  While getting to know Sonny the narrator ended up learning most importantly about himself.

Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 12:00 AM EDT

The teacher, Sonny’s brother, is observing the students in his school and relating them to Sonny. He finally gets to feel how his students feel when they are put into hard situations. His brother Sonny is being sent to rehab for drug abuse, and he can’t wrap his mind around it. He doesn’t understand why kids use drugs when they could kill you.

The narrator was soon to judge Sonny on his decision to enlist into the navy. He didn’t understand how it would further his future in the music business. He wanted his brother to have a bright future and didn’t realize that his brother wanted that for himself as well. He found out later that Sonny joined the navy because he wanted to leave his drug problem behind

He finally comes to terms with his brother’s life when he listens to Sonny play his music. He realized how much music meant to Sonny.

Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 1:04 AM EDT

     The narrators is a teacher that is what his career is, until he meets the man from his past that tells him his brother has been sent to prison. He had always questioned Sonny because of how he had grown up with drugs and bad people in his life.

     He was taught not only by the man walking past the school but by Sonny. That man opened his eyes showing that Sonny had know one but him his parents weren’t there and he wasn’t going to get any help if he didn’t have a reason.

     Sonny brought back the past and they grew together again as family. The two wrote to each other and shared what one another remembered.

     The narrator doesn’t understand Sonny’s life of wanting to be a musician, he is also told about Sonny enlisting in the army and doesn’t understand how he can do both and be happy.

    After having the two brothers live together for a while they became closer and learned more and more about each other. Sonny brought him to watch him play his music and the narrator saw his love for music and saw that, it was what made him happy. Sonny became the teacher teaching his brother about his mistakes in life and reasoning’s for them.

Tuesday, 26 May 2009 - 11:26 AM EDT

       The narrator is an alegbra teacher. He has a brother named Sonny who is addicted to Heroine. Throughout the story he struggles to find out the reasons that led him to start it. When Sonny comes back from rehab, he tells him the truth. He only started it to because he needed a little boost to help him perform jazz.