Analysis Of Jan Johnson's ' The Soul Wound '

In the memoir A Long Way Gone, author Ishmael Beah describes his survival journey as a lost child in his country, because of the civil war in Sierra Leone, then becoming a child soldier facing war daily, afterward the process that Beah went through during rehabilitation and finally in fear escaping the civil war. Ishmael Beah emotional journey has three stages of development in which Beah utilized music. In the first stage, Beah uses music as a survival mechanism to keep sane and safe. In the second stage, begins when he loses his brother and friends, Beah reaches the lowest point with the loss of his entire family again, some friends, music, and being forced to join the war. In the final stage, is the process of rehabilitation where Beah connects with music once again. Ishmael Beah exposure to music at a young age stayed with him throughout his life. (Beah, 2007, p. 5-218)

In the book “A Long Way Gone” music plays a role as a healer and a saviour.

In his short story Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin uses the motif of music and light and dark to reveal and reinforce the theme of suffering transforming people into their better selves.

The Untold Story Behind Slave Spirituals Music can be used as a powerful tool to help us combat the sorrows and evils of our lives. The slaves in early American history used music to help themselves endure their difficult way of life. The slaves used their music, called spirituals, in many different settings and for many different purposes. The African Americans sang around campfires, for church worship, and in hidden meetings called bush meetings or camp meetings. African slave spirituals gave meaning and light to a slave's life, had hidden meanings buried in the words, and described the conditions and situations of slaves everyday life.

Our world contains many cultures that perform their religious healing in somewhat similar, but also different ways when pertaining to ritual, beliefs and healing. Towards the end of Sonny’s Blues, Baldwin focuses on the purpose of Sonny’s music and emphasizes Sonny’s musical performance as his religious healing. This paper will emphasize African diaspora and religious expression in Sonny’s Blues. By using analysis from Turner and Janzen, this essay will address the large impact of rites of passage, the significance of communitas, and the correlation with ‘health as adaptation.’

The novel is able to share how music is of great importance and is able to affect people’s moods and thoughts.

Perhaps one of the strongest demonstrations of the power of music in “Sonny’s Blues” is the street revival. Everyone has seen these types of revivals before. Every song has been heard by the crowd, but when the music starts everyone stops, watches, and listens. “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” (57). The music from the street revival helps lifts the hopelessness from the crowd and provides a sense of relief. Music is able to bring people from all walks of life together. It gives them a sense of calm and ease, an assurance that something is there to help. Music listens.

To begin, music exhibits serenity to the most timid of people in times of distraught. In The

The 2013’s Americans for the Arts policy roundtable program let the panels from different backgrounds got together and discussed about what arts should focus on this year, and the topic they came out was “Arts and Healing: Mind, Body and Community ” (“2013 Report And Recommendations”, 3). When I first saw this topic, one name jumped into my mind, James Rhodes, a rising British pianist. He was abused by his teacher back into teenage time, and this tragic experience brought him not only physical harms but also mental illness. He got involved into some drug issues and everything just seemed so messed up. However, it is music that pulls him back from the edge and let him become whom he is today. He once said in the interview “On the piano”

For as long as mankind has walked on this earth, music has been an important part of our culture and lifestyles. Each walk of life beats to a different drum. Different cultures use music for many aspects of their lives; for religious purposes, for celebrations, for comfort, for sorrow, for relaxation, for sports, for dances, for energy, for learning, for sleeping, and for sexual experiences. Everyone uses music for something. Music connects with people and reaches them in ways that words simply cannot. Music is a representation of what feelings sound like. It expresses emotion and brings that characteristic out from within us; it tells us a story. Every generation has its’ own sound and different music styles have emerged and become

The story “Sonny’s Blues” By James Baldwin is about a jazz musician and his brother in 1950’s Harlem. The story centers on Sonny who uses jazz music as an escape from his depression. James Baldwin captures the art of jazz during this time period. The themes in this short story are perhaps varied, but all of them revolve around some form of suffering. One theme shows how music can promote change and understanding within relationships. A second theme reveals suffering caused by guilt. Yet another theme references the results of suffering brought about by searching for ones’ identity and how that leads to misunderstanding. There are also subthemes concerning racism and poverty.

When the mind is in a fragile or unstable state, music can aid the healing and strengthening processes. In the book A Long Way Gone, Ishmael emphasizes the power of music by explaining the severity of the traumatic events he encountered and how music helped him overcome that. Doing so promotes the idea of “music therapy” and how it can aid mental health. This novel provides evidence that music can not only lift our spirits when we are sad or energize us to push through a tough workout, but continues to affect our mentality which is something that will never wear off and we will never

According to Michael Rose, “Music plays an integral role in the life of Native Americans. It is used for ceremonial purposes, recreation, expression, and healing.” Present societies have become blind and unable to understand the spiritual roles our lives play within and from our own existences. As we are to stay blind, we are never to understand the true beauty and meaning the Southern Plains American Indian’s music brings. As we listen, we can only hope of understanding the dynamics of the native people’s culture through its selected art

Music can be immensely therapeutic. The artifact that I have submitted highlighted on the theme of heroism, freedom and standing up for your rights. It is an uplifting beat that makes the listener confident and optimistic about life. This was the same feeling depicted by Siamak and Moshen when they were released from imprisonment.

Specifically, music has been associated with healing abilities, and has been used for such purposes throughout history. Traditionally, the types of sound responsible for healing are characterized by distinct rhythms, and by specific emphasis on repetition that stems from those rhythms. The existence of repetitive beat seems to aid in the achievement of meditative state. Shamans are well known for their use of drum beats to access healing powers both within themselves and for the people they wish to treat (5).