Caroline's Post

Caroline Burlingham
Mr. H. Salsich
English
October 6, 2008

Come and Go:
A comparison of loss and gain

As our lives pass before our eyes, we lose and gain so much that these things, these moments, and these people can not be accounted for.(PURPOSEFUL REPETITION) Whether you have lost your true love or the respect of your family, something will always come in return. You could be a nobody who just wants to play his jazz, or a golf caddie with a dream of winning, but whatever you are, there will always be a sliver lining. For Sonny from “Sonny’s Blues” and Dexter, from “Winter Dreams” these silver linings were less evident (FAST) than they had hoped.

In F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story “Winter Dreams”, Dexter, the protagonist, can’t stop thinking about the girl he once had. Dexter lost part of his life when summer ended and Judy Jones went back home. She didn’t just take his love, but his idea of love too. Because she left him, he lost his passion for loving as she was all he could think about. On the other hand, Dexter gained was a second chance. He got engaged to a new and beautiful woman, and although he did not love her, he was good to her. He also moved to New York and got a new job, made new friends, and went new places (PURPOSEFUL REPETITION). Judy Jones caused Dexter’s life to turn into a domino effect of losses. First she left, then his marriage didn’t work out, but Dexter always seemed to look on the bright side and he started new. Although he never did pursue his dream of golfing with the professionals, “For Dexter, the melody drifting over the water fuses the past and the present, the years of struggle just behind and the fulfillment just beginning.”(Fitzgerald) Not all losses are bad; sometimes they lead to something greater and more beautiful than the thing that was lost, all you have to do is open your eyes.

On the other hand, in the story “Sonny’s Blues”, Sonny, the protagonist, experiences loss at a very young age. Sonny did not lose the love of his life, or his new fiancé, but Sonny lost his family. His mother had passed away when he was little, and his dad was not the best father because of that. Although his brother did not die, he was so anxious to get out of the house that he left Sonny alone without communication. After Sonny was put in jail for drugs, he was able to gain back the one family member he had left. Although his brother did not endorse (FAST) his new inspiration of jazz music, it was just that which brought them together. In the end, he regained the respect from his brother by singing his “Blues”. Sonny, unlike Dexter, seemed to gain more than he lost throughout the story. He didn’t gain more by number, but by importance. Most of the time, your family and friends are the most important aspects of your life, and Sonny gained new ones through his music. Dexter Green’s life seemed to start on a good note and go down hill, but it was the complete opposite for Sonny and his “Blues”.

In our lives, many things will or have happened, some of these things we do not like, and others we love. But no matter how bad things may seem, or how great they appear to be, we stick with them. We are told over and over again throughout our lives to never give up, and that is one lesson that both Sonny and Dexter knew. One thing both of the protagonists’ from these stories knew, was that everything happens for a reason.