Sylvia-"The Lesson," Dee-"Everyday Use," & Sonny-"Sonny's Blues:" which protagonist most successfully overcomes the difficulties of "poverty?"Could...

Your distinction regarding poverty is a very interesting
and accurate one. One can have great wealth but be emotionally
impoverished.

With regard to the primary characters
mentioned in Alice Walker's "Everyday Use," Tony Cade Bambara's "The Lesson," and James
Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues," the distinction of poverty speaks differently between them,
but I believe it parallels each character's success in life because of the ability or
inability to resist some aspect of "poverty."

"Everyday
Use"...

readability="6">

...tells the story of a mother and her two
daughters' conflicting ideas about their identities and
ancestry.

Dee is impoverished
in spirit. She takes no pleasure or pride in the strength of her ancestors, but sees
them simply as people who were subjugated by the white race. By comparison, Maggie is
very rich because she reveres the sacrifices and strengths shown by
those who have come before her. Dee wants nothing else than to separate herself from the
line of enslaved people who have made her quality of life possible, while Maggie
embraces her heritage. The quilts that the sisters argue over are symbolic of that
heritage: Dee wants them to adorn her fancy apartment—a "impersonal" relationship.
Maggie, on the other hand, wants them for "everyday use," tangible items she can hold
and find comfort from, in that they preserve the connection she had with her
grandmother—one of the three generations of women who worked on the quilts. Dee believes
she should have them because she appreciates that they are
heirlooms. Dee has no dreams: in her mind, there is only financial
poverty. She does not realize that she has fallen victim to spiritual
poverty.

In studying the characters of Sylvia in "The
Lesson," and Sonny in "Sonny's Blues," it is difficult (I believe) to know which
character is more "richer" and/or suffers from the poverty of a life without
dreams.

Sonny is a young man who has taken a much different
path than his brother (who narrates the story). Sonny's brother is a teacher, husband
and father, but Sonny has struggled with drugs, has been in jail, and has chosen to be a
jazz musician—which offers no financial security or structured lifestyle. At the start
of the story, Sonny's brother thinks that Sonny is a complete failure. As the story
progresses, the narrator believes he is responsible for Sonny's
difficulties—he hasn't been there for Sonny. However, by the end, the narrator learns
that Sonny is not truly impoverished. Paradoxically, the heroin has helped Sonny to
survive life's pain. The jazz fulfills Sonny, offering another healthier form of
survival. With music, is seems that anything is possible for Sonny from this
standpoint.

Sylvia has not had the chance to realize her
potential. She is a youngster when the story takes place. She is held back by social
poverty. However, as Miss Moore demonstrates to the group of children she has taken out
on a "field trip," life is not fair. Some people have more than they need, while others
never have enough. Like a typical kid, Sylvia doesn't want Miss Moore to get the idea
that Sylvia cares about anything they have seen. However, when they have free time,
Sylvia wants time to consider this new information— she embraces it and promises that no
one will ever get over on her:

readability="5">

But ain't nobody gonna beat me at
nuthin.

With Sonny and
Sylvia, I believe that while poverty surrounds them, they each have
the potential to avoid emotional and spiritual poverty, though they may not have any
money.