y’s life because he expects a lot out of him. Sarty was taught to always stick to his own kind, his family, otherwise he would have none. “You got to stick to your own blood” (p.400).In comparison to Sarty’s character, the brother from “Sonny’s Blues” also deals with loyalty, but of a different type. The brother is caught up in wanting the world to serve him in order to live a successful life therefore fantasizing about the “American Dream”. He is so fixated on this “American Dream” that he overlooks what Sonny wants to do with his life and instead pulls him further into his own goals. What the brother is doing is taking care of Sonny, he is fulfilling his promise to his Mother. His Mother wanted him to take care of Sonny because she knows how tough it was when his Father lost his brother. As a result, her words of wisdom haunt him and remains in his memory forever. The brother can already relate to this for the reason that he just recently lost his own two-year old daughter who suffered from polio. “You may not be able to stop nothing from happening. But you got to let him know you’s there,” (p.204). The brother’s real loyalty stands within his Mother in keeping his promise to her to take care of Sonny no matter what happens. In both stories, Sarty and the brother are both dynamic characters. The loyalty comparisons play a big role in changing their character and identity. Thought the characters know that something is happening with their identities, the realization happen as the events happen. In “Barn Burning”, Sarty’s young and nave personality grows older and knowledgeable as the story progresses. He’s used to being an obedient son, but there are points in the story where the words he uses to describe his Father grow stronger and colder. First, his Father is “stiff in his black Sunday coat,”...
