Contrasting Responsibility in Carvers Fever and Baldwins Sonnys B

What allows a human being to constantly face-up to the responsibilities of life? What makes a mother or father continue to clothe, feed, and pick up their child from school? What makes a person wake up every morning to go to a job he or she hates, come home, and begin the whole process the following morning? Is it "responsibility" that makes a person do what they have to do, or rather is it fearing the consequence? Truthfully, this would depend on the situation. Parents would most likely fulfill their responsibility towards their child or children because of love; but a person who hates his or her job probably continues to do it fearing the consequence of unemployment. In the end, one realizes that despite all the responsibilities a person has, the choice to execute it is ultimately left to the individual. Two short stories that examine the theme of responsibility are "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin and "Fever" by Raymond Carver. In "Sonny's Blues", the narrator's elderly mother tells him to never allow anything bad to happen to his younger brother, Sonny. Although Sonny's injurious decisions result in both brothers distancing themselves from each other, the older brother finds it within himself to love his brother and do everything he can do to take care of him. In "Fever", the other short story, the narrator's wife, Eileen, abandons her life as a wife and mother of two children to pursue a career as an artist with another man. This sudden abandonment of all maternal responsibilities without reservation characterizes her as a free-flowing "artiste" that pursues her desires without regarding the impact it might have on others. Both of these short stories show how people approach the issue of familial responsibility. An init... ... what we're supposed to get out of this life..." one realizes that she has put her ambitions and desires above her family and paid no heed to her familial responsibility. Abraham Lincoln once said, "You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today" (www.quotationspage.com). Ironically, one actually can. The narrator in "Sonny's Blues" chose to care for Sonny and accept his responsibility as an older brother. On the other hand, Eileen in "Fever" chose a different path by leaving her family and pursuing her own ambitions. Conclusively, one realizes that despite all the responsibilities a person has, the element of choice determines what happens. Works Cited Carver, Raymond. "Fever" The Harper Anthology of Fiction: Ed. Sylvan Barnet. New York: HarperCollins, 1991. Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues" in Vintage Baldwin. New York: Vintage, 2004.