Analysis Of Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

In the short story “Sonny’s Blues” by James H. Pickering, a brother is trying to understand what has led his younger brother, Sonny, to drug addiction and how to help his relationship with Sonny. The instructive purpose of this analysis is to examine how James Baldwin uses the narrators characteristics to construct the central conflict of the story. The two opposing forces that create the central conflict are presented as a person versus self, by a clash of two feelings. On one hand the parental characteristic of the narrator wants to help his brother. The other a closed - minded characteristic of the narrator wants to push his brother away. The central idea of the story is trying to overcome an internal conflict to be able to save relationships with those we love most but tend to push away. A change in thinking and acceptance moves those struggling back together where they want to be.

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.

Ultimately we all find ourselves in that moment when our last breath is released from our body, dieing is our final destination, but what truly determines the worth of our life is the fight and the will power each individual endures in order to continue living. In the story “Sonny’s Blues” written by Jamis Baldwin, Baldwin writes about the suffering we all face in life and how difficult it is to make it through the darkness when one can not see the light. It is the acknowledgement that one did not give up on his or herself that makes life worth living. Sonny and the Narrator's life chronicle emulates the raw uncensored reality of life. Although Sonny made horrible deleterious life decisions, it is important to acknowledge that these decisions

Sonny’s Blues, a short story by famed African-American author James Baldwin, is the story of two bothers. Other famous stories of two brothers include both The Prodigal Son parable and the story of Cain and Abel, both from which Baldwin clearly draws inspiration from. Baldwin grew up with many religious teachings, as his adoptive father, David Baldwin, was a preacher. Though the relationship between father and son was not enviable, Baldwin still grew up active in his religion (James Baldwin- Biography). Baldwin, despite growing up in the Baptist church with a preacher for a father began to convert to Pentecostalism began in his early teenage years when he accompanied friends to a Pentecostal church, where, at the age of fourteen, he became ‘street preacher’ (James Baldwin- Biography). Of those years as a preacher, Baldwin recalled, “Those three years in the pulpit – I didn’t realize it then – that is what turned me into a writer, really, dealing with all that anguish and that despair and that beauty.” Many of his works prominently feature religion, and mimic the bible in language and tone (James Baldwin- About the Author).

The story begins by telling the readers how Sonny’s brother learned of him being in jail from a newspaper article (29), one might automatically infer that their relationship isn’t so good. It makes you wonder how much influence Sonny’s brother had when it came to how his life ended up. At one point in the beginning of the story his brother even asks himself if he had anything to do with it (33), as if to help the readers with the already occurring thought that maybe he could have helped his brother, maybe he could have been there and done more. Later on, he talks about the promise he made to his mother to take care of his brother, to lift him up and not let him fall (42). He had a responsibility to his little brother and he ultimately let him down, he let him fall and wasn’t around to help him back up when he needed it the most.

While reading “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin theme, symbolism, and motifs were discovered throughout the entire short story. Sonny one of the two main characters, is dealing with a drug addiction and is now following his dreams of becoming a jazz musician. The narrator, whose name was never given, does his best to keep the promise he made his mother years ago, to be his brother’s keeper.

As well as in the short story Sonny’s Blues, the main character, Sonny, is being criticized by his brother. Since the very beginning, their mother told the oldest one, ‘’ you got to hold on to your brother ’’ and that’s what he wanted to do, but Sonny took a different path than he did. Sonny was the kind of guy that was heroin-addicted and a jazz musician, but his older brother didn’t see all these sides of him. We discover all these sides by the use of flashback of the author throughout the major parts of the story. The author didn’t want us to see Sonny like his older brother was seeing him, he wanted us to see him as a poor, un-accepted guy that needed to be listened by his peers. The brother didn’t accept the journey that Sonny had taken, but if he would of saw the actual Sonny, and stop hiding in the darkness, he would of accepted him faster and understand that Sonny only wanted to show that he could do good things not only drugs. In the middle of the story, there is a flashback were we learn that actually Sonny is more experienced about life than his older brother, because Sonny was in drugs and was really affected by Harlem( the city they stayed in when they were younger). The brother had a pretty easy life; he became a teacher and had a little family. This demonstrates that we need support from our peers, to be able to continue without taking bad choices.

When the narrator and Sonny argues, the narrator declares, “Well Sonny, people can’t always do exactly what they want to do” (57). He does not understand the reasons why Sonny wants to become a jazz musician, but instead, he just tells Sonny that he should stop dreaming about it. However, its because his love towards his brother Sonny is so strong that he wants to prevent whatever he can to help Sonny to live a better life and since the love is so strong, it hurts one another’s feeling even more. After arguing, narrator sees Sonny little terrified, “sipped his beer, very deliberately not looking at me” (63). The narrator’s internal conflicts are that cares for this family, guilty feelings like he broke his promise to mother because Sonny is struggling, and himself trying to take care of Sonny. Before mom dies, mom is worried about Sonny and the narrator tries to calm his mom down by explaining to her that, “ Ain’t nothing going to happen to you or Sonny” (54). When the narrator finds out that Sonny got arrested for Heroin, he explains, “I couldn’t believe it. But what I mean by that is that I couldn’t find any room for it anywhere inside me” (47). The narrator tries

In James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues,” one of the most pertinent themes throughout the story is the contrast and duality of light and darkness. More specifically, the author explores this theme by using light and darkness to explain the characters coming to terms with their realities and the realities of many people who live in their community. The theme also is key in explaining the relationship between Sonny and the narrator. In this paper, I intend to explain the significance of the tension of identifying one’s reality in “Sonny’s Blues,” by exploring the many instances that Baldwin uses light and darkness to explore one’s reality.

In the story “Sonny’s Blues”, written by James Baldwin, the narrator and his younger brother, Sonny, interact with musical elements that serve as a redemption for Sonny. Baldwin believes in the power of music to rescue or minimize the suffering that people go through. Both characters isolate themselves with several instances of music and issue their reactions toward it. Sonny is an uprising musician that wants to portray his life by playing the piano. This story is about Sonny’s Blues. His sadness about his escape from his childhood, his frustration with being a musician, as well as the lack of support from his brother, when he knew that Sonny was hurting the most, are expressed through the wooden black and white keys. At first, Sonny uses

When it comes to stress about someone it is an instinct to show concern, and sometimes feel responsible for them. An individual that care about a loved one or friend, they feel the need to guide them in the right direction that would be for their benefit. Growing up, I have had experiences with a loved one abusing drugs which had many complications and moments that were difficult. I felt responsible for that person’s well-being because of the connection and the fact it was my mother. To grasps the understand the meaning of feeling responsible for a loved one, I decided to analyze James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues.”

Music can be the lead to freedom from darkness. The story “Sonny’s Blue” by James Baldwin takes places in Harlem around the 1950’s. The story is about two brothers. One of the brothers is the narrator of the story whose name is unknown. The narrator tells the story of the struggles in Harlem but mainly the struggles of his brother with drugs, and his passion for jazz music. Through out the story the narrator avoids giving a sense of his own struggles with himself. However, in the end the reader can see the narrator’s struggles making the story more about him that Sonny. In “Sonny 's Blues” symbols play a huge role and give a deeper meaning in the story. One of the biggest symbols in the store is the constant reference to darkness. In the story “Sonny’s Blues” darkness symbolizes oppression, while music symbolizes freedom.

Music surrounds us in our everyday lives. We hear it when we are in the car, at work, when we are shopping, at restaurants, at doctor's offices, and many more places. The music serves a purpose other than entertainment at many of these places. Music has the power to influence characterization in people and it’s no secret that it’s a convenience for everyone. Music is used in many ways to enhance and embellish the lives of people. It is meant to be consumed, whether it is by the listener, performer, or composer. It is a way to translate feelings and desires that are sometimes difficult to express using language.

Meanwhile, the narrator lived a good life and became a successful person then his brother. When Sonny was trying to express himself on how he felt inside and show his drug abuse, his brother did not want to accept his brother drug abuse. In “Sonny Blues” it said “Sonny was wild, but he wasn’t crazy. And he’d always been a good boy, he hadn’t ever turned hard or evil or disrespectful.” Even though the narrator feels Sonny isn’t bad influence, he doesn’t show compassion for his younger brother because he believes his younger brother won’t change his lifestyle. He was expecting more of Sonny especially that he was away from him. When the narrator asks his brother what he want to do as he gets older, his brother give him a surprised answer that make him go completely off. His brother was interested in music that was played in his neighborhood. In “Sonny Blues” it said, “I’m going to be musician,’’ he said. Then his brother asks him “What kind of musician do you want to be?” Then his brother Sonny replied back by saying “How many kinds

In fact, it is through words that we are able to communicate every day. Yet, it has been proved that music is strong enough to trigger a life-changing transformation in people’s lives. As shown above, Sonny’s music evoked emotions in his brother. It triggered a series of memories that made him feel what Sonny had felt and was feeling at that moment. We could say that if it had not been for Sonny’s ability to transmit his feelings through music, his brother would have never understood the grief and sorrow he had to go through to be listened. In Sonny and his brother’s lives music took over, because only when Sonny made his brother listen to his music, did his brother embody Sonny’s feelings and embraced his. The improvement in their relationship thanks to music makes us realize that words actually convey meaning, but when it comes to feelings, they do not convey it as deeply as music