Analysis of Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin In the story of “Sonny’s Blues,” by Baldwin, the beginning of the story finds Sonny’s brother on his way to work reading about Sonny’s predicament. Sonny got arrested for “peddling and using heroin.” He didn’t want to believe that his brother was in trouble. While teaching his algebra class he was thinking about the past. He remembered when he first suspected his Sonny of using Heroin. He was always under the impression that Sonny was, “wild, but he
James Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924, to a single mother in Harlem. After his mother married his stepfather David Baldwin, who was a Baptist minister, he was adopted by him. Growing up, he didn’t feel as if he was accepted the way his other siblings were, though. In some of Baldwin stories, they often have a similar story line where it seems he is the less favored child over everyone else. In “Sonny’s Blues,” a similar scenario is presented in some ways. While the unnamed narrator often speaks
In the short story, Sonny’s Blues, by James Baldwin, there are two brother that live in Harlem during the Harlem Renaissance. The older brother, whose name is never mentioned, was given responsibility of Sonny by their mother before she passed away. Sonny is the younger of the two and wants to be a jazz pianist, but his older brother does not understand this, while he is an algebra school teacher. Sonny and his brother stop communicating. Later, the older brother is going to his job when he sees
James Baldwin, the author of Sonny’s Blues, had a strong religious background that was reflected in his works through retellings of biblical stories in the modern age. Sonny’s Blues is primarily a retelling of the biblical parable of The Prodigal Son, but throughout the story we can see similarities with other stories found in the bible. The forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge becomes the drug heroin. Cain and Able, along with the two boys in The Prodigal Son, become Sony and his brother the
Transformation in the Story, “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin Introduction The story, “Sonny’s Blues” is not simply the story of the experience of the narrator. Rather, it is a story that captures his inner transformation as well the spiritual progression that his previous experiences of death and loss have influenced. Yes, it is. In that, the story starts as an identified or unfamiliar algebra teacher tries to familiarize with something at the same time riding the passageway to school. The teacher
Kelly J. Warner Professor Carol Wittig EN 234 – Introduction to Fiction 31 August 2017 A Second Chance The story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin hits home to my own personal life. In the story, a man learns that his brother is in jail and he is hooked on drugs. This story relates to my life because I have experienced something similar. Not only do I think that it can relate to my life, but so many other people who are struggling with drug and alcohol addiction. My father passed away due to a drug
believed we can only hear with our ears, something about music makes it emotionally if not physically tangible. In James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues,” a narrator certainly unaware of the impact of music invites himself to experience jazz for the first time. Baldwin uses the final scene of his story to argue that music has an effect on those who are able to experience it. Baldwin does this in one single moment by letting the fixed, practical minded, “well-intentioned” narrator experience catharsis
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
Sonny's Blues is set in Harlem, New York. James Baldwin, author of Sonny's Blues took from his own life experiences and what he saw while writing growing up in New York. The neighborhoods in Harlem during the 1950's were impoverished and oppressed in the African American community. This led African Americans to become products of their environment. Crimes were committed, drugs were being used and abused to help cope with the stresses of everyday life, and families were being torn apart. The story
Jameka Gaston Dr. Basaninyenzi English 102 11/29/17 Expressing Suffering through Music: An Analysis of “Sonny’s Blues” Written in 1957 by James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” is a short story where music plays a dominant role in defining characters, specifically Sonny. The story has three main topics of discussion, family struggles, drug addiction and most importantly music. In the beginning Sonny’s older brother, a high school algebra teacher. He reads about him being arrested for selling heroin.