Movie Analysis : Sonny 's Blues

“Sonny’s Blues” is an emotional story written by an amazing author, James Baldwin, who has come to be one of my favorite writers. This particular piece talks about the troubles of African American freeing themselves from the mental bondages of their surroundings, the ghetto. The title is significant, and helped me to understand the underlining meaning of the story. The title can be divided into two main reasons, the first, “Sonny’s Blues, meaning the music he plays. Second is the reference to his life, his feelings, his style, and most importantly his way of life.

In James Baldwin’s short story, Sonny’s Blues, he describes a story of pain and prejudice. The theme of suffering makes the readers relate to it. The story is told in the realistic point of view of Sonny’s brother. The setting and time of the story also has great significance to the story. From beginning to end, the story is well developed.

In the short story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin a schoolteacher from the city of Harlem struggles with life and figuring out how to helped his troubled brother. All though named Sonny’s Blues the main character is actually Sonny’s brother who is the narrator and goes through his life and how he reacts to the many problems his younger brother has come into. The brothers grew up in the poverty stricken city of Harlem where the brothers had to avoid drugs and violence constantly. Growing up, Sonny struggled to stay out of trouble and ended up making some bad decisions throughout his life and ends up landing him in jail and addicted to heroin. The un-named brother of Sonny who is the narrator of the story begins to

In James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues” there is a constant contrast between light and dark. Baldwin uses this theme to highlight the struggles that the Narrator and his younger brother, Sonny, both face. Light represents all of the positive aspects of life. Meanwhile, the darkness represents the constant struggle that threatens the characters in the story. Light and dark has a presence in both characters. The narrator lives his life in the “light”. He is a teacher, middleclass man, a man who has a wife and family. For the narrator, the darkness is his constant reflections on his brother, and his sense of guilt or blame for being the reason why Sonny turned to a life of drugs. The darkness represents Sonny in a way. He is a

In each of the two short stories, “Sonny’s Blues” and “Everyday Use,” allow people who read these stories to make discoveries of the lives of African American families. These people who are apart of these families have to live in society and be able to deal with struggles and difficulties around them from being equal but separate at the

The experience of using music as an emotional escape when one is experiencing frustrating times is one that is almost universal. This application of music, more specifically the blues, is especially true for the title character in James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues.” Told from the perspective of his older brother, the writing depicts the hardships that Sonny has been through, including the loss of both of his parents and the ordeal of going to jail for drugs, all of which result in a strained relationship between him and his brother. In "Sonny's Blues," Sonny has a deep dedication and emotional connection to the blues. The author depicts this through the continuation of an extended metaphor, the description of music being played, and the application of blues as a narrative device.

Continuing with racism, it sets a dark undercurrent that flows through "Sonny's Blues". It is faintly referenced directly, but its presence can be felt continuously. For example, Baldwin mentions beat-up housing projects (a.k.a the ghetto: a part of a city, especially a slum area, occupied by a minority group or groups.) that rise out of Harlem like ..."rocks in the middle of the boiling sea"... (Baldwin 566). The projects represent the impact of racism on a oppressed community. Likewise, much of the narrator's anxiety on behalf of his students can be attributed to the fact that they, like Sonny, are young African American men living

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.

Fictional writing is generally done just to entertain readers. Some authors create stories with a singular point of view, while others introduce more complex plots and storylines. When it comes to author James Baldwin’s short story Sonny’s Blues, there is much depth given to the storyline and the characters. Sonny’s Blues has been analyzed by many different people throughout time because the story has many elements. From Baldwin’s skillful use of metaphors and similes to his incorporation of religious references, this story is insightfully and complexly written. A simple story about a man and his brother leaves readers with an inside look into family, drug addiction, socioeconomic struggles in the Black community, and the language of Jazz

In James Baldwin 's short story "Sonny 's Blues" a young man questions his brotherly obligations after finding that his younger brother has been arrested for using drugs. In the attempt to rectify his younger brother 's behavior and life, the young man faces his own feelings for his brother and comes to terms with the life his brother Sonny lives. The developments of certain elements-plot, character, point of view, setting, symbolism-in the story help accentuate the narrator 's struggles and theme(s) of the story.

In James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" a pair of brothers try to make sense of the urban decay that surrounds and fills them. This quest to puzzle out the truth of the shadows within their hearts and on the streets takes on a great importance. Baldwin meets his audience at a halfway mark: Sonny has already fallen into drug use, and is now trying to return to a clean life with his brother's aid. The narrator must first attempt to understand and make peace with his brother's drug use before he can extend his help and heart to him. Sonny and his brother both struggle for acceptance. Sonny wants desperately to explain himself while also trying to stay afloat and out

The short story, “Sonny’s Blues”, is about a man, the narrator and his brother, Sonny, and his returning from prison after selling and battling with heroin. Written by James Baldwin, the story takes place in Harlem, and throughout, there are certain settings that make the narrator feel a particular way. When the narrator encounters Sonny’s old friend, witnesses a revival, and recalls the story of the death of his each draw out different emotions.

Several dialectics are at play in James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues” including a dialectic between the narrator and his beloved brother Sonny involving their opposing responses to the sense of oppression and limitation that arises from living in Harlem. This dialectic and its resolution closely parallel Baldwin’s masterful use of Blues, Jazz, and Gospel music.

The sibling relationship between the narrator and his brother in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin greatly contributes to the meaning of the work. Throughout the story, the narrator separates himself from his family and his community. He passes as if he is not connected to his ancestors who struggled through slavery to freedom. The narrator takes this freedom for granted, choosing to gain privilege, status, and acceptance. Unlike his brother Sonny, who accepts and embraces his community, the narrator gives up his identity for the safety and well-being of his new family. By doing so, however, the narrator loses Sonny and the rest of his community. Ultimately, Sonny is the only one able to reunite his brother with the identity and community he

In the short story “Sonny’s Blues” the author James Baldwin tells the story of two brothers reconnecting after years of soul searching. The story begins in media res where the narrator finds out his brother has been incarcerated due to a heroin addiction. The rising action begins when the narrator reads about Sonny in the paper. In which he finds out how difficult Sonny’s dug addicted life will be, through one of Sonny’s old friends. In time the narrator finally writes to Sonny after losing his young daughter Gracie, from this point on the two brothers stay in constant communication and reunite after Sonny’s release.