Realism In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

Sonny's way of talking is through music, and when the narrator finally takes a moment to listen, he realizes that it may not be so bad, and that he has found salvation through Sonny and his music. The music is Sonny's light in the darkness, and it proves to be the narrator's as well. This is shown in the quote “For while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never known, it must always be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell, it's only it's the only light we've got in this darkness” (page 67) This quote shows that by listening to Sonny and his music, the narrator was able to find his light with the darkness, which allowed him to regain his metaphorical grace. He tears up while listening to Sonny's music, and it shows him that his suffering has been relieved. In the quote "...listen. These are Sonny's blues." (page 67) it is shown that the narrator has fully listened to Sonny, now that Sonny is speaking for himself through the power of music. The narrator has ended his suffering and he found his own light within the darkness that has devoured his entire life throughout the story. He was able to find grace through listening, and Sonny’s music was the light to counter his darkness. Sonny has been expressing himself through music, but no one was

The short story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, is the tale of two brothers who grew up in Harlem. One brother is a school teacher, husband, and father, whom was left with the responsibility of looking after his younger brother Sonny. Sonny a troubled young man, struggling with his demons and his desire to be a musician. The brothers, born seven years apart, have a complicated relationship. That make it difficult to understand each other; however, the love and bond between them outweigh their differences. The diverse settings throughout the story positively and negatively influence each of these characters, in a plethora of ways.

Sonny’s passion in life was his love for music. This kept him going through his difficult times, “sometime you know, and it was actually when I was most out of the world, I felt I was in it, that I was with it, really, and I could play or didn’t really have to play.” He invited his brother to watch him play at a nightclub. Through the music Sonny played his life’s obstacles and triumph. His brother finally understood what Sonny went through and will continue to go through.

The narrator experienced a lot of problems throughout his life but managed to emerge victoriously from most of them. Even with this, he needs to support Sonny because this was his mother's dying wish. "The death of the narrator's daughter, Sonny's failure to fit in with his own family, a stint in the navy all serve to alienate the brothers, even after their mother made the narrator promise to keep an eye on young Sonny" (Smith 22). The fact that they were born in a harsh environment, society's views in regard to their racial background, and the fact that they experienced a lot of hardships during their lives all had a severe effect on the personalities of each of the brothers.

When his brother asked him what he wanted to do, he quickly responded “I’m going to be a musician.” There wasn’t any thinking needed; he knew exactly what he wanted in life. Though the brother’s point of view we get to see how unimpressed he was that Sonny wanted to be a musician. “It seemed -beneath him, somehow,” Sonny’s brother wrote. Though the story is well written in the point of view that it is told in, the weaknesses are that the readers don’t get to see everything through Sonny’s eyes and see his struggles.

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 "Sonny's Blues" James Baldwin presents an intergenerational portrait of suffering and survival within the sphere of black community and family. The family dynamic in this story strongly impacts how characters respond to their own pain and that of their family members. Examining the central characters, Mama, the older brother, and Sonny, reveals that each assumes or acknowledges another's burden and pain in order to accept his or her own situation within an oppressive society. Through this sharing each character is able to achieve a more profound understanding of his own suffering and attain a sharper, if more precarious, notion of survival.

Everyone deals with problems differently and when going through obstacles you discover things about yourself you do not know. We can use Maslow’s ideas of Self- actualization to understand what Sonny is going through and how he deals with his issues. Psychologist Abraham Maslow believes that in order to self actualize a person have to know who one is, what one wants, and to explore. In Sonny’s Blues, Sonny discovers that he wants to be a musician because music is an escape for him to cope with the problems he is going through.

Later in the story, the narrator and Sonny somehow escape the troubled past that is now left behind.

Discuss place and how James Baldwin uses elements of setting to convey Sonny’s Blues’ larger message or theme.

“Sonny’s Blues” is a touching story of transformation for the narrator and his brother. After spending time in prison for possession of heroin, Sonny comes back home to meet a very hostile and unforgiving brother. The story is set in the predominately African American projects of Harlem, New York where drug abuse and violence are quite rampant. The projects according to Baldwin are: “rocks in the middle of a boiling sea” (112). This description highlights the awful state of affairs. Life conditions in Harlem are worsened by the fact that there are no opportunities for Blacks to empower themselves economically and to liberate themselves from

Sonny wasn't safe, no matter how much his brother had tried to protect him in his own way, by sending him to live with Isabel and her parents. He still got involved with drugs. The big brother syndrome kicks in again one day when Sonny had gone out. "I was trying to remember everything I'd heard about dope addiction and I couldn't help watching Sonny for signs. I wasn't doing it out of malice. I was trying to find out something about my brother. I was dying to hear him tell me he was safe" (54). He was trying to protect his brother, but there was nothing he

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

Furthermore, Sonny's individualism is a direct result of his unhappiness with conventional life. As a young man, Sonny is unable to get along with his father. He hates his home and school. His creative interest leads him to become isolated from his brother, who feels threatened by "his jazz-oriented life style and his continued attraction to Greenwich Village" (Albert 179). By the beginning of the story, Sonny has rejected his family and his home, constructing a new life as a musician and drug peddler in a new location foreign to the narrator.

The underlining main point in this story is hope. There are many factors that challenge the life of these characters in this story, but for me, in much aspect this story was reality. The turning point of this story is when Sonny invites his brother to the nightclub in downtown Harlem. Although Sonny’s brother was hesitant he knew it was needed, if he ever desired to have a strong relationship with his brother. Sonny’s brother says “Yet it was clear that, for them, I was only Sonny’s brother. Here I was in Sonny’s world. Or rather: his kingdom. Here, it was not even a question that his veins bore royal blood” (Baldwin). For once the narrator was able to see that his brother was a changed person, and that he did honestly love music. My comparison to this moment would have to be the moment that I took my mom out to eat last Mothers day.