Sonny Is A Heroin Addict

“In the second major wave of American opiate addiction, heroin was integrated into the new cultural identity of the ‘hipster’ first through the Harlem jazz scene,” (A Social History of American’s Most Popular Drugs). Instead of finishing out his last year of high school while staying at Isabel’s, Sonny spent his school days playing music and getting high in Greenwich Village. This was very alarming to Isabel. She became very upset with Sonny and although she tried her best to stay calm, she lost

impacts a family’s finances, physical health as well as psychological wellbeing. It can also cause tension, miscommunication, and more frequent arguments within a household which in turn creates an unhealthy environment for everyone involved. The addict can be very unpredictable which can cause anxiety, emotional pain, stress, and a loss of trust because that person cannot be counted on to follow through with what they say. Frequently, the people who are addicted don’t even realize or believe they

provides as the foundation for Sonny’s drug abuse and his passion for music, in hopes to capture a moment of relief. Baldwin utilizes Sonny as a prime example of how individuals express their suffering through different approaches. Baldwin uses the setting of Harlem to create a central theme that the means of suffering can be articulated through different acts of pursuits. Sonny reaches out to drugs in hopes to escape the sufferings of Harlem. The narrator

younger brother that is named Sonny. The narrator is trying to take the best care and look out for his brother despite this addiction. Sonny is a troubled man who is addicted to heroin. For Sonny to stay out of trouble, he likes to listen and play music. Music is his escape of not doing drugs and getting into trouble. The narrator does not trust Sonny and does not believe anything he says because of the drugs. I found it nice of the narrator to want to take in Sonny and take care of him but cannot

passion and escapes for Sonny. The narrator was upset with Sonny at first due to him wanting becoming a musician. He thought it was a phase that Sonny was going through and maybe it will blow over after he graduate from high school. The older brother wants the best intension for Sonny and his future, However Sonny was set on his interest in music. Not only is this story about the effects of drug use on a family, but it is also about a man’s struggle to kick that habit. Sonny will have a long way to

is exactly what happened to the narrator. However, in as much as suffering is a negative aspect of life, it is this suffering from the death of Grace that led to a reunion of the narrator with his brother Sonny who by the time of Grace’s death was in prison. When the narrator writes to Sonny, Sonny replies apologetically for having involved himself with drug abuse although he was still uncertain of what would happen to him once he was out of prison (Clabon

There are many things we learn of Sonny and his nameless brother in Sonny's Blues. We learn their mannerisms, hobbies, occupations, and even their addictions. It seems we learn nearly everything about the pair; minus the narrators name, as previously stated. Hearing of their histories and the pains they've under gone, we see how they deal with their pain, which often truly tells character. Sonny's Blues isn't a story of two brothers living in a rough city; one of whom is a talented musician.

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. This story starts in despair, the main character, Sonny is a drug addict, who is holding on to life, but through music he finds hope. There are many parts of this story,

the chaos of the world. . Graham Benton expresses “Although Sonny first tries to relieve his pain by submitting to the mind numbing effects of heroin, he almost simultaneously discovers that playing jazz provides him with a similar kind of escape from his worldly troubles (362).” Sonny finds that Jazz is a much safer pain reliever than heroin and it gives him a way to escape his worldly problems. John M. Reilly states “in the story of Sonny and his brother an intuition of the meaning of the Blues repairs

of disagreement. In the story Sonny has become a heroin addict while living in poverty in an era of segregation. Sonny tries to escape all his hardships through heroin. The narrator decides to write Sonny after his daughter dies, trying to escape his own hardships by reconnecting with his brother. He finds that Sonny has had a rough life over the years and he struggles to understand him. The narrator can see that Sonny has found a way escape his pain through heroin. He also feels that he is to blame