The Harlem Jazz Scene Analysis

The setting of this story takes place in Harlem in the 1960’s. Though in 1954 when the Brown vs. Broad case found that racially segregates schools were not equal at all, there was still the transition where blacks were still being treated unequally. Harlem was not the ideal living area, but for Sonny and his family it was what they could afford. This may have to do with why Sonny got into drugs. He was in a primarily black community where there wasn’t much opportunity for them to do the things they wanted. It may have been the people Sonny would hang out with, the thought that he wasn’t going anywhere in life, or the thought that his family needed more money, that made him ultimately resort to selling drugs.

“Her voice reminded me of what heroin feels like...it makes you feel...distant and sure...it makes you feel in control” (pg.27) Sonny’s statement of heroin use can be compared to his admiration of music, and that is because music gave him the same feeling as using heroin. It allowed for him to “feel distant” and “feel in control”.

When first reading “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, it may initially seem that the relationship between musicians and drugs is synonymous. Public opinion suggests that musicians and drugs go hand and hand. The possibility lies that Sonny’s passion for jazz music is the underlying reason for his drug use, or even the world of jazz music itself brought drugs into Sonny’s life. The last statement is what the narrator believes to be true. However, by delving deeper and examining the theme of music in the story, it is nothing but beneficial for Sonny and the other figures involved. Sonny’s drug use and his music are completely free of one another. Sonny views his jazz playing as a ray of light to lead him away from the dim and dismal future

What has not yet realized is that heroin is in fact the thing controlling him. What his brother has tried to obstruct him from is how the more dependent one gets, the more the drug and its providers takes control of their users. Ultimately, the price of this brief feeling of control is an ocean of even more pain and suffering. Fortunately, Sonny found yet another way to cope with his pain. Sonny is once again able to set aside his tortured mind and find happiness and peace through the keys of his piano instead of destroying his life with heroin. The narrator is finally able to witness his brother in true bliss and in addition, discovering the power of Sonny’s blues: “and it brought something else back to me, and carried me past it, I saw [Isabel] again, and I felt my own tears begin to rise” (Baldwin 140). Music will always be there to help with his problems like expressed by Gary Bartz: “Music is my religion. Music is the only thing that has never failed me People let you down, music won't” (Bartz 2). Although the narrator tried to help his brother become the same respectable man that he has built himself up to be, he can finally accept that, Sonny is unique in his own way, finding happiness in the music he plays. Overall, all the narrator wished upon his brother was happiness. Similar to what Freud predicted, Sonny found solace in escaping his everyday hardship with, not death, but music, which gave him the same lifting feeling of

There were many notable events taking place in the years 1900-1940, some being Pablo Picasso painting one of the first cubist paintings is 1907 , the sinking of the Titanic in 1912 , the 18th Amendment being added to the Constitution (prohibiting the use of intoxicating liquors) and then being repealed in 1933 , the 19th Amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote in 1920 , Amelia Earhart becoming the first woman to fly across the Atlantic in 1928 , and the list continues. Undoubtedly one of the most influential of events during this time was the Harlem Renaissance. Even with its many leaders and innovators, it wouldn’t have been nearly as effective had it not been for Alain LeRoy Locke: black writer, philosopher, and teacher who influenced black artists to look to African sources for pride and inspiration. Without Locke’s contribution, the Renaissance would not have flourished as much as it did, and black pride would have taken longer to develop and accept.

 Harlem Renaissance 2015, Wikipedia, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Harlem Renaissance n.d., History, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Harlem Renaissance n.d., Encyclopedia Britannica, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Great Migration 2015, Wikipedia, accessed 23 August 2015, .  Claude McKay 2015, Wikipedia, accessed 24 August 2015, .

During the early 1920’s, African American artists, writers, musicians, and performers took part in a cultural movement known as the Harlem Renaissance. This migration took place after World War 1 and brought African Americans of all ages to the city of Harlem located in New York (Holt). There were many inspiring young artists; one of them in particular was Augusta Savage.

The early 1900s was a time marked with tragedy in America. Started and ended with the Great Depression in between, it was not America 's finest moment. Prohibition was in place, the Klu Klux Klan was still marching, and the Lost Generation was leaving for Paris. But despite the troubling times, people still found beauty and meaning in the world around them. They still created art and celebrated life. The Harlem Renaissance was an artistic and literary movement that developed a new black cultural identity through artistic expression. It fused African traditions with slave history and American culture, and revealed to the world what life was like as a black person in America.

As a musician, Sonny speaks through his music the pain and suffering of the people around him. Also, just by listening to other singers Sonny felt the pain of there suffering as well. For instance, as he stood “listening to that woman sing, it struck me [Sonny] all the sudden how much suffering she must have had to go through-to sing like that” (Baldwin 190). Therefore, extremely sensitive to the pain of others, Sonny falls an addict to trying to dull his view of it. He felt it gave him a sense of control of his life but to find out it was controlling him. Sonny believed that heroin helped him not to play well, but “to stand it, be able to make it all”(Baldwin 190) the way. However, knowing the path to stay clean and kick the addiction was going to be difficult. He knew that he has hit rock bottom, Sonny tries to escape and “to get out of Harlem” (Baldwin 185). Thinking that getting out of Harlem will help him get away from the drugs. Although, coming back to Harlem from the Navy didn’t change him. “Nothing changed. I [he] hadn’t changed, I [he] was just-older” (Baldwin 193). However, through music Sonny found it easier to talk about his pain and struggles that he has encountered in his

The Harlem Renaissance represents the rebirth and flowering of African-American culture. Although the Harlem Renaissance was concentrated in the Harlem district of New York City, its legacy reverberated throughout the United States and even abroad, to regions with large numbers of former slaves or blacks needing to construct ethnic identities amid a dominant white culture. The primary means of cultural expression during the Harlem Renaissance were literature and poetry, although visual art, drama, and music also played a role in the development of the new, urban African-American identity. Urbanization and population migration prompted large numbers of blacks to move away from the Jim Crow south, where slavery had only transformed into institutionalized racism and political disenfranchisement. The urban enclave of Harlem enabled blacks from different parts of the south to coalescence, share experiences, and most importantly, share ideas, visions, and dreams. Therefore, the Harlem Renaissance had a huge impact in framing African-American politics, social life, and public institutions.

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” tells the tale of a young jazz musician by the name Sonny who gets caught up in the ghetto life and decides to abuse and sell heroin. The story is told by the narrator, a high school math teacher, who happens to be Sonny’s older brother. The two siblings have a somewhat cold relationship that is worsened by the suffering that both brothers have had to endure living in an impoverished area. By presenting events that transpired in the past and relating them to the present, the narrator allows the reader to create his or her own understanding of the two characters through the various themes and literary styles. “Sonny’s Blues” is not merely the story of the narrator’s experiences; it is the tale of his inner transformation and spiritual growth which his earlier experiences of death and loss have motivated.

During the 1920’s a new movement began to arise. This movement known as the Harlem Renaissance expressed the new African American culture. The new African American culture was expressed through the writing of books, poetry, essays, the playing of music, and through sculptures and paintings. Three poems and their poets express the new African American culture with ease. (Jordan 848-891) The poems also express the position of themselves and other African Americans during this time. “You and Your Whole Race”, “Yet Do I Marvel”, and “The Lynching” are the three poems whose themes are the same. The poets of these poems are, as in order, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, and Claude Mckay.

I always found the 1920’s a very interesting decade as it went from a lively moment to a depressing and struggling one within a split second. Therefore, I believe that I learned all of the concepts pretty well. For instance, I learned about the Harlem Renaissance, the cause and effect of The Dust Bowl, and the lasting political argument of the New Deal in the United States. First of all, the Harlem Renaissance was a time period where African Americans began to embrace their roots and create art/works to reflect their experience living in US society. However, during the Great Depression many Americans were left unemployed. In addition to drastic unemployment rates, the environmental disaster, also known as the Dust Bowl, contributed to many

I have learned a substantial amount of information this past week. For a little over a week we have been doing a project over The Harlem Renaissance, why it is important, and we have learned about the poet of your choice.Before this project, I thought The Harlem Renaissance was just African Americans in Harlem, New York making the new music genres, such as jazz and blues. After this project I have learned that the movement was not just about making music, but instead about African Americans wanting social change. The way they brought about this was by peacefully speaking through their art, music and writing, getting their problems heard and talked about. The poet i had chosen for this project was doing just that. Her name was Gwendolyn Bonnett,

Our two focal characters in this short story, are Sonny and the Narrator, which we come to know as Sonny’s brother. Even though the story incorporates Sonny’s name, we see Harlem through the Narrator’s lens. The setting in the story informs, shapes, and affects the characters development and their relationships with other characters in the story. Sonny’s character even at a young age is aware of his predicament as an African American man growing up in Harlem. He tries to escape the confinements of Harlem as well as the drug contagion spread through out the community. He attempts to escape the stereotypes but ends up confined in prison for drug use. Unlike Sonny the narrator is depicted as a “successful” African American man who has a steady