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A Literary Analysis Of Sonny's Blues

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We all have memories that make us cringe like nails on a chalkboard as they traverse our brain. The narrator read the article about Sonny and everything from the past came flooding back to him, “Sonny was wild, but he wasn’t crazy” (146) the narrator states in disbelief. Another example of this cringing feeling is near the end of “Sonny’s Blues” as the narrator elaborates “that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky” (175). The narrator quotes this as he reminisces on the many years of suffering he and Sonny endured. Even though James Baldwin’s short story is spread in the span of a decade, the narrator can vividly remember the memories that make him recoil as he states “The same things happen, they’ll have the same thing to remember”
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In modern-day life people often have their ups and downs of having power and losing it all. This is a key element in life, which is why many art forms choose to use it as their basis of writing. Literature often shows power and powerlessness through heroes and villains. However, author James Baldwin brings the battle of having and losing power through ordinary people’s life experiences. In the short story, Sonny’s Blues, written by James Baldwin examines the idea of how the desire to have power or control leads to having no power at all through the plot, characters, and setting.

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This moment within the story reveals the dangers of impulsivity and the fear that can be insured by it. Along with fear within this story, “Sonny’s Blues” showcases the same theme. In the article "Sonny’s Blues." Short Stories for Students, edited by Kathleen Wilson, states “While Sonny's friend and the narrator talk about Sonny's arrest, they tell each other some of their fears” (Wilson 1). The quote highlights fear mainly through Sonny’s arrest.

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Technical aspects I recognized in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin were imagery and symbolism. At the beginning of the short story, the narrator states, “It was a special kind of ice. It kept melting, sending trickles of ice water all up and down my veins, but it never got less" (122). The metaphor used to describe what the narrator felt was one I found interesting because it allowed me to experience what the narrator himself was going through. Additionally, I recognized was the light and dark imagery.

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In James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” the author uses Sonny’s struggle for a redeemed life to push the narrator toward the realization of his own need for rescue; through this realization, the narrator can find his identity and be free from his sadness. The narrator needs rescue from his guilt of

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