Analytical Essay: Differences Between The Narrator And Sonny

The coherence of the story telling keeps the concept of the differences between the narrator and Sonny in constant relief. By keeping the connection between the “I” of the narrator and the undefined “it”, it shows the narrator’s deliberate avoidance of what “it” is referencing and his unwillingness to break the character he has built for himself. The narrator makes it clear his intentions to not verbalize the meaning behind the undefined “it”, securing this feeling of stability in his narrative. By the end of even the first paragraph, the reader can feel the disconnect from the story that the narrator read on the newspaper. Beaugrande and Dressler note that these sorts of techniques can create “situations where stability and exactness of content

The adjective is repeated twice which keeps the sentence at the exact length of the previous sentences. The narrators control over the narration is evident in not only his words but the consistency of the sentences as a whole. Instead of allowing the reader to view the printed story in the newspaper, the narrator relies on metaphorical language to shield the reader from knowing his true emotions. This is one of the ways that the narrator seperates himself from Sonny, his refusal to lose the safety net of his middle class position because of Sonny’s horrible story permeates the use of “I” and “it” respectfully. Despite the horrible story that Sonny’s narrative currently follows, his brother keeps a tight grip on the presentation of Sonny’s past, balancing his words with the same rhythm and control as before. His story features an interesting duality, as each sentence opens with two attributions to Sonny, “bright and open” and “gentleness and privacy” and contrasted with the same symmetry in “for peddling and using heroin” (Baldwin). The narrator “couldn’t find any room for it inside [of him]”, referring to the “it” again that is Sonny