Brotherhood In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin
Prompt #3: “ Sonny’s Blues” ( James Baldwin, 1957). In the story, the characters come in conflict with the culture in which he lives. Working Thesis: In my opinion most stories as conflict with one or more of the characters in the story, but how the characters deal with conflict will shapes the theme of a story and if they were to have done something different the theme would change or won’t change. When Sonny was about as old as the boys in classes had been bright and open, there was a lot of copper in it; and he’d had wonderfully direct brown eyes, and great gentleness and privacy.
“Sonny’s Blues” is not just about Sonny's decisions and struggles but also about how they affect the narrator. This story is as much about family and brotherhood and the relationship between these two men as it is about the character of
The short story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin is about a young man whom is struggling in life. The narrator, who is unnamed throughout the story, and Sonny’s older brother tells the readers in depth about his brothers battle. In the late 1900s during poverty and systematic oppression, many African Americans were subjected to one specific area in modern day known as Harlem. Not only is story about discrimination African Americans faced, it is about two brothers gaining a better understanding on each others lives. Baldwin demonstrates that acceptance over a family member’s decisions can strengthen the bond between two estranged brothers.
James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" analyzes a very complex relationship between the narrator and his brother, Sonny. Before directing to the attention of the relationship between these two brothers, we have to first understand the personality of each character. Initially, the narrator has a stable job as a hardworking math teacher and makes an effort to assimilate himself to his surroundings, but has never comprehended his brother, Sonny. Sonny is the complete opposite of the narrator. Sonny separates from his brother to become a Blues musician, though becomes addicted to drugs, such as heroin, in order to control his own feelings.
Throughout one’s life, one tends to adapt to the traditions of their family, and gain a significant bond with their loved ones, including their siblings. However, that connection a person gains can either be diminished or forgotten due to a sense of different mindsets between family members. The two stories “The Rich Brother” by Tobias Wolff and “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin indicate that sibling rivalry occurs when each member does not understand or acknowledge their sibling’s perspective, and this builds a wall barrier between the siblings.
“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin is a short story that has many significant parts to it. The narrator gives readers insight on how his relationship with his brother was like, how his brother was suffering from a heroin addiction. The narrator also gives the readers insight on his own problems. Due to Sonny’s heroin addiction, he suffered quite a lot as what was implied in the story. The narrator implies and describes so many themes in this short story.
In that moment the narrator finally understands Sonny’s love for music. Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” displays the theme of brotherly love to illustrate, that love can keep a family together no matter how many fights or issues there may be. Baldwin demonstrates the theme of brotherly love all through this story. The first example we see of brotherly love is when the two brothers are reunited after not seeing each other for months.
Throughout the story of “Sonny’s Blues”, James Baldwin develops a theme that can still be related with today. The misunderstanding and lack of knowledge that the narrator experiences, about his brother, is something that many today feel, as their own family members are being prosecuted and they do not comprehend why. Within the story, there are numerous subtle ideas that are used to progress the story and theme along to the ending that is given. James Baldwin advances the theme of his story, that misfortune and anguish can be renovated into a unique art form, using characterizations, settings, and symbolisms. One of the main literary devices that is used to express the theme is characterization.
James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” tells the story of two brothers living in 1950s Harlem. The story depicts the relationship of the brothers as the younger brother, Sonny, battles to overcome a heroin addiction and find a career in jazz. In “Sonny’s Blues”, Baldwin’s shifting portrayal of Harlem mirrors the changing relationship of the two brothers: while both the city and the relationship were originally with dark uncertainty, by the end of the story, the narrator has begun to find peace both within his surroundings and his relationship with his brother. At the beginning of the story, before Sonny returns to Harlem, the narrator never describes his surroundings, only the people in them.
Author James Baldwin’s short story, Sonny’s Blues, takes place between 1924 - 1987 Harlem, New York, and society’s assumptions towards the black community and moral values during this time period were very skewed. Baldwin demonstrates this through the main characters, Sonny and the unnamed narrator, and their alienation from society because of their class and their alienation from themselves because of creed. These things have formed a metaphorical prison around them. In the 1900s Harlem, blacks were often in the middle or lower class, and Sonny and the narrator were no exception.
In the story, "Sonny's Blues," James Baldwin portrays Harlem as a place where people are no longer happy and have become trapped. Set after the depression and most likely during and/or after the second world war, Harlem was a time for African Americans to thrive in creative arts; but, it also gave way for poverty and a plethora of drug use. In "Sonny's Blues," the two brothers find their own ways to escape the despair of Harlem; but, through their liberation, they both ultimately complicate their relationship as brothers. Baldwin begins the story with the narrator going to work, as a school teacher, and reading news in the paper that thoroughly upsets him. The narrator at this time believes that he has escaped the entrapment of Harlem through
As Donald C. Murray has said in his article, “James Baldwin’s ‘Sonny’s Blues’: Complicated and Simple”, “Images of light and darkness are used by Baldwin… ( Murray 354)”. Also, Baldwin is able to tell a story that can make the reader visualize what is happening to this character Sonny, even though it is being narrated through the eyes and perspective of his older brother. He portrays the older brother as someone who can understand and recognizes the internal struggles of Sonny and be compassionate about them, even though the elder brother does not agree with all the life choices his brother has
What truly defines a brother? Is it the textbook definition of a male who shares the parents as you or does it go beyond that as defined by specific characteristics and qualities? In the short story, Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin, the theme of brotherhood is at the framework of this expertly told work as Sonny and the narrator subliminally realize how deep the term, brother truly goes. As with any story, there are specific moments or events in the plot which craft the universal themes of the work and allow for analysis of the more abstract purpose in the author writing that particular scene. Some will argue that these scenes in which aid readers in identifying universal themes of the work are pivotal in moving the work’s plot along.
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
In writing about the black experience in America, James Baldwin often took a very negative viewpoint, saying once that he could never escape his identity and the racial oppression in America, even when living abroad. This is reflected in his short story "Sonny 's Blues," where the narrator is a person who feels trapped, like he has no future and no way out. He has a very pessimistic outlook on the world, that he and everyone around him are being held captive by Harlem and cannot escape the perpetual cycle of poverty and drug use. He also distances himself from his brother in attempt to escape. But over time, as he starts to reconnect with his brother, he realizes that his situation is not as one-dimensional as he thought.
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