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Comparing Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin And The Rich Brother, By Tobias Wolff

694 Words3 Pages

The relationship between brothers can vary from them hating each other to having an inseparable bond. There’s a common saying that no matter what happens, one is always responsible for the members in their family. The two stories “Sonny’s Blues”, by James Baldwin, and “The Rich Brother”, by Tobias Wolff include the lives of two adult brothers, and incorporate this idea in some way. A suggestion of how siblings are supposed to act is that they should support each other, but also get into occasional bickers, eventually growing out of them once they reach adulthood. Grudges that siblings can hold as children are little things such as which child is liked more by their parents, who is better at video games, and other things that shouldn’t matter once they reach adulthood. In these stories, this is not the case. There is still a grudge that the older brother …show more content…

The older brothers both have a hard time understanding their younger brothers, and it is hard for them to create a bond that would help the communication between the two. Although both older brothers struggle with this, the brother in “The Rich Brother” struggles less than the brother in “Sonny’s Blues”. In “Sonny’s Blues”, the younger brother is incarcerated for using and selling of drugs, and is in need of help from his older brother. Before the mother died, she told the older brother to promise he won’t let anything happen to Sonny, so he has an obligation to help him out. Sonny tells his brother that he wants to play piano, going against the norm, but his brother finds him crazy because he has never picked up an instrument in his life. The older brother never really understands his brother and why he wants to do this, but instead accepts the fact that he is doing what he does because it makes him happy at the end of the story, but never really gives him his

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Have you ever wondered how an older brother feels about the younger one? For example, in Tangerine, a novel by Edward Bloor, the main character Paul, had feared his older brother, Erik, for his entire life. In the book, Erik is described as a selfish character that didn’t care for Paul in the very least. Just the opposite, Erik often likes to make choices that would make Paul feel bad. Erik’s choices have caused Paul to be blind, made him think himself as a coward, and weakened the friendships between Paul and Joey.

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In " The Sniper" and "The Scarlet Ibis" the protagonists have weird with their brothers. In the story "The Sniper" the protagonist shoots his brother who is on the opposite side of the civil war. The sniper has to shoot out an enemy vehicle but after lighting a smoke someone shoots at him. Then he shoots the person after tricking the enemy but the enemy turns out to be the brother. The second story " The Scarlet Ibis" is about a guy who is ashamed of his little brother.

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“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

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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.

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In “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin wrote a different type coming of age story. At the end of the story the narrator finally develops a new understanding for his brother, and forgives him. The story’s narrator is a black algebra teacher, whose name is never revealed, who is living in Harlem, a New York City neighborhood. In the beginning of the story the narrator reads about his brother, Sonny, being busted with heroin in the newspaper.

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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.

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Although both characters were different they found an understanding by trying to feel what each other were feeling. Also by coping with their tough childhood and feelings together without directly communicating. Sonny wanted so desperately to please his brother, but couldn’t find a way to avoid Jazz but still get that feeling he craved. Sonny was clearly disappointed and embarrassed by his choice of actions and despite what anyone said, he realized the choice he made was poor and it was time to follow his dream. At the end, the narrator realizes why Sonny turned to drugs in the first place.

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The two brothers watch as their dad struggled to provide for them. It left both of them with something to think about as they grew older. As Sonny and the narrator become adults they begin to realize how much poverty still affects the citizens of Harlem. The narrator says, “but houses exactly like the houses of our past yet dominated the landscape, boys exactly like the boys we once had been found themselves smothering in the houses, came down for light and air and found themselves encircled by disaster” (Baldwin). As the narrator and his brother

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James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a short story depicting the relationship of two brothers, Sonny and an unnamed narrator. The story takes place in the project of Harlem, New York in the early 1950s. The narrator is a high school math teacher. His younger brother Sonny is a troubled musician struggling with his addiction to drugs. Before their mother dies, she asks the narrator promise to her he’ll look after his younger brother when she is gone.

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He sees that Sonny's music is a bona fide reaction to life. He sees that one who makes music is managing the thunder ascending from the void and forcing request on it as it hits the air. He comprehends that his sibling's music is an endeavor to recharge the old human story For while the story of how we endure, and how we are enchanted, and how we may triumph is never new, it generally should be

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Sonny Blues Paul Pearshall once said “Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted”. In this story the conflict of responsibility takes place. A brother, who happens to be the narrator, blames his self for the events that takes place in his life, such as his brother sonny’s crack addiction. The Narrator feels responsible for his brother’s heroin addiction because he believed he shut his brother’s career goals down, felt as though he went against what his mother asked him to do, and because he chose not to believe that the way he treated his brother affected his brother life.

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“Sonny’s Blues,” written by James Baldwin discusses conflicts between two brothers in hopes of mending their relationship. “Sonny’s Blues” begins with the unnamed narrator reading a piece of paper with information regarding the trouble his brother Sonny has gotten himself into. The narrator has not been communicating with his brother during this period, but after the death of his two-year-old daughter Grace, he writes Sonny a letter. Once Sonny has been released, he goes back to Harlem to live with the narrator, and the narrator forces him into staying with his fiancé Isabel and her family because he believes Sonny deserves the opportunity to receive an education. Sonny makes it known to the narrator that he does not want to go back to school

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688 Words | 3 Pages

But through it all, they managed to remain close and get over their differences in order to build a stronger relationship. While the story was full of emotional ups and downs, there was a certain point that confirmed to the reader the solidity of their relationship. The story begins with the main character, Sonny’s older brother, talking about his and Sonny’s childhood. He puts an extra emphasis on Sonny’s downward spiral after their mother’s death.

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1953 Words | 8 Pages

A. & Louw, A. E. (2014) also mentions that sibling disputes and their settlement may be viewed as opportunities in socialisation: they learn how to fight, to disagree and compromise within a safe environment. This is seen in the movie when the children come together at the top of the lighthouse to find ways to work together and break up their parents and to go back to their previous lives. The children were together in their safe environment and even agreeing to work together for their own happiness. Eventually the children became attached to each other due to working together. At the end, after they caused a big fight between their parents and they wanted to slit up, the children worked together to keep them together.

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1465 Words | 6 Pages

When the narrator accompanies Sonny to the nightclub to listen to him play his music; Sonny’s music portrays his wisdom as he plays about his brother’s frustrations with the trials and sufferings they both endured. Sonny’s artful playing of the blues opens the narrator’s heart to listen genuinely. If one listens to what lies on the inside that is the key to finding oneself. Joseph Flibbert states in the article “Sonny’s Blues” Overview, “In the music he hears, he sees his mother’s face, and that of his little girl … The powerful incantations of Sonny’s art reaches his soul, and for the first time, he listens to the dark voice within”.

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