Light And Dark In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

In the short story, “Sonny’s Blues”, by James Baldwin there the notion or a reoccurring theme of a conflict between light and dark. The notion is carried all through the story of two brothers finding their own lights and trying to work towards a better life. In the late 50’s after the Harlem Renaissance adolescents faced drugs being sold everywhere and crime sprees around every corner, this is the darkness of the story. Kids begun to form bad habits that revolved around drugs and crime because it was what the kids became used to seeing in their everyday routine. Later on in life they would find themselves in unthinkable situations and not finding a way out. Sonny’s older brother, who is also the narrator of the story finds himself in disbelief

There are a lot of different aspects of light and dark but the differences between them is what makes this story complete. Critics may say that there is no light but all dark. Darkness is majority of this story because of the conditions of the city. Sonny was able to find his light through the blues, “The final scene, where Sonny struggles to find his rhythm, clawing at the piano keys as if they were his salvation, showcases the range and depth of the rest of this ensemble, as well” (D'Souza 1). In the final paragraphs of the story Sonny was able to live out his dream of being becoming a famous pianist. Sonny’s brother is able to find his own light through teaching and helping Sonny. The narrator feels that he is doing a good deed by showing the kids the important values so they do not go down the wrong path. The narrator is blessed to have not gone down the path of darkness, “As an adult, the narrator avoids this darkness, represented by the "sad story" of the boy he converses with in the schoolyard and the potential of Sonny's story to become equally as "sad." As a child, however, the darkness was important to his sense of well-being . . .” (Sherard 3). Since the narrator was constantly around the darkness he used that as his motivation to stay away and to make a difference as much as he can. There is a difference between light and dark but one does not

The brother was able to find his happiness in teaching kids. He wants to believe that he is making an impact in the young kids lives and thinks of himself as a role model. The narrator enjoys what he does for a living but still experiences some darkness, “The overall collapse of grace in the narrator’s life is further evident by the promise that he makes to his mother but fails to keep. The mother tells him the story of his uncle’s death and then states that “you got to hold onto your brother . . . and don’t let him fall” (133), which he readily pledges to do” (Stone 1). Even though the narrator was able to find his light through teaching, he still experiences some darkness following the death of his daughter. After the tragedy, the narrator decides to reach out to his brother and try to get him to change his life around and find the light. He wants to do this because he wants to fulfill the promise he had made to his mother. After serving time in the military and getting out of jail, Sonny wanted to pursue his dream of becoming a pianist. Sonny begins to play piano at a club that his brother watches him, this helps him step out of the darkness and more towards the light. The narrator describes how his brother looks while playing the piano, “The light from the bandstand spilled just a little short of them and watching them laughing