Similarities Between Sonny's Blues And Its 6 Am Do You Know Where You Are

In James Baldwin, “Sonny’s Blues” (1957) and Jay McInerney’s, “Its 6 AM Do You Know Where You Are?” two characters that may appear opposites of each other, happen to share many personal characteristics. Baldwin and McInerney utilized the power of metaphors, euphemisms, imagery, and symbolism to indicate the issues that their protagonists were facing. The upper class has an overwhelming amount of opportunities whereas the lower class have limited resources. Sonny could not afford to ruin an opportunity because the system was against poor African-Americans and once the chance slipped away, it may never present itself again. In other words, both Sonny and McInerney’s unnamed narrator were vulnerable individuals who were exposed to an environment

Acquaintances that would routinely intake drugs to deal with daily activities. In the mix of their own drama, Sonny and McInerney’s anonymous narrator ended up in the same situation, feeling lonely and helpless.
Baldwin depicted the environment for African-Americans in the 1950s with imagery such as, “You walk these streets, black and funky and cold, and there is not really a living ass to talk to, and there is nothing shaking.” (297) Essentially, Baldwin referred to Harlem as a home inhabited by African-Americans where the future was unclear and the lack of opportunity became the main motivator to abandon home. Additionally, Baldwin’s description of Sonny’s pain and suffering also opened the door of socioeconomic status. Sonny grew up in Harlem and faced the dilemma of every black person at the time, give into the influence of drugs and turn up in prison. Sonny’s wish was to run away from Harlem to avoid the foreseen future established by its society. Running is an action that requires will and motivation. For example, encountering a lion in the jungle is a lost cause, but the will for survival inspires the human body to run like it has never run before, even though it knows it cannot outrun a lion. In order to better

The narrator has access to all types of women, overpriced drinks, job opportunities, and cocaine. McInerney described the upper class as bouncing bullets when the unnamed narrator mentioned, “Where you aren’t is more fun than where you are.” In other words, the uncertainty created anxiety and curiosity which motivated his partner in crime (Tad Allagash) to be always on the move in and out of a variety of social circles. For that reason, the unnamed narrator fueled up on his so-called Bolivian powder. In order to keep up with the euphoric lifestyle in front of him. A euphemism McInerney utilized to convey the idea that the unnamed narrator might have the means to live extravagantly, but also be just a pawn in the game attempting to move forward and achieve promotion. The upper-class deals with a different type of struggle than the lower class. The unnamed narrator did not have a lack of opportunities, on the contrary, he has too many to choose from. He started in the Upper East Side with the company of wealthy people and concluded in lower Manhattan, where a different group of people resided (The Village, a place where Sonny would also go to escape from Harlem). In McInerney’s case, his protagonist was lost in a vicious loop that in the end led him nowhere. At the end of the story, the bread symbolized reality and McInerney’s imagery