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Sonny Blues Literary Analysis

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True Acceptance Pressure is everywhere within our lives—the pressure to do right and there is even pressure to do wrong , not to conform and to conform. “Sonny Blues” gives light to many of the pressures of life in Harlem in the 1950’s. The pressure to live like your parents, live like your peers, or to have an individual freedom is faced in this short story. During these times in Harlem many faced oppression, drugs, and the disillusionment of life, but still had to go on with their struggles. The ability to embrace their struggles help them to accept one another. In “Sonny Blues”, the brothers create a sense of havoc when faced with the theme of individualism, which could only be restored through the accepting of one another. The narrator …show more content…

As he reminisces back when Sonny was in high school, he could not relate to him. He states, “I sensed myself in the presence of something I didn't really know how to handle, didn't understand” (301). The narrator did not want to accept Sonny’s decision of becoming a jazz musician (301). He fights tooth and nail to persuade him from making an illogical life choice that could lead him down the wrong path. A path that he could not make a living at and which the mother wants him to be protected from (301). The brothers are faced with disunity. Sonny is entangled with the culture, whereas the brother tries to avoid it. Both brothers are challenged with embracing Sonny’s individuality. However, one embraces it and the other fight against it. Sonny knows what he wants. Nonetheless, the narrator only understands that playing jazz was “beneath him “(302). The narrator can’t reason with Sonny in any way. They both want their desires to be fulfilled. Yet, Sonny senses that the narrator is frightened for him and he says, “I hear you. But you never hear what I say” (303). Sonny just wants to have his desires heard, but the narrator refuses to listen to him. Sonny then states, “But what I don't seem to be able to make you understand is that it's the only thing I want to do” (302). Sonny displayed that he could not go with the status of the narrator, but he was an individual. An individual who could be free to …show more content…

As Sonny comes in from the street revival, he asks the narrator,” if he wants to hear him play (307). This conversation opens the narrator up to hear what Sonny has to say. As for those things, he could not voice, “he hoped his eyes would tell me” (307). He is no longer trying to push Sonny’s will in the direction he wants, but accepts Sonny’s raw thoughts, feelings, and emotions that he exposed to him. Not only does the narrator must accept suffering, Sonny must also accept it. The narrator then states, “I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time or forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence—so long! “(308). This implies that the true suffering was not the use drugs, but the fact that they held on to all, of their own suffering themselves for so long without relying on one

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As a matter of fact, the storyteller does not appreciate Sonny's motivations to play jazz music until the evening he socially joins Sonny to his stage show at a nightclub. Sitting in a dark corner at the nightclub, the storyteller listens to his brother play, considering the reminder of Sonny's friend, Creole, of what the Blues are about, "The tale, of the blues, how we live, and how we are delighted, how we suffer... and how we triumph... must be heard... it's the only light we've got in all this darkness." (Baldwin 139). For the narrator, he perceives that the Blues is the manifestation for Sonny's emotions, especially his suffering, because, as Creole would say, music is the only light in the

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He hasn’t seen his brother in about a year, but as he is walking out of his school he notices a familiar face and it turns out being one of his brother’s old friend. The old friend spoke to the narrator about how hard Sonny’s struggle is now and how it will still be a struggle later. The narrator went

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Every time the narrator attempted to control what his brother wanted to do in life, the more he lost power over his brother. Not only did he lose power he lost that deep connection one should have with their sibling. Sonny’s desire to not be powerless anymore gave him the determination to gain power which he could not handle. This lead him to lose all of that power once again. People when reading this should really consider how what they are doing to gain power is affecting others in theirs lives.

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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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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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James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” uses Sonny as an antagonist character to the protagonist, his eldest brother. While Sonny and his eldest brother both are the center of the stories content, Baldwin uses Sonny to represent a challenge to the narrator of the story. Through the rekindling of a brother’s relationships, Baldwin is able to depict Sonny's motivations and aspirations through his flaws, and the way in which his flaws affected his life. Sonny’s flaws ultimately shape Sonny’s character, his reserved feelings and silent demeanor isolate him from the world, but at the same time contribute to his aspirations and motivations by music.

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James Baldwin is a renowned author best known for his work of essays, books and short stories, particularly those which dwell deeply into important social and psychological issues of discrimination, gender inequality, homophobia and so on. One of Mr. Baldwin 's most appreciated literary works is the short story 'Sonny 's Blues ' which focuses on two brothers who grew up together but take different paths in life. The story follows the narrator learning about his brother Sonny 's incarceration due to the use and selling of drugs until his brother gets parole. Throughout the story, we learn about the relationship between the pair and are able to witness the narrators ultimate understanding of Sonny and his ambition. As we continue to observe the impressive short story, we find the most recurring theme to be that of sorrow.

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The narrator described the very stereotypical gang members in Harlem being “filled with rage” and “popping off needles every time they went to the head” (Baldwin 123). Lastly, the change in the author's tone was very evident. The readers could notice when the narrator was talking about life in Harlem or Sonny’s drug abuse because it had a very bitter and cold tone. However, when Sonny was talking about his music the tone was hopeful and positive. Baldwin wanted to show that music was the one thing helping with Sonny’s pain.

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The ideals and images of Sonny can also be considered symbolism for those who are shadowed in these small neighborhoods. Those who have dreams to leave and make it big, but many things deter their

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Even though one knows what they want to communicate-they still have problems getting it out. Throughout the story of Sonny’s Blues, it shows that people should learn to express themselves clearly or befall many difficulties in their life. This can relate to the reader 's own experiences of trying to express themselves and having difficulties when they cannot. This can be shown through Sonny 's youth as a teen when he tries to explain himself. This is also shown through the brother 's actions between one another.

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Sonny's Blues was written in 1957, 37 years after the roaring twenties had come to an end. Long after the great Migration, where millions of blacks moved to northern cities to escape Jim Crow, and embrace the new found possibilities offered. During this period African-Americans in New York, collectively gathered in Harlem mainly, it was usually alluded to as the black capital. There blacks shared culturally and also, influenced music greatly. This is also where the "new negro" persona was crafted, blacks were no longer going to be referred to as someone's mammies or boy.

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The narrator says that Sonny’s trouble became surreal when the narrator was put in the position of losing someone dear to

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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 rescuing from himself. He hides behind a curtain of denial trying to protect himself from emotional reality. The narrator struggles to understand when and how Sonny began his troubles with drug addiction; he does not understand where he went wrong in being a role model for his younger brother. Now, years later the narrator is a school teacher who is trying to be a role model for the young boys in his class.

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1465 Words | 6 Pages

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

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Racism, a very horrible thing, still exists in the world we live in and those who are black will find it very hard to succeed in life due to the constant discrimination and the bad influence near them. A very good example for this is a short story called “Sonny’s Blue.” A short story about a 2 African Americans and how one leads a successful life while the other falls to bad influence and ends up in jail Black people had to face lot of problems before the segregation was ended. . Many people think the past remains in the past and doesn't matter today; the terrible acts of segregation, exploitation, and discrimination that were once upheld by the government are irrelevant now just because the present day isn't like that anymore. But the truth is that racism still exists

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