Sonny's Blues Imagery

In Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin uses imagery often throughout the story to paint a picture for the reader and evoke a sense of empathy and relation to the characters. The story is told from the first person point of view of the narrator, who is Sonny’s older brother; although, I believe this story would have been more compelling if it had been told by Sonny. Early on in the story, on page 74, Baldwin uses this imagery when the narrator describes how scared he is for his brother, “A great block of ice got settled in my belly and kept melting there slowly all day long, while I taught my classes algebra. It was a special kind of ice. It kept melting, sending trickles of ice water all up and down my veins, but it never got less.” When you read

self. The narrator tends to hold himself accountable for the way his relationship with his brother is and how his brother's life turned out. On page 85 the narrator promises his mother, "I won't forget. Don't you worry, I won't forget. I won't let nothing happen to Sonny” (Baldwin). He is buried in guilt regarding his brother’s heroin possession, and he feels responsible for letting his brother slide down the slippery slope of drugs. Deep inside, the narrator holds himself accountable for allowing Sonny to fall into the Harlem destiny. Although this conflict is not explicitly stated, we can infer that he does experience regret in a variety of aspects regarding his brother. To build on an additional conflict, the reader can distinguish a conflict of man vs. circumstance. This conflict ties into the setting of Harlem which is noted as an unsafe or rough place to grow up. On page 81, the narrator’s father states, “‘Safe!’ my father grunted, whenever Mama suggested trying to move to a neighborhood which might be safer for children. ‘Safe, hell! Ain’t no place for kids, nor nobody’” (Baldwin). Kids who grow up living in Harlem are fighting for their lives as they encounter drugs, alcohol, and crime. We can see this conflict evident in both the narrator and Sonny because the narrator breaks free of the stereotype by becoming a teacher while Sonny falls into it when he is arrested for