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The Struggle In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

1489 Words6 Pages

In “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin uses symbols and changes in tone in the perspective of Sonny’s brother to detail how difficult it was growing up in Harlem in the 40’s and 50’s, and how to overcome the negative environment. The story is not told by Sonny because that would promote some bias, and what happens to him is better off being told by a caring family member. Sonny’s struggles can relate to everyone at some time or another, and his growth throughout the story is very motivating to its readers. After Sonny’s brother, the narrator, finds out that Sonny had been arrested for selling and using heroin, his opinions towards his high school students dramatically changed. This realization really opened up his eyes to the fact that everyone …show more content…

The people that don’t, have fallen suspect to the drugs and violence and have accepted that wrong mentality as their way of life. Although Sonny did heroine, went to jail, and continued to skip school after all that, he mentioned that “it was time he got out of here.” Sonny’s brother didn’t know what he was talking about and asked where he wanted to go. Sonny, feeling doubtful of his musical ability, wanted “to join the Army. Or the Navy” (Baldwin 108). That would be the easiest and quickest way of making it out of Harlem. The narrator became very frightened because he didn’t want to see his little brother risk his life doing something he doesn’t want do, or need to do. Sonny’s tone during this scene was very desperate. It is also now emphasized that all of the drugs he did was to dilute his mind and forget about the struggling times growing up in Harlem. They weren’t used out of the pure desire to be bad. To get Sonny’s mind off of joining the Army, the narrator told him “there was a piano back at Isabel’s” (Baldwin 108). This piano is a symbol for happiness, peace, and perhaps could be Sonny’s key to a newfound life. Another very important way to survive in a town like Harlem in the 50’s is to come together as a family. This is exactly why the narrator invited Sonny to stay at his and Isabel’s house. The piano in Isabel’s house was a perfect representation of comfort within the presence of

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In the short story “Sonny’s Blues” the narrator Sonny’s brother talks about their life together and also the environment they live in. the title of the story is name after the brother of the narrator, it is through the narrator’s eyes about his brother Sonny. As a young African American male born in Harlem, sonny is aware of the limits and obstacles he faces. He struggles with the being around the same environment, so he decided by moving away from Harlem his problems will go away and he can start his career as a musician, unlike his brother the narrator has a wife, two children, and a good job as a teacher. The narrator talks about the drug dealing that happens in the playgrounds near the housing projects and of course his brother’s battle

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Everyone has expectations of people; it is human nature. These expectations can be beneficial and push us to accomplish amazing things, like being kind to other people. Some expectations, however, can make people feel inferior and unimportant, leading to consequential decisions throughout life. These expectations stem from homes and communities, like the neighborhood Sonny and his brother grew up in in James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”. Living in Harlem forced Sonny and his brother to grow up much faster than most people do and exposed them to many harsh realities, making it the true antagonist of the story.

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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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The narrator keeps this in mind and tries to sway Sonny to a path he feels is right for him. Sonny wants to go into music however the narrator feels it would be

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This lead them into the wrong pathway into society one full of violence, crime, and drug addiction. “One day a letter came from the school board and Isabel’s mother got it — there had, apparently, been other letters but Sonny had torn them up. This day, when Sonny came in, Isabel’s mother showed him the letter and asked where he’d been spending his time. And she finally got it out of him that he’d been down in Greenwich Village, with musicians and other characters, in a white girl’s apartment. And this scared her and she started to scream at him and what came up, once she began — though she denies it to this day — was what sacrifices they were making to give Sonny a decent home and how little he appreciated it.”

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Sonny wanted his brother to see how Jazz made him feel and his brother saw that when he watched Sonny play. Sonny never wanted drugs, he wanted

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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 tried so hard to get out of the poverty, violence, drugs, and gangs, but he became influenced by the wrong people and fell into heroin. Baldwin wanted the show the readers that people cope with pain and suffering in different ways. However, Sonny had a passion for music and wanted to become a jazz musician. This was also his way of coping with

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Throughout the story of “Sonny’s Blues”, James Baldwin develops a theme that can still be related with today. The misunderstanding and lack of knowledge that the narrator experiences, about his brother, is something that many today feel, as their own family members are being prosecuted and they do not comprehend why. Within the story, there are numerous subtle ideas that are used to progress the story and theme along to the ending that is given. James Baldwin advances the theme of his story, that misfortune and anguish can be renovated into a unique art form, using characterizations, settings, and symbolisms. One of the main literary devices that is used to express the theme is characterization.

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The narrator took the role of being a big brother serious; however going to the military and keeping distant from Sonny affected his brother in many ways. Sandy Norton states that the narrator was in awe when it came to his brother, he didn’t know how to help Sonny, which is why he chose not to think about his brother’s addiction to heroin. “He is, in fact, A man full of fear, trying to use his relatively privileged social position to protect himself from social reality” (Norton 175-192). This quote explains how the narrator tries to avoid thinking about his little brother being hooked on

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In James Baldwin's short story, Sonny’s Blues, the reader should understand and visualize the historical context in order to understand the world being presented. The reader has to comprehend the harsh life of a male African-American who struggles with his dreams and drug addiction sometime around early 1957. I will discuss Baldwin's writing style, the life/value of an african american's life during this time, and the relationship between Sonny and his brother. Baldwin’s short story illustrates the hardships a person faces while searching for themselves in a world full of people or obstacles that stand in their way. Some of these obstacles are self inflicted, present from the beginning of their existence or appear as though they are random.

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He knows the limits of being black and poor and wants to escape them. He tries to break free by moving out of Harlem and becoming a musician, but ends up in prison. While in prison, Sonny writes a letter to his brother saying, “I can’t tell you much how I got here…. I was trying to escape from something” (p. 127). Sonny wants to escape from drugs, the darkness, and Harlem to go to light of happiness, and redemption.

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In the story, "Sonny's Blues", the narrator, who is Sonny's big brother struggles with the best way to help his brother. Both were raised in Harlem and lived within poverty. The narrator used his childhood struggles as a stepping stone to better himself and become a teacher for a high school. While Sonny became one of the many teens who fell into the drug world of the streets. The narrator's biggest conflict, in my opinion, is why did Sonny turn down such a dark path and how can he help his brother without judging the lifestyle he chose.

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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 rescue from his guilt of

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