In the short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin utilizes heroin addiction to exemplify the societal stereotypes surrounding drug addiction. Set in Harlem in the 1950’s, an unnamed narrator and his brother, Sonny, experience the consequences of growing up in an impoverished neighborhood, eventually separated by their differing coping mechanisms. The author introduces the characters in their adult lives after one brother entangles himself into the lifestyle that accompanies heroin. By contrasting the narrator’s prosperity with Sonny’s misfortune, Baldwin illustrates his view on the inescapable cycle of drugs and poverty. The tale begins by launching the reader into a veiled crisis; the narrator appears to be afflicted, but the cause remains