Sonnys Blues - 1264 Words

Sonny s Blues A captivating tale of a relationship between two troubling brothers in Harlem, Sonny s Blues is told from the perception of Sonny s brother, whose name is never mentioned. Baldwin s choice of Sonny s brother as a narrator is what makes Sonny s Blues significant in terms of illustrating the relationship and emotional complications of Sonny and his brother. The significance of Sonny s Blues lies in the way Sonny s brother describes their relationship based on what he observes, hears, and feels, and how he struggles trying to understand Sonny through the course of the story. This is a story of how two African Americans brothers take their own path through life as they struggle to find meaning in their lives.†¦show more content†¦Their father spent many years struggling to support a family in an overtly racist Northern urban community. Sonny, by contrast, is a romantic artist who is not afraid of taking risks to pursue the things he desires. His passion for music makes him impa tient with everything else. He drops out of school; however, he does try to stay away from danger. Sonny does want to live a respectable life without corruption. He does several things to try to escape this corruption; he tries to escape by joining the military, but fails. He tries to escape by using illicit drugs and fails. When life seems to take a toll on Sonny he immerses himself in his music. He realizes that his problems are real and that he can t truly escape them. Music becomes his life as he plays to transform his pain and suffering into something beautiful depicted in his jazz and blues music. Perhaps there is no way that we can absolutely stay out of danger, like Sonny s father said, there is no safe place for anyone (Baldwin 95). Sonny s music offers an outlet for expressing the darkness within him while giving his life meaning. In the pivotal scene of Sonny s Blues, the narrator agrees to go with Sonny to the jazz nightclub. The narrator s realization that he must accept Sonny as he is sets the stage for the narrator s first trip to theShow MoreRelatedSonnys Blues1514 Words   |  7 PagesHow does Baldwins real-life experience connect to his short story, Sonnys Blues? The writer was a poor boy growing up. He was also a Negro, so things were bad for him and his family in white America. He probably felt sad every day of his childhood so he turned to books for entertainment and maybe escape. When he started reading, he found that he liked it and wanted to create stories for other people to enjoy, but he was a poor Negro boy who could not expect help from the whites, so he taughtRead MoreSonnys Blues in Harlem896 Words   |  4 Pagesus have to struggle to make ends meet and others are born with money at their feet already. â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† opens up in Harlem with the narrator on a bus reading a newspaper learning that his brother, Sonny, has been arrested for selling heroin. Sonny’s brother takes him in after he is released from jail. However, his brother is scared if he lets him back into his home he will fall into his old ways. Sonny’s true passion in life is to become a Jazz musician but his family doesn’ t believe in what heRead MoreSonnys Blues Essay989 Words   |  4 Pages In James Baldwins, Sonnys Blues, the title itself is symbolic of the blues in the matrix of the African-American culture of music and suffering. To understand the significance of the blues, one must first define the blues, where the blues originated, and how it is related to suffering and how it is communicated in music. The American Heritage Dictionary defines blues as (1) a state of depression or melancholy, and (2) a style of jazz evolved from southern American Negro secular songs. ItRead MoreJames Baldwins Sonnys Blues1418 Words   |  6 Pageselaborately broadcasted and exhibited greatly in his short story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues†. First circulated in the late fifties and then again in the mid-sixties, Sonnys Blues explains Baldwin’s reasons for his famous arguments in the arena of Black freedom, while also providing a visual bonding of his work across multiple genres, with the ways and understandings of the urban Black community. The essential and gradual progression of â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† symbolizes the measured adaptation of the narrators perceptionRead More Comparing the Blues in Hughes The Blues Im Playing and Baldwins Sonnys Blues625 Words   |  3 Pages The Blues: in Hughes The Blues Im Playing and Baldwins Sonnys Bluesnbsp;nbsp; In Langston Hughes The Blues Im Playing, the blues are the source of Oceolas life and her choices. Langston is trying to illustrate the conflict between life and art. The art in this story is represented in a confined manner, as a disciplined career with a white woman acting as the overseer in the young ladys life. 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A person begins with strengths, many of which they lose along the way. At some point along their heroic journey a person may regain their strengths and develop new ones. Each phase of this journey will have an effect on them and o thers around them. According to his brother, who narrates Sonnys Blues, SonnyRead More Sonnys Blues by James Baldwin Essay1228 Words   |  5 PagesSonnys Blues by James Baldwin A captivating tale of a relationship between two troubling brothers in Harlem, Sonnys Blues is told from the perception of Sonnys brother, whose name is never mentioned. Baldwins choice of Sonnys brother as a narrator is what makes Sonnys Blues significant in terms of illustrating the relationship and emotional complications of Sonny and his brother. The significance of Sonnys Blues lies in the way Sonnys brother describes their relationship based onRead MoreDrugs and Musicians in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† by James Baldwin Essay840 Words   |  4 PagesWhen first reading â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† by James Baldwin, it may initially seem that the relationship between musicians and drugs is synonymous. Public opinion suggests that musicians and drugs go hand and hand. The possibility lies that Sonny’s passion for jazz music is the underlying reason for his drug use, or even the world of jazz music itself brought drugs into Sonny’s life. The last stateme nt is what the narrator believes to be true. However, by delving deeper and examining the theme of music inRead MoreEssay on Literary Analysis of James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues2323 Words   |  10 Pagesgenerally done just to entertain readers. Some authors create stories with a singular point of view, while others introduce more complex plots and storylines. When it comes to author James Baldwin’s short story Sonny’s Blues, there is much depth given to the storyline and the characters. Sonny’s Blues has been analyzed by many different people throughout time because the story has many elements. From Baldwin’s skillful use of metaphors and similes to his incorporation of religious references, this story