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Sonnys Blues by James Baldwin.

Sonnys blues is a short story written by James Baldwin in 1957, but was never really exposed to literature until mid-1965 when it was actually published. Sonnys Blues is about two brothers that have not kept in touch for a very long time too later finding out one of the brothers (Sonny) has gone to jail from addiction to heroin and selling drugs. Furthermore into the story, the narrators daughter has passed away and receives a deep letter from Sonny as an apology for not staying in touch with each other. After Sonny is released from jail, he is taken in from the narrator to stay at their familys apartment where they bump heads trying to figure out Sonnys life, but as Sonny explains how good the high of heroin feels for him, the narrator gets even more frustrated and angry about the situation. Towards the end of the story, the narrator starts to notice that Sonny is outside by the street curb listening to this jazz group performing outside the narrators apartment. Sonny finally explains to the narrator that playing the piano in jazz is the only way to let loose from the drugs. Sonny feels that he has to play, and later invites the narrator for the first time to come out and watching him play at the local jazz club. James Baldwin uses many criticisms in a lot of his short stories, but the one that really stuck out was the way Baldwin uses of biographical themes from his personal experiences throughout his lifetime. Biographical criticism can be diminishing in this respect. Others have objected to reading literature as a reflection of the authors personality. Such critics have supported the idea that the highest literary art is pure form, untouched by personal emotion from the author. With that being

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said, Baldwin used nothing but raw material from his own being to fulfill Sonnys Blues with real life situations like metaphor/similes. For example in one part of the story, the narrator wants to figure out why his brother is using drugs, but he just doesnt understand what Sonny is trying to accomplish. In addition, the narrator is finally starting to realize Sonnys drug use when speaking to an old friend of Sonny: "Tell me, why does he want to die? He must want to die; he's killing himself, why does he want to die?" Narrator, He don't want to die. He wants to live. Don't nobody want to die, ever, Sonnys old friend mentions. (Baldwin 99). The narrator doesnt see that when someones freedom is taken away by hatred from others, is like being dead to society. From the research and evidence that was provided, James Baldwin used this example to explain why society should be equal to all people with no judgments made. He was very big on the civil rights movement and participated in many meetings to show how much he truly cared about the way we live. Throughout James Bladwins life, he wanted nothing more than respect and equality from both African and Americans. Baldwin weaves images and concepts from his past into the story. He writes of a neighborhood quite reminiscent of his own. The students in the story are smothering in these houses, coming down into the streets for light and air, finding themselves encircled by danger. The brothers parents consider their environment unsafe, but then too the father says, Ain't no place safe for kids, nor anybody. (Baldwin 102). Like Sonny, he also uses the blues, an AfricanAmerican folk music genre that originated in the South as a key metaphor. In Sonny's Blues, the

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blues becomes the instrument that, as one critic says, helps rebuild relationships, either of the self or with others. The relationship being repaired belongs to Sonny and the narrator. In Baldwin's own life the blues were his mainstay during his breakdown. The music helped connect him to who he was. Therefore, Baldwin uses the blues in this story to show us an individual's road to fulfillment. However, it is also used to depict the "living culture of men and women, who share in the emotion and desires of common humanity, as evidence of black worth, moral tenacity, and right to self-acceptance. The music becomes, therefore, a device to explain individual fulfillment and extend it to identify a culture. He reminds readers of the realities for American blacks in the 1950s. When he describes in detail the revival scene on the sidewalk, he demonstrates a tradition with value in that same community. The biographical theme in James Baldwins short stories lets the reader know how the author thinks and what he has experience with. This allows the critic to visualize and feel what the author has possibly seen before. In other words, the fact that his writing seems musical is certainly appropriate for a story that features music as one of its central themes. In a way Baldwin's style mirrors his subject matter and it sort of preps us and prompts us to read a certain way. There's a definite cadence (like a musical beat) to his writing and he shows us how technique and plot can work together to create a narrative. Lots of writers love this method that Baldwin uses because it literally grabs the attention of the reader, and pulls them in with a very persuasive tone. This designing of the story serves a double function: it furnishes a concentrated

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image of an historical experience that must be preserved and acclimated; at the same time, it presents this same experience as something to be surpassed. To sum it all up, Baldwin uses these techniques not only to provide a better understand on the musical theme, but to bring some of his experience from the music industry that most civilians are clueless about. For instance, Many artist come from bad environments who mostly rely on drugs for an escape route to get rid of their sins they may have committed in the pass. Music is all about your emotions and how you feel as a person; Baldwin used music in this story to prove that there is more to a person who chooses to consume drugs because there is always a background to this usage. To maintain the biographical theme of the story, James Baldwins has to pull many ideas from his past in order to give off a theme that is realistic in countless ways. Surprisingly, few critical discussions of Sonnys Blues have focused on the storys religious themes. For instance, quote: Like so many Christian African Americans, Baldwin knew the Bible intimately and once claimed, "I was born in the church" ("Notes" 14). Indeed, the King James Bible became his signal literary text during his Harlem childhood. In his biography of Baldwin, James Campbell states that Baldwin's "moral world" was "fortified and sanctioned by generations of deep believers" and that "the vocabulary and cadence of the King James Bible and the rhetoric of the pulpit were at the heart of his literary style" (Tackach). As you can see, Baldwin was very serious about his biblical resource.

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Sonnys Blues has been analyzed by many different people throughout time because the story has many elements with criticism. From Baldwins skillful use of metaphors and similes to his incorporation of religious references by his biographical themes, this story is insightfully and complexly written. The biographical approach allows you to better understand what the author has felt in his or her writings.

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Work Cited Baldwin, James. Sonnys Blues. Hager, Kelly, and Kelly J. Mays. The Norton Introduction to Literature: 11th ed. New York: Norton, 2002. Print. Shorter Edition. Flibbert, Joseph. "Sonny's Blues: Overview." Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. Detroit: St. James Press, 1994. Literature Resource Center. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. "James (Arthur) Baldwin." Contemporary Literary Criticism Select. Detroit: Gale, 2008. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. Komunyakaa, Yusef, Robert Kelly, and William Matthews. "Jazz and Poetry: A Conversation." Georgia Review 46.4 (Winter 1992): 645-661. Rpt. in Poetry for Students. Ed. Anne Marie Hacht. Vol. 20. Detroit: Gale, 2004. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. Lee, Susanna. "The Jazz Harmonies of Connection and Disconnection in 'Sonny's Blues.'." Genre 37.2 (Summer 2004): 285-299. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena O. Krstovic. Vol. 98. Detroit: Gale, 2007. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Apr. 2014. Tackach, James. "The biblical foundation of James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues'." Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature 59.2 (2007): 109+. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.