Assignment: Sonny’s Blues

Date: 5, March 2018

Sonny’s Blues

Introduction:

Sonny's Blues is a short story written by James Baldwin an American novelist and also a social
critic. James Baldwin was born in 1924 (Networks 2018). His story Sonny's Blues is a story of
pain and prejudice that helps the readers in relating the story to their lives. Sonny's Blues was
published in the scholarly journal under the Negro American Literature. The writer has used the
character of two brothers to show the sufferings of the black community in America. It is a story
written in first-person singular narrative style. In this story, one brother is narrating the story
about his brother; Sonny, their childhood and he also involves other characters like the character
of his wife; Isabel, his brother's friend, his mother, father, uncle, daughter and a person named
Creole who acted as a father figure in Sonny's life. The story shows the struggle which young
black individuals are gone through during their lives. In the story, the narrator is telling how his
brother has fallen victim to drugs. The story is about a narrator who is the older brother, and he is
very protective of his younger sibling, Sonny. The father of the brothers is an alcoholic as
described by the narrator and he died when Sonny was fifteen years old. The narrator met his
mother the last time when she told him about his father, his uncle and gave him the responsibility
of his younger brother and then the narrator went to war. Afterward, he came back to his
mother's funeral. After his mother passed away, he tried to find out about Sonny's interests, and
he was surprised to know about his interest in music, and he didn't support his sibling. Later on,
he went to war again, and he left Sonny with his wife at her wife's parent home. Sonny lost
interest in education, and he started to spend more time with his jazz friends and got into drugs.
Sonny left his family when they came to know about his activities and joined the navy and went
to war. He lost connection with the narrator for a long time. After an extended period of pause
between the two, Sonny sent a letter to his brother in which he showed condolence with him as
his daughter died of polio. Later on, Sonny was imprisoned by the authorities due to his
involvement in drugs. And as the story moves toward the end, the narrator came to know the
importance of music in Sonny's life and how it helps him to forget the dark times of their life. So
narrator accepts Sonny's passion for music, and this brings the brothers to come closer to each
other. Creole also played an essential role in this change of narrator's perception. He was as a
father figure to Sonny, and he was heading the band in which Sonny performed at the end of the
story.

Main Body:

About this story, a number of writers have passed their remarks. As it is considered as a very
compelling story about the life of the people who are the victim of racism and are struggling in
their lives. Phillip Sipiora used an ethical criticism approach when talking about Sonny's Blues.
He discussed responsibility and duties toward the family while explaining the story. Phillip
Sipiora also tells how a reader can see the reflection of their lives in the story. He also concludes
from the story that we make decisions in our lives based on our past experiences.

Pancho Savery says that the analysis of Sonny's Blues is fascinating, but the writer has failed to
describe the specificities of cross-cultural differences and their implications and music. Baldwin
is only emphasizing and considering music as a bridge between two brothers which brought the
narrator closer to his younger brother; Sony.

According to Tracey Sherard Blues are the representations of the social hardships that are faced
by the black individuals in Harlem due to their ethnicity. The story also shows the economic
condition of the Black community. Sherard says that Blues are a clear symbol of the terrible
times which black American were facing as it is described by the writer. The writer has used
historical incidents like showing both brothers going to war and then the development of Harlem
to show the condition of the people belonging to the black race. Through the character of Sony
who is caught into drugs to forget his problems, the writer is showing the struggle of the young
black man and how they escape it. According to Sherard, the writer has provided music as an
alternative to drugs which can make Sony forget his problems and it acted as support in Sony's
life. The character of Creole is telling about the difficulties which African American have faced
in their lives in the economic sector and how white people have treated them as a lower class.
Sherard used the character of Creole to develop an intercultural theme as he thought that black
men could not play music as good as white men and they should only play low ranked blues.
Creole was also responsible for provoking Sonny to cross the borderline and play high-rank
tunes or bebop. By using this example, Sherard is building her thesis on intercultural critique.
While another writer Reily have an opinion that Blues is used as a metaphor which shows that
behind all suffering and pain, some parts of life help in making the life move smoothly. Reily
further says that the story is changing throughout as in the beginning there was a conflict in the
thinking of both brothers but slowly toward the end of the story both began to accept each other.
Reily described that Sonny's addiction to the drugs was a necessity to overcome the problems
which he was facing due to the society in which they lived. Music created a connection between
the two brothers, and it connected them with their history of struggle. The writer further says that
readers are connected to the history of the battle of the black people in the society through this
story of two brothers.

Conclusion:

Hence different writers are seeing different things in the story, but the essence of all the things is
same. From the start of the story, it can be assumed that the relationship between two brothers is
not very strong, as the narrator came to know about his brother through a newspaper. The
character of the narrator shows that he is a teacher who has a family whereas, on the other hand,
Sonny is not married, is an addict and he has no family. The narrator also has the love for his
younger brother, but he is afraid of his condition and the track which his brother has picked for
himself. As the narrator tells his friend that he has nothing to do with him but he also remembers
memories of his brother and he is regretful that he has not taken care of his brother. The narrator
considers himself responsible for Sony's condition. Hence the writer has shown different moral
values through characters. And as mentioned above critics also consider these moral values. Like
the writer has beautifully described the importance of responsibility. The narrator acknowledged
his duty toward his younger brother to protect him against all evil and to guide him the right
path. There was also the existence of love between two brothers as Sonny despite having issues
with his elder brother wrote him a letter when his daughter died. A value of perseverance is
shown by the character of Sonny as despite all family objections he never left music, and his love
and passion for music always remained alive. The narrator also showed an act of generosity
when he accommodated his sibling, listened to his story and started to develop a taste for music
while accepting Sonny as a professional musician. Sonny's character also shows honesty. As
despite he was a drug addict he told the real story to his brother and confessed the truth of his
life. The narrator also showed respect toward his sibling as he sends him drink. Compassion is
also shown as the mother tells the narrator that his father always felt the pain after the death of
his uncle and he was never able to forget that incident. Hence, this story is an accurate depiction
of showing moral values and continuous survival during the struggle of life.

References
Networks, A&E Television. 2018. The Biography.com . January 19. Accessed March 5, 2018.