A Common Theme In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin is full of practical themes and supporting proofs of those themes. A common theme found in “Sonny’s Blues” is: in order to move forward in life, one must understand and forgive past mistakes. Baldwin supports this theme with numerous supporting proofs. A prevalent proof found supporting this theme is anger. Baldwin uses anger in many ways to show the importance of forgiveness in life. He shows how anger affects the characters in “Sonny’s Blues” and restricts them from being able to get along in life. He shows it in the narrator’s dad’s backstory, the narrator’s grudge held against Sonny, and the narrator’s use of anger in order to not seem vulnerable or afraid. “Sonny’s Blues” uses an everyday emotion, anger, to prove that no one can move forward in life without forgiving and understanding prior choices and mishaps. A powerful scene that is flowing with anger is when the narrator’s dad’s brother dies in a horrific accident. The narrator’s mom told him about his dad’s brother because she wanted him to understand what the world was capable of doing and to show him how his dad’s anger has prevented him from moving forward in

This is shown the most when Sonny tries to example to him why he wants and believes he can be a professional pianist. The narrator’s initial reaction was disbelief and anger. He was angry with Sonny for not wanting to have a typical and steady job where he would work nine to five and collect a steady income. The brothers quickly begin to argue over the subject until Sonny comes up with an idea to have the narrator come watch him perform. The narrator goes to watch Sonny perform and is instantly overwhelmed with emotions when he hears him play. It is as if, through Sonny’s music he was able to finally understand Sonny. Due to this realization, the reader is able to learn that anger clouds judgment and