Sonny Blues

1584 Words4 Pages

Family structure is often built on foundations consisting of, trust, principal, and unconditional love. Relatives are often a reflection of the morals, and dignity our guardians instilled in us. The struggle in families arises when an individual does not live up to the standards set for them, by family, and sometimes results in incarceration, or use of narcotics. In “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, readers encounter two brothers who are brought up in the rough neighborhood of Harlem, New York. Although Sonny, the younger brother, chooses a different life path in heroin usage, and in being a musician, his older brother, the narrator, becomes an algebra teacher. Despite not being in each other’s lives for a period of time, the knitted fraternal relationship that they share proves to be eternal regardless of their loss of contact. Ultimately, this story is an amazing illustration of how two people are from the same blood and home, are never quite the same, yet the love of a family will always be kindled. In the following articles "Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music, by Suzy Bernstein Goldman, explains how people often explain their emotions through music. In another article titled, -“ Black Literature Revisited: "’Sonny's Blues’" by Elaine R. Ognibene, she elaborates on the effects music has to bring two people together. Finally, in “The Jazz-Blues Motif in James Baldwin's "’Sonny's Blues’" by Richard N Albert discusses, the bound in families and enlightens on the cliché saying that blood is thicker than water. Ultimately, Albert provides the best interpretation of the short story “Sonny Blues,” because it’s more realistic and relatable from my own personal experience. In the article “"Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music”, by Suzy... ... middle of paper ... ...art. It might take a uniformity in movies, sports, or music to understand and realize that one small insignificant similarly that you share amongst two of you, is what will bring you back together. Works Cited Albert, Richard N. "The Jazz-Blues Motif in James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues"" College Literature 11.2 (1984): 171-85. College Literature. Web. Apr.-May 2014. Goldman, Suzy B. "James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music." Negro American Literature Forum 3rd ser. 8 (1974): 231-33. St. Louis University. Web. Apr.-May 2014. Ognibene, Elaine R. "Black Literature Revisited: "Sonny's Blues"" The English Journal 60.1 (1971): 36-37. National Council of Teachers of English. Web. Apr.-May 2014. Schilb, John, and John Clifford. Sonny Blues. Making Literature Matter: An Antology for Readers and Writers. 5th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2009. 337-60. Print.

Show More
Related

  • Sonny's Heroic Journey in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

    2967 Words  | 6 Pages

    Reilly, John M. " 'Sonny's Blues': James Baldwin's Image of Black Community." James Baldwin: A Critical Evaluation. Ed.Therman B. O'Daniel. Howard University Press. Washington, D.C. 1977. 163-169.

    Read More

  • Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosis and James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

    1813 Words  | 4 Pages

    Murray, Donald C. James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues': Complicated and Simple. N.p.: Newberry College, n.d. Literary Reference Database. Web. 23 Mar. 2014.

    Read More

  • An Older Brother's Influence in James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues

    1568 Words  | 4 Pages

    In James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” the unspoken brotherly bond between the narrator and his younger brother Sonny is illustrated through the narrator’s point of view. The two brothers have not spoken in years until the narrator receives a letter from Sonny after his daughter dies. He takes this moment as an important sign from Sonny and feels the need to respond. While both Sonny and the narrator live in separate worlds, all Sonny needs is a brother to care for him while the narrator finds himself in the past eventually learning his role as an older brother.

    Read More

  • Brotherly Love in Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin

    1188 Words  | 3 Pages

    James Baldwin, author of Sonny’s Blues, was born in Harlem, NY in 1924. During his career as an essayist, he published many novels and short stories. Growing up as an African American, and being “the grandson of a slave” (82) was difficult. On a day to day basis, it was a constant battle with racial discrimination, drugs, and family relationships. One of Baldwin’s literature pieces was Sonny’s Blues in which he describes a specific event that had a great impact on his relationship with his brother, Sonny. Having to deal with the life-style of poverty, his relationship with his brother becomes affected and rivalry develops. Conclusively, brotherly love is the theme of the story. Despite the narrator’s and his brother’s differences, this theme is revealed throughout the characters’ thoughts, feelings, actions, and dialogue. Therefore, the change in the narrator throughout the text is significant in understanding the theme of the story. It is prevalent to withhold the single most important aspect of the narrator’s life: protecting his brother.

    Read More

  • Sonny's Blues Literary Analysis Essay

    677 Words  | 2 Pages

    Sonny’s Blues written by James Baldwin appears to suggest that family and faith are important aspects in someone’s life and that each person has a different way of dealing with their own demons. The author writes with an expressive purpose and narrative pattern to convey his message and by analyzing the main characters, the point of view of the narration, the conflict in the story and the literary devices Baldwin utilizes throughout his tale, his central idea can be better understood.

    Read More

  • Sonnys blues

    710 Words  | 2 Pages

    “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin relies on music to convey the theme of hardships for both Sonny and his older brother. The relationship between the two siblings is rocky. “I didn't write Sonny or send him anything for a long time.” said the older brother. Jazz is able to bring both of them closer together and have a better understanding of one another. With the older brother appreciating Sonny’s love for jazz it also allows him to the troubles in both their lives. Through Sonny’s music he was able to help his brother’s pain and in return his brother was able to help him. At first the older brother said, “I simply couldn't see why on earth he'd want to spend his time hanging around nightclubs, clowning around on bandstands," but towards the end of his brothers performance his views changed. He sends Sonny a drink after his performance and Sonny nods back to him. This represents the acknowledgment that Sonny now has his older brother’s approval. Even though Sonny and his brother still have different views and understandings of music it is still their own opinion. Their relationship and bond strengthen with the help of music.

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between the Life of James Baldwin and Sonny’s Blues

    1675 Words  | 4 Pages

    As a young child growing up, James Baldwin experienced many hardships. He battled through social segregation and had a hard time finding a place where he truly fit in. Although since he knew what he loved in life and pursued that one goal, he was able to over come the hatred of his peers. This story of his life can be seen through a short story written by Baldwin himself, which is “Sonny’s Blues.” Sonny, the main character of the story, exemplifies many of the qualities and traits that Baldwin had in his younger years. Sonny and Baldwin lacked a true father figure, had a difficult time fitting in as black men, and also had an addiction that made life that much harder. Baldwin himself wasn’t actually addicted to drugs like Sonny but he was a homosexual, and the hardships that came with this equal what Sonny had to go through with his family and friends.

    Read More

  • Biblical and Religious Themes in "Sonny's Blues"

    1266 Words  | 3 Pages

    James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” is the authors most studied and critically analyzed piece of literature. The majority of these analyses focus on the obvious themes of the book such as jazz music, the unnamed narrator, or the rift that divides Sonny and his brother. Little critique has ever gone into the biblical and religious themes that run throughout the story of “Sonny’s Blues.” Furthermore, it is even more astonishing that there is little critique given Baldwin has such a strong history with the world of Christianity.

    Read More

  • Symbolism in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

    1244 Words  | 3 Pages

    All three of these symbolical details are woven together in "Sonny's Blues" to create a non-literal meaning directly beneath the words. The end result is an enriched message about urban struggles for expression, happiness, and chemical independance. Ultimately, Sonny's revival concludes the readers' literary tour of world in which he lives. What is begun with a presentation of hardships is finally concluded with Sonny's triumph, a chance at a better future.

    Read More

  • Suffering and Surviving in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

    1464 Words  | 3 Pages

    Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues." The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 1992: 409 - 439.

    Read More

  • The Impact of Family in Sonny's Blues

    612 Words  | 2 Pages

    Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” The Jazz Fiction Anthology. Ed. Sascha Feinstein and David Rife. Bloomington: Indiana UP, 2009. 17-48.

    Read More

  • The Power of Music in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

    1545 Words  | 4 Pages

    Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues." The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 1992: 409 - 439.

    Read More

  • Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin

    1304 Words  | 3 Pages

    “Sonny’s Blues” revolves around the narrator as he learns who his drug-hooked, piano-playing baby brother, Sonny, really is. The author, James Baldwin, paints views on racism, misery and art and suffering in this story. His written canvas portrays a dark and continual scene pertaining to each topic. As the story unfolds, similarities in each generation can be observed. The two African American brothers share a life similar to that of their father and his brother. The father’s brother had a thirst for music, and they both travelled the treacherous road of night clubs, drinking and partying before his brother was hit and killed by a car full of white boys. Plagued, the father carried this pain of the loss of his brother and bitterness towards the whites to his grave. “Till the day he died he weren’t sure but that every white man he saw was the man that killed his brother.”(346) Watching the same problems transcend onto the narrator’s baby brother, Sonny, the reader feels his despair when he tries to relate the same scenarios his father had, to his brother. “All that hatred down there”, he said “all that hatred and misery and love. It’s a wonder it doesn’t blow the avenue apart.”(355) He’s trying to relate to his brother that even though some try to cover their misery with doing what others deem as “right,” others just cover it with a different mask. “But nobody just takes it.” Sonny cried, “That’s what I’m telling you! Everybody tries not to. You’re just hung up on the way some people try—it’s not your way!”(355) The narrator had dealt with his own miseries of knowing his father’s plight, his Brother Sonny’s imprisonment and the loss of his own child. Sonny tried to give an understanding of what music was for him throughout thei...

    Read More

  • Siblings' Relationship in James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

    1606 Words  | 4 Pages

    Baldwin, James. "Sonny's Blues." The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 1992: 409 - 439.

    Read More

  • Critical Analysis Of Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

    1002 Words  | 3 Pages

    The short story Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin is written in first person through the narrator. This story focuses on the narrator’s brother sonny and their relationship throughout the years. This story is taken place in Harlem, New York in the 1950s. The narrator is a high school algebra teacher and just discovered his brother in the newspaper. This story includes the traditional elements to every story, which consist of the exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, and the resolution.

    Read More

More about Sonny Blues

Open Document