Suffering In Sonny's Blues, By James Baldwin

Society is our community. Or more specifically, the people around us which influence what we say, do, and how we act to those who aren’t members of our community. Throughout Sonny’s Blues, the narrator is surrounded by a society that is poor and can be loosely described as “broken” or “corrupted.” Our narrator understands this, undoubtedly, but does not experience it in a way that his brother does. He is partially unaffected by the societal problems around him and does not bother following others down the path they have chosen. However, this area and people living in it cause conflict in his brother. Sonny, in a way, is more emotionally connected with society. He comprehends that there is “no way not to suffer,” and that the people, specifically

Sonny frequents questions, “Why do people suffer?” to those important to him, such as our nameless narrator, but answers his own thoughts. He again repeats that there isn’t a way to not suffer. To him, it’s a part of the life that he and his brother are living in.
The community affects Sonny in several ways. In the beginning of the short story, our narrator learns that his brother was placed in jail for the use of heroin. Sonny later comments that it was his way to escape his suffering; to stop drowning in this despair he has. Supposedly, society could have cause Sonny to use drugs in some way to keep from suffering. With the setting, the reasoning is plausible. However, when Sonny stays with Isabel’s parents his depression is clearly expressed through his obsession with the piano and ignorance of his hosts. Thus, when her parents decide to try and break down Sonny’s protective emotional walls, he feels as

The people are acknowledged as “suffering” by multiple characters, and they seem to be split into two halves: those who understand the emotional balance in the society and those who are oblivious. As previously stated, Sonny is one of the few who know how people think and act in their society. It is brutal, depressing, and repetitive to the blacks in the community. They also show little to no opinion for religion, excluding Sonny and the narrator’s mother. Additionally, the mother is the heavenly figure; the righteous character. This also influences how Sonny and the narrator carry themselves throughout the story. The citizens seem to either ignore the revival meeting or were deeply affected by it. During this time, they are still seen as inferior to white people and although this still occurs today, the conflict is more simply stated in this setting. The story revolves around the blacks and how society affect them. Due to the background Sonny and the narrator’s mother provides, it is inferred that they are treated harshly (i.e. the story of the father’s