Darkness In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

“Sonny’s Blues” Set in the time of the Harlem Renaissance which bloomed in the 1902, written by James Baldwin. The city Harlem play an important role in this short story. For Sonny and his older brother, Harlem is a trap that they both struggle to escape from because of the hardship they have been through. It can be inferred that Harlem is being used as a symbol for the brothers being trapped not only because the narrator's brother Sonny is physically imprisoned for part for the story but because of the author's use of the word throughout the story when talking about Harlem itself. For example, Sonny’s brother says, “trapped in the darkness which roared Outside.” Darkness is used to describe the conditions of Harlem while trapped is describing

The way the Baldwin intrigues readers to read on is very cunning. Baldwin does this by moving back and forth through time as the story progresses jumping from one event in the present to another event in the past, for example when he goes from the event of Sonny’s imprisonment then jumps back to the present for the bulk of the story. This makes each event in the story seem almost immediate for readers keeping them more interested and wanting more rather than, like many stories that follow a set time line.
For Sonny, music seems to be the only way for him to express himself. Because of how Sonny is imprisoned for drug abuse to begin with, and his struggles to communicate with the people around him. For almost the entire story the narrator, Sonny’s brother refuses Sonny’s passion and desire to pursuit music and to move away from Harlem for a new life. The first time that Sonny’s brother really listens to Sonny’s music is during a conversation the two brothers have after the

This can be seen as she encourages her son the narrator to strengthen his relationship with his younger brother Sonny. Then Isabel, she seems to be the least important of the three girls as she only exist to seemingly support the relationship between the narrator and his brother Sonny. Grace, the young deceased daughter of the narrator, Sonny’s brother’s role seems more significant. This is because how she affects both Sonny and the narrator her father negatively, much like when their uncle is murdered. As much as the women that are within the family try to help to brothers stay together, it seems that the most important of all is the woman, a complete stranger singing at the revival that pushes the brothers to have their first real conversation with each other.

“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin focuses on the importance of family in a time period such as the Harlem Renaissance, and the importance of embracing one's true identity in the midst of a world filled with hate and struggle. No matter how hard life gets from drugs, to jail, to death, the people around you who love you can always help you through it thick or