Music and the Harlem

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Recommended: Role and importance of music

Music plays an important role in a person’s life. In “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin described the story of a young jazz musician from Harlem, New York. Even though music is just a mode of entertainment for some people, it helps others to overcome the sufferings in their life. In “Sonny’s Blues,” Baldwin described how Sonny used music to get rid of the troubles he had in his life. Sonny was born in Harlem, New York where majority of the people were African Americans. The African Americans adopted various ways to cope with the difficulties, they were facing in the Harlem before the Civil Rights Movement. Sonny was dejected by the strain of being black, poor, and captured within the boundaries of his community. He attempted to oppose the customs by moving away from Harlem, and started his career as a musician. He wanted to become a jazz musician, but somehow, he was addicted to heroin. Many people were addicted to drugs in the Harlem at that time to escape the reality. Sonny was arrested for using and selling drugs. When he was released from jail, he could have gone through the same routine of drugs addiction, just like he had been before being arrested. He was a drug addict and it was very hard for him to cut off contact with drugs. However, Instead of using drugs again, Sonny choose to play jazz music and tried to forget his worries. He had been practicing and playing music for a long time. After living with his brother for a few weeks, Sonny started to turn his life around. Sonny took his b... ... middle of paper ... ... barmaid was dancing and singing music to escape from the reality of jeopardy because when the music stopped, the barmaid paused and watched the juke box until the music began again. In other words, the people of the Harlem used music as an effective tool to get rid of or to escape from their difficulties. It is true that music has a compact link to our emotions. Music assists people to overcome the bad situations in their life, just like it did for Sonny, the barmaid, or some other people in the Harlem. Music has a tremendous effect on people’s mind because it makes them feel relax and comfortable, especially the soft classical music. It helps distressed people to stay smooth and peaceful. In fact, music is a remarkable way to ease our stress.

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