Sonny's Blues

The story “Sonny’s Blues “is about two brothers that deal with racism. In dealing with their issues they both suffer and survive in their family and community. Their stories are a strong impact on their character and how they deal with their pain. Sonny chooses a more damaging means of racism, such as drug addiction to heroin; although, he does find a better choice music! The older brother, the narrator, James Baldwin, goes to college to become a teacher, and give back to his community in Harlem.

“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.

At Fisk, Du Bois became acquainted with many sons and daughters of former slaves, who felt the pain of oppression and shared his sense of cultural and spiritual tradition. In the South, he saw his people being driven to a status of little difference from slavery, and saw them terrorized at the polls. He taught school during the summers in the eastern portion of Tennessee, and saw the suffering firsthand. He then resolved to dedicate his life to fighting the terrible racial oppression that held the black people down, both economically and politically. Du Bois’s determination was rewarded with a scholarship to Harvard, where he began the first scientific sociological studies in the United States.

Jazz was formed from slave songs and religious African American folk songs. Today, jazz is played and listened to by people of all cultures and ethnicities and includes musical elements and styles from all over the world; jazz has gone from being America’s music to being the world’s music. The music genre, Jazz, has impacted American literature through the Harlem Renaissance, the Black Arts Movement... ... middle of paper ... ...ssion caused many layoffs and housing foreclosures. The Great Depression also encased economic tension which caused black leaders to focus more on the financial and social issues rather than arts and culture. During the Great Depression, the music industry came close to collapsing.

Blues had its most brilliant years in America by the end of WWI. The American troops brought the Blues home with them, which they learned from the Southern Whites who had been exposed to the blues. After WWII, Blues had a different experience by the well-known Blues musicians as B.B. King and Buddy Guy by “amplifying guitar” and “emphasized drums”; thus created intensified sounds in Blues, the collection of which later called to be the “Electric Blues”. (Herman) This kind of Blues had a great deal of resemblance to Jazz music due to the increased drum beats.

The Evolution of a Relationship through Music In "Sonny's Blues", theme, form, and image blend into perfect harmony and rise to a thundering climax. The story, written in 1957 carries a vital social message for us today. It tells of two black brothers' struggle to understand one another. The older brother, a well-off Harlem algebra teacher, is the unnamed narrator. The younger man is Sonny, a jazz pianist who, when the story opens, has just been arrested for peddling and using heroin.

“Sonny’s Blues” is a short story in which the author presents a view on the realities of suffering in Harlem, New York in the 1950’s and how the presence of drugs can greatly impact not only the users, but the ones who care about the users as well. This can be shown through the literary use of setting, character, and theme. Throughout the story, the narrator struggles with trying to reason with the life his brother has chosen and the choices he has made. Sonny struggles to find an identity for himself having to live under the shadow of his brother his entire life. Sonny however finds solace in music which seems to become an escape for him and help him find meaning within himself.

Although often described as having a strong personality, it was a combination of childhood experiences of oppression and realization of his political influence that would take Davis to the top of the musical spectrum. Not only did his music influence the later musical style of artists like Prince, Mos Def and Santana, but he also stood as a symbol for the black power movement. His transition from artistically pleasing standards on Milestones (1958) to the funk rhythms of Bitches Brew (1970) help show the power of an artist’s influence and the lasting changes brought about from the work and life of Miles

He went to the west coast of Africa while he worked on a freighter. He also lived In Paris for several months before returning to the United States late in 1924. When he returned back to his country he was already well known in the African American literary circles as a gifted young poet. He was dedicated to African American music and held a special interest for jazz and the blues. Hughes was notability one of the most important writers and thinkers of the Harlem Renaissance.

Claude McKay helped to launch the burst of creative energy that was the Harlem Renaissance. Also Langston Hughes a leader of the Harlem Renaissance famously published, “Negro was in vogue” which mean, “Harlem was in vogue” as a sign of gaining popularity and becoming a mainstream for jazz and poetry. At twenty-two years of age in 1924 he had gone to Paris seeking a freedom he could not find at home. Langston Hughes was one of the many African American who had been drawn to Paris by reports of black soldiers who had served in the World War I; in so call Negro division like the 92nd and 93rd infantries. And soon he was writing poems inspired by Jazz rhythms he was hearing played by the African American bands in the clubs where worked as a busboy and dishwasher.