Suffering

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Recommended: James Baldwin literary aspects

The author of Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin, makes references to light and darkness numerous times throughout the narrative. In theory, the two brothers serve as indirect symbols towards the light and the darkness that Baldwin is constantly alluding to. Throughout the story, Sonny and his older brother found it difficult to cooperate with one another on the same terms. Sonny’s life was comprised of the motions of staying alive and living according to the way he chose on a daily base, while his brother’s was the complete opposite. Sonny’s older brother was a prioritized, married young man, who had a plan for every situation. Although the two young men may appear completely opposite, they’re really not as different as one would assume. In fact, the two brothers serve as alter egos for one another. Sonny plays the mischievous side of his older brother who never had the chance to experience real culture, while Sonny’s older brother plays the role of the educated practical individual, a side that Sonny had always wanted to grasp in the back of his mind. Altogether, the brothers reflect a dual persona in the author’s life. Although the story is fictional, the themes and motives are recreational in the sense that they can be applied to anyone’s life. The author captures this dual persona using imagery such as light and darkness throughout the narrative.
Fear lurked within the soul of Sonny’s older brother, and it is evident from the beginning of the story when he begins to search for Sonny and runs into the man who was hidden in the shadows. It wasn’t so much the fear of being afraid; rather it was the fear that fills one’s body when one is anxiously anticipating something. Sonny’s brother was constantly mentioning his feelings of being e...

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... in love and having a gracious, caring family but at the end of the day, he was just another resident of the treacherous zoo that went by the name of Harlem.
The nature of the narrator’s community isn’t easy to grasp at first glance, because of the mischief that is taking place constantly. The narrator finds the need to have an escape, a coping mechanism, but his mechanism is everything he’s afraid of. “For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.” (Baldwin 25) The author’s captivating theme of contrasting light with darkness seems to always find a way in every page of the narrative, making the narrator seem as though his suffering will never cease, even when his light, his life and family, is gone.

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