The Search of Sonny: Sonny’s Blues

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Sonny, the title character of James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” is about a young man whom is struggling in life. As a young African American born in Harlem, the burden of being poor, black, and trapped within the confines of his community, he is aware of the limits and obstacles he faces. Baldwin uses the part where Sonny moved away from Harlem, his afterlife from prison, and his love for music to show us that he symbolizes the search for identity significance.
After the death of his mother, his only older brother left to the army, and he was forced to live with his brother’s girlfriend, Isabel, their family. Before leaving to the army, his brother asked him what he wanted to do for his future and without any hesitation or thinking, Sonny answered, “I want to be a musician,” (105). Sonny understands that his brother has a lot of expectations in him and tends to control his behavior, but he definitely knew that his brother did not feel serious about this with him. Most importantly his brother was surprised with one of his response and that was, “I think people ought to d...

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