SparkNotes: Sonny’s Blues
& Sunny's Blues
James Baldwin
Table of Contents
Analysis of Major Characters
by , August 10, 2017
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by , August 15, 2017
"Sonny's Blues" is a short story by James Baldwin. It later appeared in the 1965 short story collection Going to Meet the Man. I liked it and recommend reading to everyone.
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Sonny's Blues, James Baldwin
Sonny's Blues, James Baldwin
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Encompassing Music Through the Soul (J.C)
In "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin, the theme is based on the evolution of two suppressed brothers. The story is written in 1957 and shows how two black brothers struggle to be brothers or understand one another. The narrator is the older brother, and an accomplished algebra teacher. The younger brother is Sonny, a heroin user who dreams of becoming a famous jazz pianist. The story contains many flashbacks, into their childhood, adding to the visualization. The tragedies and constant suffering can be easily visualized in this short story. Music becomes the incentive for change, and the narrator quickly learns to not only understand the music and himself, but also his brother Sonny. The story opens with the surprise of the narrator reading in the local newspaper that his brother, Sonny, had been arrested this is the beginning point of the growth and development between the two brothers. The discovery of the arrest forces the narrator to face the past and his relationship with Sonny. The narrator is approached at school by an old friend of Sonny, who has come to bring him the news about his brother.
The discussion between them is heated and like two bulls clashing.
The heat continues to grow and Sonny’s friend says, “I ain't smart.
If I was smart, I'd have reached for a pistol a long time ago" (594 ).
The narrator coldly replies, “Look.
Don't tell me your sad story.
If it was up to me, I'd give you one” (594).
As they continue to talk, the narrator begins to actually hear him and feels guilty for not listening to him before. This is the first time the narrator shows signs of guilt.
The friend then begins \to explain how he told Sonny about the effects of heroin and how great it feels.
The tone of the narrator has now lost the hostility, changing into a caring tone.
The narrator pretends to not care, but continues to ask questions, “What’s going to happen to him now?” (595)
During this...
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...Symbolism in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin
In James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” the reader meets Sonny, a recovering addict, and his older brother, a high school teacher.
Although these two brothers have completely different lives and personalities, the author’s use of symbolism brings them more tightly together like a real family.
Baldwin uses symbols such as ice,
lightness and darkness, and jazz music to add more depth and meaning to “Sonny’s Blues.”
People usually think of ice or the cold as being bitter and causing discomfort.
When it is cold outside, people wear jackets to eliminate the bitterness of the cold.
In “Sonny’s Blues,” Sonny uses heroine to escape the discomfort of the reality that is his life.
Heroine is Sonny’s jacket.
Also, ice can symbolize fright, dread, and the feeling of being unsettled.
When the narrator, Sonny’s older brother, first reads the newspaper and finds out that Sonny was arrested, “he felt as if a great block of ice was sitting in his stomach…It sent little trickles of water up and down his veins, but never got less” (50).
The ice that the narrator feels in his stomach is actually the feeling of fright.
The narrator is scared for his brother and he feels partly guilty for not helping him in his time of need.
When the ice is...
...An Analysis of James Baldwin's &Sonny's Blues&
In James Baldwin's short story &Sonny's Blues& a young man questions his brotherly obligations after finding that his younger brother has been arrested for using drugs. In the attempt to rectify his younger brother's behavior and life, the young man faces his own feelings for his brother and comes to terms with the life his brother Sonny lives. The
developments of certain elements-plot, character, point of view, setting, symbolism-in the story help accentuate the narrator's struggles and theme(s) of the story.
One of the most important elements of this story is the setting. Taking place in the drug-plagued, poverty-stricken, and frustrated streets of Harlem in the 1950s, the setting aids any reader in understanding the obstacles and hardships the narrator and his brother faced growing up in Harlem. From the narrator's description of the setting, we can infer that the violence, drug abuse, and indigence in the narrator's community, Harlem, has had a deep emotional impact on him and his brother. Furthermore the setting can also be argued to have somewhat attributed to Sonny's difficulties.
The point-of-view also plays a pivotal role in providing an insight into the lives of the narrator and Sonny and the environment in which they were raised. The story is told in first person by Sonny's brother, an unnamed...
...?EURoeSonny?EUR(TM)s Blues?EUR?
?EURoeSonny?EUR(TM)s Blues?EUR? by James Baldwin is a short story of the lives of two brothers. Throughout the story there is an unhappy mood. The blues can be thought of as a state of being unhappy and also the type of music is pretty sad, and this has significance to this story because both brothers tend to show unhappiness in their lives. Sonny and his brother grew up together but as they got older they lived two different
lives. Sonny?EUR(TM)s older brother was a more determined person, who Sonny was much more careless and didn?EUR(TM)t have much of a plan for his life. Both brothers are shown to be very opposite, the narrator is a cautious man who tries to stay away from danger then there is Sonny on the other hand who takes risks. Sonny?EUR(TM)s brother sees him to be a bit wild considering his habits with drugs and other problems. Sony never intended on living the life he did and wanted to escape his problems so he immerses himself into music because he has a true passion for it.
Throughout the story Sonny?EUR(TM)s brother tells the audience many different stories from when they were younger to the time they grew up. The death of their parents had an impact on both their lives and it ultimately what lead them to grow apart from one another. ?EURoeIt came to me that what we both were seeking through our separate cab windows was that part of ourselves which had been left behind.?EUR? This quotes shows that both...
...“Sonny’s Blues” is an emotional story written by an amazing author, James Baldwin, who has come to be one of my favorite writers.
This particular piece talks about the troubles of African American freeing themselves from the mental bondages of their surroundings, the ghetto. The title is significant, and helped me to understand the underlining meaning of the story.
The title can be divided into two main reasons, the first,
“Sonny’s Blues, meaning the music he plays. Second is the reference to his life, his feelings, his style, and most importantly his way of life.
This story starts in despair, the main character, Sonny is a drug addict, who is holding on to life, but through music he finds hope. There are many parts of this story, such as Sonny being a recovering heroin addict, or Sonny and his love for music, or the fact that Sonny and his dad are just alike. It was difficult for me to understand the main reasons for this story after reading it once, because I automatically thought this was another one of those sad short stories about someone crying out for help. After reading the story again, and writing my final essay on it, it helped me to understand that Baldwin’s main reason is hope.
Although Sonny being a heroin addict was only a secondary point, it still played a very important role in the story. As I was reading
“Sonny’s Blues” I would...
...the audience makes is not necessarily that intended by the artist, and will certainly vary based on the individual experiences of the particular member of the audience.
In his short story, Sonny’s Blues, James Baldwin illustrates this many-faceted relationship between art and life, and the differences between the artist’s intent and way it is actually perceived.
One such example of the relationship between art and life and the
differences in its perceptions came in the form of a whistled tune from the lips of a high school student.
The narrator of the story (a high school algebra teacher in Harlem who is upset after discovering that his younger brother, Sonny, was arrested in a drug bust) describes the tune as “at once very complicated and very simple, it seemed to be pouring out of him as though he were a bird, and it sounded very cool and moving through all that harsh, bright air, only just holding its own through all those other sounds” (Baldwin 2).
This tune embodied the artist’s life’s experiences.
The narrator described the high school students as growing up quickly and finding themselves restrained by the possibilities their lives offered (Baldwin 1).
He saw them as enraged, living in darkness, and “at once more together than they were at any other time, and more alone” (Baldwin 1).
The paradoxes of the whistler’s life—growing while restrained, and together while...
... Sonny's blues is a fictional story and a first person narrative written by James Baldwin . The main point of this story is how drugs affects Sonny's life,and how the narrator feels about it . I believe the moral of this story is people deal with struggles in everyday life and people deal with their struggles in their own way .The narrator is not only sonny’s brother he is also someone trying to undersatnd
his brother .
Learning more about sonny meant he would be able to understand him and why Sonny chose drugs to escape his pain and struggles.
Reading this text I have realized that drugs can and will have a big effect on a persons life mentally physically and spiritually.It is actually depressing to see what drugs do to peaople and their lives . Some people loose hope in their selves . Some people loose family and friends . There is always a reason behind any ones actions .people do take drugs because they are hiding something or because something is hiding from them .
The authors purpose of this text is to introduce complex life issues.James Baldwin had his own problems in life. He was a homosexual so he experienced racism . James did not have a good relationship with his step father and him being a preacher only became harder. At some point in James life he knew he wanted to be a writer ....
...How music affects change:
A character analysis of the protagonist in “Sonny’s Blues”.
Music is a powerful language that speaks to many of us. It has the ability to transport us to a place and time in our lives with just hearing a single note or noise. Music can be more than what we traditionally think of it. It can be the sound of a voice or the slamming of a door. It is emotional, thought evoking and has therapeutic properties. Every song affects each one of
us differently. We will find out what effects music has on Sonny, as we explore how music effects change for him as he struggles with drug addiction and as he builds a relationship with his older brother in James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”.
As we begin the story, we are immediately introduced to the inciting moment when Sonny’s brother reads of Sonny’s arrest for the first time. Baldwin sets the tone for the story by reading the newspaper article on the subway in the faces of the other passengers, the swinging lights while he is “trapped in the darkness which roared outside.” (96). Baldwin uses the darkness as ominous music to let us know that something is waiting for him. As Baldwin moves forward and we find out about Sonny using heroin, we also get to the end of the narrators work day. “When the last bell rang, the last class ended, I let out my breath. It seemed I’d been...
...James Baldwin's essay &Sonny's Blues& is a story of the struggle of a jazz musician, Sonny, growing up in the harlem renaissance.
It is told by the musician's brother who takes Sonny into his own home after being released from heroin rehabilitation.
The story examines Sonny's path as a musician but has an underlying theme of the suffrage and attempted escape of Harlem residents at this point in history.
justifies Sonny's drug habit by showing empathy for his struggle to obtain creative relief.
Sonny's life revolved around finding an outlet for his creative energy.
This was the root of sonny's addiction to not only music, but also heroin.
Sonny's parents died before his highschool graduation and with his brother overseas in the military, he was forced to stay at his aunt Isabel's house tempted only by the piano in her possession.
Sonny shares his interest to join the military to escape Harlem's high school and contests, &I ain't learning nothing you'd want me to learn.& (P.61)
hinting at his early heroin use, but still unmoving his brother.
When Sonny moves in, &it wan't like living with a person at all, it was like living with sound &
as he obsessively played Isabel's piano it became evident, &Sonny was at that piano playing for his life.& (Baldwin P.62).
Sonny's highly addictive personality is clear...
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