Short story “Sonny's Blues,” written by author James Baldwin is a story about two brothers' broken relationship, the need for escape and redemption. Sonny's brother acts as the narrator, illustrating their relationship, as well as the emotional complications both music and drugs produce. Throughout “Sonny's Blues,” drugs and music create a disruption between the two brothers. The narrator is empowered by death and encouraged to seek solace in Sonny's actions and reaches out to him. While Sonny desires a way to escape and views music as a provider of that, his brother just wants him to make a "real" living. As the story continues, drugs are revealed to give Sonny a sense of delusion, a distance from reality and certainty/justification of his
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When the story begins, the narrator reads about his brother's arrest in the paper, which then causes old memories to resurface. "One boy was whistling a show tune, at once very complicated and very simple, it seemed to be pouring out of him as though he were a bird," (Baldwin 50) the narrator thinks to himself. Hearing the news of his brother has him seeing Sonny in the people he may have never seen him in before. The boy's whistling is natural and like a bird: complicated and simple. He ultimately sees Sonny in this little boy because he is whistling with his whole heart, the same way Sonny talked about or played music with his. As the narrator continues his journey home, he runs into an old friend of Sonny's and witnesses something that stirs anger and judgment inside him. "The jukebox was blasting away and I half watched the barmaid as she danced... One saw the little girl, one sensed the doomed, still-struggling woman beneath the battered face of the semi-whore." (Baldwin 51) During this scene, the narrator describes the music as "black and bouncy," (Baldwin 51) which is something he thinks with disgust. He watches the maid, dancing, seeming to be enjoying herself and those surrounding her, but he sees something the rest of them do not: a girl, who …show more content…
Because the narrator is so caught up on controlling his brother he does not see that to Sonny, music is an escape from the place he cannot seem to get away from, but he eventually does, because in the end, music transforms their broken relationship. Before the narrator leaves again for the army, he and Sonny have a discussion about his future. "All right, I'm ignorant. I'm sorry. I’ll go out and buy all the cat's records right away, all right?" (Baldwin 59) The fact that the narrator referred to his brother’s idol as “the cat’s” (Baldwin 59) highlights his blatant lack of care or respect towards his brother’s passion. He does not care about who Charlie Parker is, or what he is about. Saying "I'm ignorant," (Baldwin 59) and trying to make up for it by offering to buy his records is not his way of showing his support, but his way of letting Sonny know he is ignorant on the subject and has no intention whatsoever to obtain any knowledge on it. He then goes on saying, "I know how you feel. But if you don't finish school now, you're going to be sorry later that you didn't." (Baldwin 60) The worrying about him finishing school highlights his parental figure instead of him being a supportive older brother. He has no faith in his brother's ability to make money or make himself truly happy with being a musician. He thinks he knows how Sonny feels about music
When the story begins, the narrator reads about his brother's arrest in the paper, which then causes old memories to resurface. "One boy was whistling a show tune, at once very complicated and very simple, it seemed to be pouring out of him as though he were a bird," (Baldwin 50) the narrator thinks to himself. Hearing the news of his brother has him seeing Sonny in the people he may have never seen him in before. The boy's whistling is natural and like a bird: complicated and simple. He ultimately sees Sonny in this little boy because he is whistling with his whole heart, the same way Sonny talked about or played music with his. As the narrator continues his journey home, he runs into an old friend of Sonny's and witnesses something that stirs anger and judgment inside him. "The jukebox was blasting away and I half watched the barmaid as she danced... One saw the little girl, one sensed the doomed, still-struggling woman beneath the battered face of the semi-whore." (Baldwin 51) During this scene, the narrator describes the music as "black and bouncy," (Baldwin 51) which is something he thinks with disgust. He watches the maid, dancing, seeming to be enjoying herself and those surrounding her, but he sees something the rest of them do not: a girl, who …show more content…
Because the narrator is so caught up on controlling his brother he does not see that to Sonny, music is an escape from the place he cannot seem to get away from, but he eventually does, because in the end, music transforms their broken relationship. Before the narrator leaves again for the army, he and Sonny have a discussion about his future. "All right, I'm ignorant. I'm sorry. I’ll go out and buy all the cat's records right away, all right?" (Baldwin 59) The fact that the narrator referred to his brother’s idol as “the cat’s” (Baldwin 59) highlights his blatant lack of care or respect towards his brother’s passion. He does not care about who Charlie Parker is, or what he is about. Saying "I'm ignorant," (Baldwin 59) and trying to make up for it by offering to buy his records is not his way of showing his support, but his way of letting Sonny know he is ignorant on the subject and has no intention whatsoever to obtain any knowledge on it. He then goes on saying, "I know how you feel. But if you don't finish school now, you're going to be sorry later that you didn't." (Baldwin 60) The worrying about him finishing school highlights his parental figure instead of him being a supportive older brother. He has no faith in his brother's ability to make money or make himself truly happy with being a musician. He thinks he knows how Sonny feels about music