The Importance Of Listening In Sonny's Blues

Listening to Jazz for the Soul
Jazz is widely regarded as one of the most influential types of music in American History. Since it’s formation, jazz has represented the literal sound of freedom for many African Americans. James Baldwin’s “Sonny's Blues,” tells the coming of age story about a young man named Sonny and his life as an aspiring jazz musician. To become one of the great jazz musicians Sonny must focus on listening to those around him including his older brother. Ironically the person he struggles to listen to the most, his brother, is the narrator of the story. Freedom is also a key messages in Jazz music and is why it is able to relate to a topic like democracy that seems to different to possibly be related. Sonny's blues discusses listening and suffering as major themes but also demonstrates how listening represents the way Jazz is symbolic of democracy.
Sonny’s brother makes a promise to his mother that he will always be there …show more content…
Sonny’s is not free when the story begins because he is under the watchful eye of his brother. In order to get this freedom he rebels which gets him into his share of trouble. As the story progresses he is able to achieve his own freedom by turning to Jazz music. Even though it is against his brother's wishes Sonny is able to turn his life around by listening to the positive influences around him. Even his brother visiting him at the club showed how his brother had started listening to what Sonny was saying. It also showed that he realized Sonny would have his own dreams and aspiration and he could only help point him in the right direction, but could not outright tell him what to do. In the end, Sonny's success comes not due to the instruction from his brother but because of his own desires to make a change in his life. Sonny is able to turn his life around through jazz music and free himself from his troubled