1. Who is the main character (protagonist) in “Sonny’s Blues,” Sonny or the narrator? Are they equally important? In what way would the story be different if Sonny was the narrator?
The main character in “Sonny’s Blues” is the narrator, serving as a storyteller recounting his life experiences and reflecting on his past. Though the narrator is the main character, Sonny is a central character acting as a motivating factor in the narrator’s life. Through the narrator's words it is evident that Sonny’s experiences have a direct impact on his feelings, the narrator sharing “I felt that ice in my guts again, the dread I’d felt all afternoon” (660). The narrator and Sonny are equally important, but they each have distinct roles. Sonny’s character is the driving force of the narrative, as readers delve into his battle with addiction and his experiences as a struggling musician. The narrator serves as a contrasting perspective as he uses Sonny’s feelings and experiences to understand his own, which provides readers with a look inside the
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The narrator also experiences a change at the end of the story, shifting from a brother who was struggling to understand his brother’s passion to a compassionate brother who understands the emotions that music evokes in his brother. The reason for their changes was Sonny’s musical performance. Through the performance Sonny is able to once again connect with music, and the narrator is able to see this connection and forms a new understanding of how his brother is able to express himself through music. The greatest change can be seen in the narrator, as his newfound understanding of his brother’s love for music allows him to bridge the emotional gap he once felt between himself and his brother voicing, “freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last”
From the very beginning of the tale, the sorrow is palpable through the unnamed narrator 's discovery of Sonny 's incarceration, and moreover through the atmosphere created by Mr. Baldwin. The most prominent message that can be deciphered and recognized in Sonny 's Blues is that the sadness and sorrow that one experiences in their life can bring about many obstacles but it can be countered and used for something greater by a search for understanding and acceptance. James Baldwin establishes this implication through the use of his characters; the narrator, Sonny, and the singer seen on the street. All these characters experience sorrow and sadness in their
The story is a first-person story that is narrated by Sonny ‘s brother who provides not only insight into their lives, but also the environment they lived in. The narrator addresses their storyline including the dark sides of his community although he does so with a lot of cautious. With the manner in which the narrator is narrating the story, it is clear that he has got some difficult time when he is expressing his ideas and emotions. The narrator writes after the death of her daughter where he is writing back to his brother.
Sonny is the narrator’s brother and the focus of the story. The narrator explains throughout the story that Sonny suffers from heroin and other drug addictions and the steps he takes to fight against those addictions. The narrator, who is Sonny's brother, experiences his own trauma as we later find out he struggles to cope with the loss of his daughter. This has made it hard for him to show emotion, even to his own family. Because of this lack of emotion, he ignores Sonny’s cries for help when it comes to drug addiction.
Despite never being given a name, the narrator is the only perspective we truly follow which itself is a pretty ironic aspect of the text since for a story so focused on musicality and the power of blues, we are placed in the standpoint of someone who seems to have the least understanding of it. The title already heavily implies which character’s struggles are to be focused on such as the difficulties of Sonny’s addiction and his codependent relationship with the music he utilizes to deal with them. Nonetheless out of all the characters, the one with the slightest amount of knowledge of the subject seems to be the key focal point. As a result of this, this lack of insight reflects how the narrator sees the music around him and the different approaches he takes in trying to communicate with his brother through his
Throughout the story of “Sonny’s Blues”, James Baldwin develops a theme that can still be related with today. The misunderstanding and lack of knowledge that the narrator experiences, about his brother, is something that many today feel, as their own family members are being prosecuted and they do not comprehend why. Within the story, there are numerous subtle ideas that are used to progress the story and theme along to the ending that is given. James Baldwin advances the theme of his story, that misfortune and anguish can be renovated into a unique art form, using characterizations, settings, and symbolisms. One of the main literary devices that is used to express the theme is characterization.
James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a short story depicting the relationship of two brothers, Sonny and an unnamed narrator. The story takes place in the project of Harlem, New York in the early 1950s. The narrator is a high school math teacher. His younger brother Sonny is a troubled musician struggling with his addiction to drugs. Before their mother dies, she asks the narrator promise to her he’ll look after his younger brother when she is gone.
In contrast, the narrator internalizes his feelings by repressing them as his father did after his brother passed away. As it was the relationship of their father and uncle, Sonny and his brother grew up in Harlem, a district replete with hopelessness and poverty. Yet each individual reacts to his environment in unusual ways. On the one hand, the narrator distances himself from his community in Harlem, including his brother Sonny. The narrator may love his brother but is in general judgmental of the direction of Sonny's life struggles and decisions.
When the narrator accompanies Sonny to the nightclub to listen to him play his music; Sonny’s music portrays his wisdom as he plays about his brother’s frustrations with the trials and sufferings they both endured. Sonny’s artful playing of the blues opens the narrator’s heart to listen genuinely. If one listens to what lies on the inside that is the key to finding oneself. Joseph Flibbert states in the article “Sonny’s Blues” Overview, “In the music he hears, he sees his mother’s face, and that of his little girl … The powerful incantations of Sonny’s art reaches his soul, and for the first time, he listens to the dark voice within”.
They both went through the same childhood, but handled it differently. The narrator was more mature and had set goals. While Sonny, fell into the depth of his feeling and influences. The narrator cares for his brother and feels as if he has failed him. While his brother feels like he could never truly explain anything to the narrator.
Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin was a short story about the struggles of living in a tough, rundown neighborhood and looking to drugs as a way out. Baldwin’s intent on writing this piece focuses on pain and suffering. The author stresses that not everybody is born in the best circumstances. Sonny was one of those people who grew up in a rickety town where people often did not make it out successful.
Sonny Blues Paul Pearshall once said “Our most basic instinct is not for survival but for family. Most of us would give our own life for the survival of a family member, yet we lead our daily life too often as if we take our family for granted”. In this story the conflict of responsibility takes place. A brother, who happens to be the narrator, blames his self for the events that takes place in his life, such as his brother sonny’s crack addiction. The Narrator feels responsible for his brother’s heroin addiction because he believed he shut his brother’s career goals down, felt as though he went against what his mother asked him to do, and because he chose not to believe that the way he treated his brother affected his brother life.
It is upon their reunion that the narrator, an algebra teacher, realizes how much his path has diverged from Sonny’s heartfelt blues. Yet, despite their different domains and interests, the narrator accompanies Sonny back to a bar and discovers the beauty of Sonny’s dream and the life contained within
In James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” the author uses Sonny’s struggle for a redeemed life to push the narrator toward the realization of his own need for rescue; through this realization, the narrator can find his identity and be free from his sadness. The narrator needs rescuing from himself. He hides behind a curtain of denial trying to protect himself from emotional reality. The narrator struggles to understand when and how Sonny began his troubles with drug addiction; he does not understand where he went wrong in being a role model for his younger brother. Now, years later the narrator is a school teacher who is trying to be a role model for the young boys in his class.
As Donald C. Murray has said in his article, “James Baldwin’s ‘Sonny’s Blues’: Complicated and Simple”, “Images of light and darkness are used by Baldwin… ( Murray 354)”. Also, Baldwin is able to tell a story that can make the reader visualize what is happening to this character Sonny, even though it is being narrated through the eyes and perspective of his older brother. He portrays the older brother as someone who can understand and recognizes the internal struggles of Sonny and be compassionate about them, even though the elder brother does not agree with all the life choices his brother has
In fiction, the narrator controls how the audience connects to and perceives the various characters in a story. A good author can manipulate the narration to connect the audience to certain characters and deepen the reader’s understanding of their conflicts. In “Previous Condition” and “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin illustrates themes of loneliness and isolation in the pursuit of finding a space that feels like home. Although this theme is clear in both stories, Baldwin is able to portray it very differently in each story through the relationship he allows the reader to the characters struggling with these feelings. While “Previous Condition” provides a more intimate relationship to the narrator, “Sonny’s Blues” is able to deliver an additional level of understanding by telling the story through Sonny’s brother, therefore disconnecting the reader in a way that forces him or her to share the characters’ feelings of isolation and confusion.