Analysis of Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin

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Analysis of Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin

In the story of “Sonny’s Blues,” by Baldwin, the beginning of the story finds Sonny’s brother on his way to work reading about Sonny’s predicament. Sonny got arrested for “peddling and using heroin.” He didn’t want to believe that his brother was in trouble. While teaching his algebra class he was thinking about the past. He remembered when he first suspected his Sonny of using Heroin. He was always under the impression that Sonny was, “wild, but he wasn’t crazy. And he’d always been a good boy.” So he refused to believe that his brother was in trouble and needed him.

He did not write to Sonny until his daughter died. After Sonny’s incarceration he offered Sonny a place to stay. Their first night together was filled with anxiety because o...

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