In Sonny’s Blues by Sherman Alexie, Sonny is underprivileged as an AfricanAmerican
living in Harlem during the preJim Crow era, but his love for jazz music helps him connect
more to different aspects of his life his family, his community, his cultural history, and his
ownself.
When Sonny’s brother finds out that Sonny wants to be a jazz musician, he does not feel
at ease. He wants Sonny to finish school and get a decent job, not for him to go for a career that
does not have high prospects. Out of concern for Sonny, he tries to persuade him to continue
with school, but Sonny argues that he does not learn anything there and that jazz music is his true
calling. Sonny moves in with Isabel and he realizes that he is actually seen as a bother because of
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his music.
No one in his family seems to understand his love for jazz music, but this changes
when Sonny invites his brother to the nightclub where he plays. As Sonny’s brother watches the
performance, he sees how amazing jazz is and finally understands Sonny. He understands what
Sonny is trying to communicate with his music, “He made it his: that long line, of which we
knew only Mama and Daddy (60).” With this Sonny and his brother bonded, and they did not
have to talk to each other. Sonny communicated through his music in a way talking could never
do. Jazz also made Sonny’s brother aware that “the world waited outside as a hungry tiger, and
that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky (61).” He feels as though he is in lost in jazz,
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and that the cruel “hungry” world outside contrasts with the safe haven that they are currently in.
Any trouble that Harlem has to offer them is “above” them. Through this, his brother had a
deeper understanding of jazz and why Sonny enjoyed it so much. Through this, Sonny’s brother
was able to open his eyes to the beauty of jazz and how it can enrich the spirit.
Jazz music has a whole community in Harlem. Playing jazz would need a whole band
of people who are willing to listen to each other and play. Communication is key when it comes to playing jazz. “He was waiting for Sonny to do the things on the keys which would let Creole know that Sonny was in the water (59).” Jazz music causes them to be feel connected to each other in order to able to play well. Creole also gives Sonny a sense of power, which he did not seem to feel anywhere else. “He made the little black man on the drums know it, and the bright, brown man on the horn (60)”. Everyone on stage is connected to each other through music they love. In this community, Sonny feels connected. He feels in control, but also on the same square with everyone else. In addition, they all live in Harlem, where poverty is abundant. They all share similar backgrounds and through jazz are able to communicate their feelings. Sonny feels closer to his community through finding jazz. The 1950s was the preJim Crow era. AfricanAmericans were still being suppressed despite efforts to move up. The family lived in a predominantly AfricanAmerican city with high poverty rates. Here children grew up already knowing their fate, “if he knows too much about what’s happened to them, he’ll know too much too soon, about what’s going to happen to him (49).” The narrator of the story also knows this, stating “All they knew were two darknesses, the darkness of their lives which was now closing in on them, and the darkness of the movies, which has blinded them to that other darkness, (30)” The boys in the algebra class are all from Harlem. Nguyen 3 The narrator is inferring that they live in some of the worst conditions, and the darkness is getting worse as they age because they are about to leave their childhood and go out into the real world, where their limits due to poverty and race are tested. The narrator uses the movie example in order to show that the boys used the darkness of movies as an excuse to feel better about their own dark lives. The inhabitants of Harlem know that because of where they are situated, it is not going to easy to make it up the social ladder, if at all. Sonny’s brother, despite his efforts to persuade his brother to go into a profession with better prospects, contradicts this because he himself has a degree and a job as an algebra teacher, yet he does not live far from where he did when he was a child. It is not a privilege to be black at this time in America because moving up is almost impossible. However, jazz is something that Sonny takes pride in. Why does he? Jazz music originated from slave music and became popular. It was started by AfricanAmericans. It does not feel human to be denied rights and prejudiced by others. Jazz was something Sonny felt proud of. Jazz showed his background and what the AfricanAmerican community is capable of. Moving up the social ladder is hard but at least Sonny has something to be proud of, and he immerses himself in it to forget the prejudices outside of that nightclub. Being in the late teens means lots of decision making. Sonny has chosen jazz because he felt like that was his true calling. Sonny is already trapped, trapped by his brother’s wishes, trapped by his skin color, trapped by his class. Jazz allows Sonny to break free of these chains. Jazz allows him to take control, “
From the first lines of the story the reader gets the impression that Sonny’s brother tries to block out, ignore the truth about his brother and his troubles. The reaction the character has to the newspaper article about Sonny was: “It was not to be believed and I kept telling myself that” (Baldwin 292). At this stage his relations with the younger brother remind of the way a teacher walks across the playground full of potentially troubled kids “though he or she couldn’t wait to get out of that courtyard, to get those boys out of their sight and off their minds” (Baldwin 293). Having some suspicions concerning Sonny’s ...
...school. Under those circumstance, Sonny’s brother disprove the idea of being a musician. Therefore, even though narrator did not support Sonny dreams in the end he did accomplish his dream as a musician. Although the relationships are based on different events, it shows the same point that both narrator did have loves for their daughter Emily and Sonny. As a final point view family member was not be able to support cause of lack of circumstances in the family.
Throughout the story, the narrator learns how important it is to Sonny for him to care and listen to him. Sonny is vulnerable and in a state where he is getting into trouble with drugs and alcohol perhaps because he feels as though no one cares enough to help him. The narrator lives his life as a teacher while Sonny spends his days using drugs hoping someday to pursue his dreams of music. Both characters end up in a place they are meant to be; acting as family and leaning on each other for support, which is the true importance of an older brother.
The narrator's disapproval of Sonny's decision to become a musician stems in part from his view of musicians in general. His experiences with musicians have led him to believe that they are unmotivated, drug users, seeking only escape from life. He does not really understand what motivates Sonny to play music until the afternoon before he accompanies Sonny to his performance at a club in Harlem. That afternoon, Sonny explains to him that music is his voice, his way of expressing his suffering and releasing his pent-up feelings.
A.Freewrite: I am going to write about the point of view used in Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues.” In James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues,” Baldwin does not use Sonny as the narrator but instead uses his brother. I believe Baldwin used the brother as the narrator to give to give readers the idea that Sonny and his brother do not communicate well with each other. While Sonny listens but does not speak, his brother speaks but does not listen. Baldwin uses the brother as the narrator to highlight the idea that Sonny’s addiction to heroin, love of jazz music, and his melancholy are associated to Sonny’s lack of voice as well as control over his own life.
The first moment music is introduced in the story is while the narrator is teaching at school. He has just learned of his brother arrest. He overhears a schoolboy whistling and it drowns out the “mocking and insular laughter of the other boys” (44). The narrator listens and is, for a moment, reminded of the fate that could meet his students; the same fate that met Sonny. He describes the whistling as “pouring out of him as though he were a bird” (44). It is innocent, pure, and drowns out the bitterness of his peers. It is reminiscent of a much younger Sonny. A Sonny that is still hopeful and still believes he can escape the demons that lurk in Harlem. The young schoolboy is creating this music to avoid and protect him from the dangers of his life, much like the way Sonny did in his younger years when he was playing for his life on Isabel’s piano.
With the narrator having a responsibility to take care of his brother, he consistently forces the fact that he wants his brother to be well off and not care about his passion in music. The older they got, the more they drove away from each other because of the fact the narrator becomes overly protective with Sonny, and uses a “tough love” strategy though it does not making any positive effect. After they took some time apart, they both realized they cannot emotionally make it in this world without one
...s to "let out the reins" as Creole does and recognize that his brother can do things by himself and as he chooses. Appropriately, Baldwin selects Sonny's music to show both his brother and the readers that no two people, even siblings, must agree on everything. Sonny's music tells Baldwin's audience what Richard had to learn "the hard way": Some questions have more than one right answer. Sonny and Richard will coexist more peacefully and enjoy a truly fulfilling relationship if Richard continues to let go of his need to change Sonny and accept him for who he is. Through a poignant and intimate family portrait, Baldwin urges us to tread a middle path in our relationships - a path of support at more of a distance than our hearts would often prefer.
And after supper he went back to the piano” -(pg577). This was when Sonny was living at the Narrators girlfriends house. This shows how much effort Sonny was putting into learning the piano. His determination to practice the piano every single day payed off by him accomplishing his goal of being a jazz pianist at the end of the story. For him to play the piano every hour of every day shows his commitment to the dream he has in life. “well, you may think it’s funny now, baby but it’s not going to be funny when you have to make your living at it., let me tell you that. I was furious because I knew he was laughing and I didn’t know why” -(pg574). This was said by the Narrator when he came home from war after his mother had died. This shows the obstacles that Sonny faces in trying to accomplish his dream because even his own brother doesn’t believe in it. He must be determined to make sure that he gets what he wants in his life. Determination is what led him to defy his brother’s opinion and to do what he wanted with his life. It’s this determination that is the light in Sonny’s life and one of the things that truly makes him
After discovering what has happened to Sonny, the narrator makes it seem as if he does not care and does not want interference in the life he has worked so hard to create. This is proven when the narrator discusses what has happened to Sonny with one of his brother’s friends. As shown through this quote, the narrator is not concerned about what has happened to his brother and believes it is not his responsibili...
He still buys him an alcoholic drink at the end of the story because, he has accepted his brother for who he really is. Harlem is the setting of this story and has been a center for drugs and alcohol abuse. The initial event in this story shows that Sonny is still caught in this world. Sonny says that he is only selling drugs to make money and claims that he is no longer using. In the story the brother begins to see that Sonny has his own problems, but tries to help the people around him by using music to comfort
The narrator allows Sonny to move into his apartment. By allowing Sonny to live with him he has allowed to trust him again. For example, the narrator explains, “The idea of searching Sonny’s room made me still. I scarcely dared to admit to myself what I’d be searching for. I didn’t know what I’d do if I found it. Or if I didn’t” (pg. 91). This shows how the narrator had the opportunity to search his brother’s room, but had the ability not to. Tension grew among brothers while living under one roof. This starts the climax of both arguing in the apartment. The narrator doesn’t understand why his brother wants to be a musician. This argument was built of emotion both had and not yet discussed among each other. Such as the narrator expressing his anger towards his brother’s drug use and Sonny’s frustration towards the narrator not understanding his plan to become a jazz musician. For example, the narrator states, “I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time or forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence – so long! – when he had needed human speech to help him” (pg.94). The argument with his brother made him realize that he abandon his younger brother when he needed him the most. He realized that if he would have spoken out and talk about his drug use that he wouldn’t have to go
Though the African American community is much more progressive than it was, there are still bits and pieces of the old generation still echoing throughout the new generation. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a great literary example of how the old meets the new and actually parallels certain aspects of life for an African American in many different ways. From parents and previous generations letting siblings know it is their responsibility to look out for one another, especially for the youngest of the bunch, to not fully having the support to chase your dreams because it is not viewed as practical enough are all points that were made in Baldwin’s piece of fiction that are still prevalent today. Though much progress has been made since the days of oppression, oral tradition never dies.
...xperience to watch his brother pour his soul onto the keys of the piano. At this point he realized that he had entered “Sonny’s world. Or, rather: his kingdom” (Baldwin 229). It was then that the narrator realized that this is exactly what Sonny had needed all along, an open ear to hear his blues.
Society is made up of individuals – individuals with passions, dreams, fears, and regrets. The society where Sonny existed was hell to say the very least. They lived in the shadow of two wars: one where both brothers served for their country and the one that each man must fight from within. Both brothers survived the Second World War but no one knows the outcome of the wars that rage inside. The Second World War caused people grief and suffering but I think that both brothers experienced more pain with their internal conflicts. And they were mere reflections of what was happening at every urban black American house hold. Sonny summed up what was happening in his life and in their society when he partly agreed with his brother when he said;