To listen is to make an effort to hear something: to be alert and ready to act upon. By listening we learn new ideas and express care for one another. Sonny’s Blues, written by James Baldwin, is a short story presented by the Narrator, that explains the survival of two brothers, trying to get through the horrors of Harlem. The narrator’s brother, Sonny, has been arrested for distributing and using heroin. The narrator, in denial about the suffering he has become accustomed to in Harlem, can deny it no more after the literal and metaphoric death of his daughter, grace, and only finds salvation after listening to and comprehending his brother Sonny’s music. Through listening, the narrator can finally recover grace once again. The beginning …show more content…
reflects Sonny’s imprisonment both by a jail cell and drugs. This act begins the narrator's shift in thought and acts upon change. The Narrator’s ignorance to the horrors of growing up poor in Harlem and his inability to attain the american dream, reflects how he doesn’t have grace. Sonny talks of suffering, and the narrator listens, but can’t understand the deeper meaning of it. The death of his daughter, Grace signifies the loss of both metaphorical and physical grace, and when the Narrator finally reaches out to his brother, he can regain it back again. The narrator’s ignorance to the darkness of Harlem leads him to think he has the american dream. By growing up in the horrors of Harlem, the narrator has become accustomed to this lifestyle and creates a blindness to his suffering. “These boys, now,, were living as we’d been living then, they were growinng up with a rush and their heads bumped abruptly against the low cieling of their actual possibilities”. Harlem is a place of a low ceiling of expectations, the boys that live there have worth, but because of where they live, they turn angry, hard. To escape the darkness for the narrator is to learn to listen. The narrator has a college level education and strongly believes he has life “figured out” and has no need to listen to anyone else but himself. Baldwin writes, “ Some escaped the trap, most didn’t. Those were got out always left something of themselves behind, as some animals amputate a leg and leave it in the trap. It might be said, perhaps, that I had escaped, after all, I was a school teacher, or that Sonny had, he hadn’t lived in Harlem for years”. This quote depicts the thought that the narrator had escaped the horrors after all, but in actuality his ignorance shows in the thought that he left physically but not mentally. The narrator is stuck in this state of denial, in the darkness until his daughter dies. Before the mother of Sonny and the narrator die, she makes the narrator promise to stay with Sonny and be there for him.
The narrator took this as to be the father of sonny and care for him in that perspective. She states “If anything happens to me he ain’t going to have nobody to look out for him”. When she eventually dies, the narrator cannot keep his promise and Sonny is left on his own. Finally, when Grace dies, the narrator goes to Sonny for help. A connection is made when, after Sonny is left out of jail and they can finally comprehend each other, and sort out each other’s problems. The narrator has been suffering for as long as he’s been in Harlem and after Grace’s death. The difference is that he’s been in denial about his suffering the entire time. Baldwin writes: “He didn’t answer me and he wouldn’t look at me. “Sonny, you hear me?”. He pulled away. “I hear you”. “But you never hear anything I …show more content…
say” The quote is explaining the struggle of listening for the narrator and how Sony can never get his point across due to his problem.
He denies that he is suffering because he believes he has no reason to listen to anyone else. That because he has the “american dream” that he has achieved all there is to life, when in reality he is suffering because of this. Through many failed attempts, Sonny tries to persuade the narrator that if he could just listen, he can avoid his suffering and not be alone. To be together could eventually lead to the full achievement of grace. Once Grace dies, he finally accepts that he is suffering and can open up to Sonny and listen. This is a pivot point in the narrator’s perspective and can finally be free of suffering. In Sonny’s point of view, it’s the violence and drugs that creates his horrors. “And he’s always been a good kid but, he hadn’t ever turned hard or evil or disrespectful, the way kids can, so quick especially in
Harlem”. The narrator denials of his own suffering develops through of the loss of his daughter both metaphorically and physically. “I think I may have written Sonny the very day that little Grace was buried. I was sitting in the living room in the dark, by myself, and I suddenly thought of Sonny. My trouble made his real.” Her death is the reason why the narrator goes back to Sonny after their separation. Grace’s death is a pivot point for the narrator because he finally returns to Sonny and can open up to listening. Before her death, the narrator feels he has the upper hand of life in Harlem; that he has the american dream, and doesn’t fall into suffering. His ignorance makes him susceptible to the horrors of Harlem. Grace’s death is what makes the narrator see that he is suffering and is open to make change. This is the first steps of the Narrator regaining his grace. In this, he also realizes that when god is gone we suffer. Once the narrator opens up to listening, he can no longer deny his suffering. When Sonny and the Narrator sit down to discuss Sonny’s future, they comprehend each other’s issues and some to a conclusion. “You’re my brother” he said, looking straight at me, but not smiling at all. Yes, I repeated. I understand that” This quote is the narrator trying to communicate that no matter what, the narrator now knows how to listen and will in the future. When his mother made him promise to take care of Sonny, she wanted to communicate that he should be there FOR Sonny, not parent him. When the narrator says “I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time of time or forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence-so long!-when he had needed human speed to help him”. This is where the narrator realizes what his mother meant by “be there for Sonny” and that he should’ve been around to listen-not so much talk to him. This forces the narrator to see that he is suffering just as much as Sonny is, before and after the death of Grace/grace. Finally, because the narrator can see he’s suffering, will be able to comprehend listening through Sonny’s music. Grace is once again regained to the narrator when he listens and comprehends Sonny’s music. When the narrator goes to the Jazz club for Sonny’s performance, there is a major step being taken for their relationship. They finally understand that they have each other to support and care for and have regained that connection they lost long again. The Narrator states “it brought something else back to me and carried me past it, I saw my little girl again”. By listening to Sonny’s music the Grace that was lost has now been returned to the narrator. This is also where the cup of trembling comes into account. Sonny drinks from the cup of trembling which in the bible references that you live without sin. Back in Harlem, Sonny is the centerpiece of grace and it has been restored. All the wrate has been taken away which gives salvation to all. Sonny has taken all the sins onto himself and all the pain and fury and it diminishes. The narrator has finally regained his grace back, just like the cup of trembling for Sonny. Despite all the suffrage the Narrator goes through, by listening to Sonny’s music he has regained his grace and know knows that Sonny will be fine on his own. The narrator can now be at peace knowing that Sonny is not alone anymore and can't fulfill his mother’s promise. Sonny, in conclusion, represents Jesus Christ for taking away all the pain and fury and getting rid of wrathe. He also carries the word of Christ through his music. By listening to Sonny, the narrator comprehends that listening is the hard part and listening ends suffering. After the metaphorical and physical loss of Grace, it is regained by comprehending Sonny’s music. Then, in turn, listening can end suffering.
Grace, who was the narrator’s daughter died from a battle with polio. After Grace’s death, the narrator begins to realize how much darkness there was in Sonny’s life, Therefore, he realized that he lost his own grace for not helping Sonny deal with his problems and breaking a promise he made with his mother before her death. This would bring up another biblical reference which was from the story of “The Fall”. Baldwin constantly uses this source throughout Sonny’s Blues as he uses the verb “to fall” lots of times. The Narrator would have flashbacks of Sonny when he was learning how to walk. When Sonny walked to the narrator, the narrator caught him “before he fell when he took the first steps he ever took in this world” (Baldwin, 128). These flashbacks would serve as a reminder to the narrator of a brother’s role to protect his brother from falling, which were a duty and a promise made by his mother that the narrator failed to keep. This would bring us back to Grace where the term, “fall” is used again to describe Grace’s death. Grace’s fall would haunt the narrator as it serves as a reminder of “Sonny’s fall and his own fall from Grace for ignoring the promise that he made to his mother not to let Sonny fall” (Tackach,
Sonny has had to deal with many troubles in life, and he turns to drugs for release, but this is just another one of his problems. Sonny is not very old when his
Sonny’s Blues written by James Baldwin appears to suggest that family and faith are important aspects in someone’s life and that each person has a different way of dealing with their own demons. The author writes with an expressive purpose and narrative pattern to convey his message and by analyzing the main characters, the point of view of the narration, the conflict in the story and the literary devices Baldwin utilizes throughout his tale, his central idea can be better understood.
As "Sonny's Blues" opens, the narrator tells of his discovery that his younger brother has been arrested for selling and using heroin. Both brothers grew up in Harlem, a neighborhood rife with poverty and despair. Though the narrator teaches school in Harlem, he distances himself emotionally from the people who live there and their struggles and is somewhat judgmental and superior. He loves his brother but is distanced from him as well and judgmental of his life and decisions. Though Sonny needs for his brother to understand what he is trying to communicate to him and why he makes the choices he makes, the narrator cannot or will not hear what Sonny is trying to convey. In distancing himself from the pain of upbringing and his surroundings, he has insulated himself from the ability to develop an understanding of his brother's motivations and instead, his disapproval of Sonny's choice to become a musician and his choices regarding the direction of his life in general is apparent. Before her death, his mother spoke with him regarding his responsibilities to Sonny, telling him, "You got to hold on to your brother...and don't let him fall, no matter what it looks like is happening to him and no matter how evil you get with him...you may not be able to stop nothing from happening. But you got to let him know you're there" (87) His unwillingness to really hear and understand what his brother is trying to tell him is an example of a character failing to act in good faith.
According to his brother, who narrates "Sonny's Blues," Sonny was a bright-eyed young man full of gentleness and privacy. "When he was about as old as the boys in my classes his face had been bright and open, there was a lot of copper in it; and he'd had wonderfully direct brown eyes, a great gentleness and privacy. I wondered what he looked like now" (Baldwin 272). Something happened to Sonny, as it did to most of the young people growing up in Harlem. His physical journey growing up in the streets caused a great deal of inner turmoil about whom he was and what kind of life he was to have. One thing for sure, by the time his mother died, Sonny was ready to get out of Harlem. " 'I ain't learning nothing in school,' he said. 'Even when I go.' He turned away from me and opened the window and threw his cigarette out into the narrow alley. I watched his back. 'At least, I ain't learning nothing you'd want me to learn.' He slammed the window so hard I thought the glass would fly out, and turned back to me. 'And I'm sick of the stink of these garbage cans!' " (Baldwin 285).
In James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues", the verb, to listen, is employed many times in varying contexts. This theme is developed throughout the story as the narrator learns to listen more closely to the aural stimuli (or sounds) which enter his ears. In order to understand the narrator's heightened degree of perception as it unfolds in "Sonny's Blues", it is necessary to begin with a thorough discussion of hearing and listening in general, and then as they relate to the story.
The central characters in "Sonny's Blues" afford one another a place in which to suffer. The relationships between these brothers and their mother reveal the ways in which family members allow each other moments of weakness in order to access and resolve personal grief. By allowing one another to suffer, the pain becomes easier to bear. They gain a sense of empathy that helps them to face the life ahead of them. The narrator feels "for the first time, how the stones of the road she had walked on must have bruised her feet" (439). It is this feeling of companionship that pushes these characters forward against the trouble.
In conclusion, Sonny’s Blues depicts the love of a brother through the narrator, who at the beginning was disengaged, unsupportive, and emotionally distant. However, the turning point was when Grace died. This triggered a great turmoil of feelings that overflowed the narrator leading him to a major and impacting change. Instead, he turned into being involved, supportive, understanding, honest, and accepting of his brother Sonny; regardless of the reality that there was no guarantee his pain would not consume his life.
Several passages found throughout "Sonny's Blues" indicate that as a whole, the neighborhood of Harlem is in the turmoil of a battle between good and evil. The narrator describes Sonny's close encounters with the evil manifested in drugs and crime, as well as his assertive attempts at distancing himself from the darker side. The streets and communities of Harlem are described as being a harsh environment which claims the lives of many who have struggled against the constant enticement of emotional escape through drugs, and financial escape through crime. Sonny's parents, just like the others in Harlem, have attempted to distance their children from the dark sides of their community, but inevitably, they are all aware that one day each child will face a decisionb for the first time. Each child will eventually join the ranks of all the other members of society fighting a war against evil at the personal level so cleanly brought to life by James Baldwin. Amongst all the chaos, the reader is introduced to Sonny's special secret weapon against the pressures of life: Jazz. Baldwin presents jazz as being a two-edged sword capable of expressing emotions like no other method, but also a presenting grave danger to each individual who bears it. Throughout the the story, the reader follows Sonny's past and present skirmishes with evil, his triumphs, and his defeats. By using metaphorical factors such as drugs and jazz in a war-symbolizing setting, Baldwin has put the focus of good and evil to work at the heart of "Sonny's Blues."
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...
"Sonny's Blues" is filled with examples of music and how it makes things better. The schoolboy, the barmaid, the mother, the brother, the uncle, the street revivalists, all use music to create a moment when life isn't so ugly, even though the world still waits outside and trouble stretches above. Music and the tale it tells provide hope and joy; instead of being the instrument of Sonny's destruction, introducing him to the world of drugs, music is his way out of some of the ugliness. For Sonny and the other characters in this story, music is a bastion against the despair that pervades stunted lives; it is the light that guides them from the darkness without hope.
I feel having Sonny's brother narrate the story in the first person is Baldwin's way of telling us that Sonny's brother is also suffering but inside, unlike Sonny who takes drugs and sings the blues. Sonny's ...
“Sonny’s Blues” is written after the brother discovers what happened to his uncle, his talk with his brother, and his future reunion. The story is not progressive but rather collective. The brother has all the information and then he composes the story. By doing this, the reader has the ability to understand the plot more completely. The reader can see how the discovery of his uncle relates to his care for his brother. It also shows how the death of Gracie leads the brother to realizing the importance of family. “And I didn’t write Sonny or send him anything for a long time. When I finally did, it was just after my little girl died.” (Baldwin 52) Although the events take place during different times, Baldwin portrays the events as if they were happening at the same time. As a result, the brother can emphasize more on the content of the events and their relationship to one another, rather than their sequence or causality. This would be impossible and dulled if the brother did not have selective omniscient information of the past, present, and
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
... the miserable life that African Americans had to withstand at the time. From the narrator’s life in Harlem that he loathed, to the drug problems and apprehensions that Sonny was suffering from, to the death of his own daughter Grace, each of these instances serve to show the wretchedness that the narrator and his family had to undergo. The story in relation to Baldwin possibly leads to the conclusion that he was trying to relate this to his own life. At the time before he moved away, he had tried to make a success of his writing career but to no avail. However, the reader can only be left with many more questions as to how Sonny and the narrator were able to overcome these miseries and whether they concluded in the same manner in the life of Baldwin.