Sonny's Blues Thesis

Environment influences life choices, actions, emotions, and much more. Those influences can either be positive or negative. Two people can grow up in the same environment but are impacted in different ways. James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” takes place in Harlem, NY. The short story shows the narrator, who remains nameless, experiencing numerous of emotional struggles. It is a very emotional story, presenting many endeavors. A few being the narrator’s brother suffering from drug addiction, multiple family deaths, and deteriorating relationships. Though there are troubling times, “Sonny’s Blues” is a very heartwarming story.
The story begins with the narrator on the subway heading to work. He works as an algebra teacher at his former high school. While on the subway he is reading the morning paper where is he presented with his brother’s name. Sonny, who is the narrator’s little brother, is arrested for using and selling heroin. “A great block of ice got settled in my belly and kept melting there slowly all day long (74),” is how the narrator explained his emotional state. The brothers haven’t spoken in over a year. Many things contribute to the brothers separating, such as their age

gap, their parents’ death, and Sonny’s drug addiction. The news about Sonny is mortifying, confusing, upsetting, and somehow, he felt responsible for what has taken place.
The feelings the narrator felt earlier never left throughout the day.

At the end of the workday, one of Sonny’s friends is standing around outside. He doesn’t care too much for the friend of Sonny but always puts up with him. He gives him money whenever the friend asks, and sometimes has conversations with him. The two began talking about Sonny being in the paper and his decisions, that “block of ice” the narrator described earlier is back and has worsened. The friend, who also remains nameless goes to say, “…when I saw the paper this morning, the first thing I asked myself was if I had anything to do with it. I felt sort of responsible (76).” Although there were probably many reasons Sonny began using heroin, at the time he was old enough to make the right

decision.
Suddenly, the narrator’s three-year-old daughter, Grace, dies from polio. This is the turning point in the story. Currently, Sonny is in rehab and the brothers still have not spoken for some time. Grace’s death forces the narrator to write Sonny. Sonny eventually gets out and goes to live with his brother, his wife, Isabel, and their two sons. The taxi ride back to the house, started off gawky with small talk.
At that moment the narrator has a flashback and begins to think about their parents. Both of their parents died when they were younger. Their father passed away a few years before their mother did. He described their father as an alcoholic, “big and rough and loud-talking (81).” Their father, in fact, died from one drunken night. Sonny and their father always butted heads but were so much alike. Their dad argued with Sonny because he wanted what was best for him. However, Sonny became just like him, instead of drinking he used heroin.
Sonny’s Blues is not just about Sonny and his trails, it is also about the narrator. The story is told from his point of view. We’re seeing everything through his eyes, we’re seeing his emotions, but at the same time, we’re seeing Sonny’s as well.