Literary Analysis Of Sonnys Blue's

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blue’s” makes great use of different literary devices throughout the story. The author utilizes conflict, symbolism, and the narrator’s point of view to give the story a deeper meaning and significance to the story. Sonny’s Blue’s is about an older brother’s relationship and differences with his younger brother, Sonny. Sonny’s ambition to become a jazz pianist points him into an opposite direction than his brother, and into a place where the common suffering is handled with drugs and music. The fundamental differences between these two brothers in their lack of understanding for each other and their gradual acceptance of one another, is presented and explained by their personal and social conflicts, what the symbolism casts upon the story,

The genre of jazz music was first born out of the woes and suffering of the then modern black society. Sonny’s brother on the other hand chose to be an algebra teacher; he was respected by the white culture and his teaching credential earned him the right to be accepted.
His aspiration to become an African American teacher implied that his desire was to hide from prejudice, unlike Sonny who really embraced his ethnicity and African American culture. An algebra teacher is very logical and structured by nature, whereas a musician is more free spirited and creative by nature. Those differences explain the wide gap between the left brain-ness brother and the right brain-ness Sonny, and why they have such a hard time understanding each other. One can definitely see why an African American would choose to become a teacher. Racism and discrimination was rough for African American’s during the 1950’s while growing up in Harlem. Many wanted better for themselves and their families, so they took a different and brighter path in their life. For some like Sonny, jazz and music represented freedom and a sense of escape from the agony of black poverty. He could not cope without it;