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Are The Advantages Of Suffering In Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

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Throughout the story “Sonny’s Blues,” James Baldwin presents the struggles and disadvantages of living in Harlem, New York. Harlem was recognized for being a poor and a violent neighborhood by that time. In this story, the unnamed narrator discusses how he was unable to avoid suffering. From the death of his little daughter to Sonny’s heroin addiction to the tragical death of his uncle, and the lack of opportunities while living in Harlem. “Sonny’s Blues” is about the suffering and the segregation the community faced, specially the unnamed narrator and Sonny. The narrator argues how segregation affected his relationship with Sonny as a way to show the suffering they experienced. The story confirms that the neighborhood, school, and social life influenced Sonny to used drugs. Sonny could not escape from Harlem even when he wanted to due to being held back by the situation. “These boys, now were living as we’d been living then, they were growing up with a rush and their heads bumped abruptly against the low ceiling of their actual possibilities’’(814). The narrator tries to explain the pain and suffering of having …show more content…

“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, and he wrote me back a letter which made me feel like a bastard” (818). The narrator did not get in touch with Sonny for several months, until he undergoes the death of his little girl. The suffering from the death of this girl forced the narrator to understand Sonny’s dilemma. This situation encouraged the older brother to keep in constant communication with Sonny. As a way to reconnect with his brother’s passion for music. The distress is emphasized these characters faced is shown throughout the entire story. The narrator had to deal with several hardships in order to obtain empathy for his brother

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