The internal conflict of Sonny vs. himself deals with Sonny’s addiction to the dangers of drugs. Studies have proven the fatal effects of drugs when abused. His frustrations were turned to the comfort of drugs as a temporary escape from reality. Another escape that he chose to his problems was the piano. Through music, Sonny was able to escape reality, if only for a second.
In the story, "Sonny's Blues", the narrator, who is Sonny's big brother struggles with the best way to help his brother. Both were raised in Harlem and lived within poverty. The narrator used his childhood struggles as a stepping stone to better himself and become a teacher for a high school. While Sonny became one of the many teens who fell into the drug world of the streets. The narrator's biggest conflict, in my opinion, is why did Sonny turn down such a dark path and how can he help his brother without judging the lifestyle he chose.
In "Sonny 's Blues," the narrator goes to see Sonny perform and finally starts to understand why Sonny needs to play jazz. The narrator expresses, "I saw my mother 's face again, and felt, for the first time, how the stones of the road she had walked on must of bruised her feet. I saw the moonlit road where my father 's brother died… I saw my little girl again and felt Isabel 's tears again, and I felt my own tears begin to rise" (Baldwin, 148). He feels an
The story Sonny 's Blues by James Baldwin (1957) investigates the topic of affliction experienced by Black Americans as people shackled by segregation, joblessness, lodging issues, tranquilize dependence, detainment and suicide. It includes the battle of two siblings isolated and got in the traps of time, space and beliefs. The anonymous Narrator who is moderately fortunate between the two kin battles to comprehend his self-destructive yet gifted sibling Sonny while the last discovers trouble in adapting up to the remarkableness that inundates him. Viable correspondence is vital in the tale of two siblings with various dreams in life where fierceness and anger may detonate at split seconds to put a conclusion to one dear existence of a wonder.
James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” tells the story of two brothers living in 1950s Harlem. The story depicts the relationship of the brothers as the younger brother, Sonny, battles to overcome a heroin addiction and find a career in jazz. In “Sonny’s Blues”, Baldwin’s shifting portrayal of Harlem mirrors the changing relationship of the two brothers: while both the city and the relationship were originally with dark uncertainty, by the end of the story, the narrator has begun to find peace both within his surroundings and his relationship with his brother. At the beginning of the story, before Sonny returns to Harlem, the narrator never describes his surroundings, only the people in them. He mentions that he is in the subway, a school, and
He’s mostly telling us Sonny's story, and this would seem to make him a peripheral character instead of a central one. But this is also his story. “Sonny’s Blues” is not just about Sonny's decisions and struggles but also about how they affect the narrator. This story is as much about family and brotherhood and the relationship between these two men as it is about the character of
Sonny’s mother was an important influence on Sonny. Believe it or not Homer was an important influence of Sonny also. Sonny was given inspiration from his mother and something to work against with his father. “To get out of here, you’ve got to show your dad you’re smarter than he thinks. I believe you can build a rocket.
Sonny and the narrator grew up in a neighborhood where it was far too easy to get into trouble. The new home is not like the house they grew up in physically, but the people, experiences, and community is what creates the feeling of sameness. He fears that Sonny will revert back to his old habits when he is immersed into this parallel environment, after being released from prison. Another setting that Baldwin artistically writes about is the nightclub Sonny sings at in the end of the story. Being out of his element, the narrator felt like foreigner in the club.
And Sonny fell into the stereotype of what a musician does by drinking and doing drugs. Sonny says, “I guess I was afraid of something or I was trying to escape from something and you know I have never been very strong in the head” (Baldwin 269). He explains how he tried to run from his problems but that he wasn't strong enough to do it on his own. They both choose different paths but they never got out of the ghetto Harlem. They couldn't leave because their past was holding them back no matter what they did they were stuck
Before the narrator gets married his mother asks him to help Sonny “and don’t let him fall, no matter what it looks like is happening to him and no matter how evil you gets with him” (Baldwin, 165). Yet time brings memories to a close and the narrator soon forgets his promise. On the subway he reads the paper to discover that Sonny was in jail but doesn’t immediately write him a letter. After the narrator’s daughter, Gracie, dies he writes a letter to Sonny. Sonny writes back and they continue to exchange letters until Sonny comes back to New York.