Sonny’s Blues
A short story in regards to 20th century AfricanAmerican Literature
Megan Cassidy
John Daley
Richie Sam
Aidan Dubeau
Biographical Info:
James Baldwin was born in 1942 in Harlem, New York. He grew up not ever knowing his biological father and was young
when his mother, Emma Berdis Jones, married David Baldwin. David was a factory worker and a preacher but the family
was relatively poor. James grew up in the Bronx and began preaching but found better interest in literature. His father
opposed his interest but James found support from his teacher and the mayor. James left his family at the age of seventeen
to Greenwich Village, a neighborhood known for its artistic environment. James would abandon his religious faith and focus
on writing, taking side jobs to support himself. He would then move to Paris in his 20s, sick of black and homosexual
discrimination in america, where he remained for most of his life.
James Baldwin was considered one of the greatest writers of his generation. Most of his writing focused on discrimination,
either sexual or racial, and human isolation to society caused by their abstract character. His most famous piece was an
autobiographical novel “Go to Tell it on the Mountain”. This novel denounces racism and the poor treatment of blacks during
the 1920s and was considered one of the literary masterpieces of that era . During his lifetime he participated in the civil
rights movement and published essays on race relations and the role of writers in society. He was internationally recognized
during and after his life and received numerous prestigious awards. Baldwin’s writings/short stories are still present in
college seminars and his name included in some college scholarship programs. Baldwin would die at the age of 23 to
stomach cancer in 1987 in Saint-Paul-De-Vence in southeastern France.
Historical Context and Setting:
The setting of the story takes place in a “predominantly black and poor neighborhood in Harlem” during the
early 1950s. Harlem was the place where the Harlem Renaissance took place, which was a time period during the
1920s and 1930s where art and culture thrived. The Harlem Renaissance was also a time period that included
cooperation and practically relationships between African Americans and Whites. Over the next couple decades
and into the 1950s (time of the story), Harlem started to die down and racism and segregation began to flourish
throughout the town. The story shows multiple examples of the hardships that African Americans experienced
such as the treatment they received by Whites. The father and mother struggle to raise a family in Harlem due to
the racist views of the North. The mother tries to encourage the father to move out of Harlem for more safety. The
father counterattacks with “Safe, safe hell! Ain't no place safe for kids, nor nobody!” Throughout the story the
narrator and his brother, Sonny, experience many difficult situations due to racism and segregation. When the
boys were growing up the circumstances barely improved, the boys remained in the “trappings of middle class life”
due to increasing racist views of African Americans and extreme segregation. As the narrator grows up he begins
teaching young students algebra and the first thing he notices is the similarity of the kids and himself. Both of them
were held back from success due to the threatening of Whites as well as the influence of drugs on their lives due
to the harsh conditions they were forced to live by. Unlike his brother, the narrator attempts to escape his
surroundings by joining the army, which was what most men were forced into, but later realizes this could have
been the worst decision of his life.
Images of Harlem
Literary Criticism:
In “Sonny’s Blues” the reader only sees Sonny through the eyes of the narrator, his brother. Yet
the narrator, also a teacher, seems to be more of a father than a brother to him and sees Sonny in
his students because he seems to struggle with the hopelessness in his life that he and the
narrator’s students can’t avoid. Sonny’s one hope is that he can become a musician, but this
dream is often looked down upon by his brother and this aggravates Sonny. But the narrator is
not the only one who is worried about Sonny. When he leaves his brother’s house to go live with
Isabel and her family they too do not appreciate or understand Sonny’s dream, but really just
endure it. Sonny wants so bad for the people close to him to just accept his dreams and to accept
him as who he is and not as the drug addict that he was. “Sonny has a radically different world
view than that of the narrator and Isabel’s family, who are frightened of the disorder, uncertainty,
and suffering his artistic nature represents. Sonny wants to confront his pain and those of others
like him, while the narrator wants to deny it” (Sonny’s Blues’ Lecture). Even though Sonny is the
one with the drug addiction, the narrator has an inner conflict of accepting Sonny for who he his
and forgetting his past.
Theme:
One theme in Sonny’s Blues is the obligation towards brotherly love. The narrator’s mother, by
charging him with watching over Sonny, is asking him to serve as his brother’s keeper. Since
their mother’s death, Sonny’s life has been ruined by prison and drug abuse. The tension between
the two brothers is so great that after one particular fight, Sonny tells his brother to consider him
dead from that point on. At first the narrator turns his back on Sonny, but later takes him in and
lets him live with him. The idea of brotherly love extends beyond the relationship between the
narrator and Sonny into the community as a whole. Harlem is plagued by drugs, poverty, and
frustration, but members of the community come together to watch over and protect one another.
Another important theme is how the narrator and Sonny endure suffering throughout the story. It
shows how different he and Sonny are and why it’s difficult for the narrator to understand Sonny.
While the narrator keeps his feeling of suffering to himself, Sonny prefers letting his feelings out
and expressing them through music. Although suffering is more immediately present for some
characters, it's a part of all of their lives.
Conflict:
Internal Conflict
-The Narrator vs. Himself
- The narrator has trouble letting go from his family
- His daughter passed away
- Broke a promise to his mother by not taking care of his brother as much as he could have
- Frustrated with himself for not being able to help his brother anymore
External Conflict
-Sonny vs. The Narrator
- The Narrator didn’t give Sonny enough attention prior to him being arrested
- Took time and the death of his daughter for the narrator to open up to Sonny again
- Narrator has trouble trying to help his brother
Summary:
The narrator of the story discovers that his little brother has been arrested for drug use and selling heroine. He
realizes that his students could end up like Sonny due to the hardships these children face in Harlem. The
narrator then notices a man waiting for him outside of the school and remembers him as one of Sonny’s friends
and they walk and talk about Sonny. However the narrator is displeased with how he is talking about Sonny.
The only time that the narrator writes to his brother is after his daughter, Grace, dies. Sonny replies with a long
explanation of why and how he ends up where he is. They keep in touch and when Sonny gets out of jail his
brother is waiting for him and brings him to his family’s apartment.
In an extended flashback he remembers the last day he saw his mother while on leave from the army, when she
tells him to watch out for his brother. She also tells him that when his father was young he watched his brother get
run down by a car full of white men, leaving his father traumatized for the rest of his life.
When the narrator goes back to the army he doesn’t think about Sonny a lot until his mother dies. After the funeral
they talk about Sonny’s dream of becoming a jazz pianist. However when he moves in with his brother and his
family they are not very appreciative of his dream and can’t bear the constant practicing.
Summary:
While Sonny moves out and lives with his sister in law he gets into some trouble in school. He also admits
to hanging out in Greenwich village with musicians. After two days he joins the navy and the narrator doesn’t
know if he is still alive until he receives a postcard from Grace. After the war the brothers return to New York but
don’t see each for some time. Eventually they meet and fight about Sonny’s life decisions. Sonny then tells the
narrator that he’s dead to him and the narrator walks out saying that Sonny will need his help later on and the
flashback ends.
After a few weeks of living together the narrator debates whether or not to search Sonny’s room. When Sonny
gets home he asks the narrator to go see his performance at a small jazz club where everyone respects and
knows Sonny. As they play he realizes how his brother struggles with the music and what Sonny is made of and
who he really is.
Much of the African American culture has to do with the literature from the past due to beliefs and ways they were
abused and convicted of things that whites weren’t with but only against the colored people. Literature also
reveals the hardships that blacks went through during the time of slavery and values that they had when they were
forced to do everything for the white man including them being accused of every small issue or social act towards
white women.
Works Cited:
1. ""Sonny's Blues" Lecture." "Sonny's Blues" Lecture. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
<http://cai.ucdavis.edu/uccp/sblecture.html>.
2. SparkNotes. SparkNotes, Web. 03 Feb. 2014. <http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/sonnys-blues>.