Small Group Activity about Listening in James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues”
Part 1: After reading all of “Sonny’s Blues,” let’s look closely first at several passages about listening
1. a. On p. 133, what does Sonny say about why a person has to listen to him/herself?
b. Paraphrase Sonny’s point. (Write it in your own words.)
2. a. On p. 134, what does Sonny say about the connection between listening and his use of drugs?
b. Paraphrase Sonny’s point. (Write it in your own words.)
3. On p. 131 and p. 133, the narrator makes decisions about how to best listen to Sonny.
a. On p. 131, write the passage in which the narrator makes a decision about how best to listen to
Sonny.
b. What is Sonny saying when the narrator makes these decisions?
c. How does the narrator think about responding?
d. How does the narrator, ultimately, choose to respond?
e. On p. 133, write the passage in which the narrator makes a decision about how best to listen to
Sonny.
f. What is Sonny saying when the narrator makes these decisions?
g. How does the narrator think about responding?
h. How does the narrator, ultimately, choose to respond?
i. What is it about how the narrator listens to Sonny on these pages that allows Sonny to say on p. 135,
“‘You’re my brother’”?
Homework:
1. What most interests you about this story? Respond in complete sentences.
2. Which brother’s transformation over the course of the story interests you more—the narrator’s or
Sonny’s? Why?
3. What is your favorite passage in the story? What do you think this passage says? Why is that
meaning important to you? How does that meaning relate to the story as a whole?
4. Write at least three questions that you’d like to discuss in class.