Ian Beshaler
Prof. Debby Moninger
Eng. 1020
April 20, 2013
The Death Instincts
Sigmund Freud once simplified the concept of human mortality by saying of
death, “ultimate escape from the sufferings and hardships which define human life and
reality”. I discovered this little quote while browsing a large list of Freud’s pseudoreligious beliefs in an attempt to apply them to Sonny’s Blues. What clicked in my brain
was the similarity in the way Freud viewed death to the way Sonny viewed his music, as
an escape, a release, a cure-all/end-all, sweet relief. James Baldwin explores this concept
of the ultimate permanence through an entrancing love in his short story Sonny’s Blues.
Sonny was a personification of Freud’s concept of death, sweet relief, relinquishing
control in order to gain control, and the belief that it’s all a battle of human instinct.
Before both Freud and Sonny could view death and psychological escape as a
good thing, before they could believe that an end could mean relief, they both had to
accept the human condition as an ailment of sorts. Sonny’s life was a difficult one to be
envious of, by all means. Life was tough, I know the feeling (although not to such a
serious degree) and I can relate to the feeling that the negatives in life can outweigh the
positives. I know that pain is essential to the experience of pleasure, but when pain
comes so often it’s tough to not think that pleasure is the one essential to feel the pain. A
tragic problem in the human psyche is the ability to get into a rut of sort, a rut that is
inescapable and in our minds grows deeper, Sonny thought that he would rather not see
how deep the rut got or if it ever grew shallower. Death and music are the only two ways
for Sonny to do stop digging the rut, unfortunately only one of the two choices are
permanent.
In addition to his attempts to escape the feelings of having lost his hope for
happiness outweighing sadness, Sonny tried to control his own humanity. Sonny’s
Heroine addiction was to him, nothing more than a device he could use to influence his
happiness. What started with the attempt to highlight the positives in life ended up
destroying many of the remaining good things in Sonny’s life. His attempt to control
overwhelming dread (fear of the human condition) Sonny gave sadness and negativity a
way to easily control him and in turn, worsened his outlook on mortality.
Freud held the belief that human nature was based on instinct, or at least guided
by instinct. There are a lot of instincts that come into play in the art of avoiding death,
but are there not instincts that come into play pulling us toward death, helping us come to
terms with it’s inevitability? I feel something in me that I must believe is instinct, I’m
hard pressed to think of something else that could seed these thoughts, that the ultimate
goal, the thing we all work for, is to be done with everything. Everything we do, we do
to finish, life included; some of these things we enjoy and some we dread, but inevitably
we are called to put everything to an end, life included. That being said, there is still an
uncertainty associated with death, a fear of the unknown that is the fuel for the instincts
within us that lead us to avoid death in most cases. Sonny can be simplified to a
prolonged battle between the instinct to die and the instinct to flee the unknown, a battle
that no matter what can only end one way, the instinct to die prevailing, and the end that
was always coming. Sonny’s addiction was his attempt to control death, to uncover the
unknown; his music was his realization of the inevitability of his defeat and his attempt to
stave off his own end. In a way, music allowed Sonny to flee his emotional state,
unfortunately he had to try less reputable means first (there has to be something juicy
happening).
Freud’s concept of death is not one that is easy to shape with words, it can at
times make complete sense while confusing beliefs you didn’t know you held. I believe
that human escapism, our hobbies, our gatherings, everything that occupies our time, it’s
all us trying to fight two different instincts fighting over what is really only one option,
finality. Sonny was an attempt to personify these warring instincts, he was controlling
his fate by handing control to a drug, and he came to terms with his mortality by fighting
it. Sonny is a paradox, a paradox that is at the root of all human action, a paradox that
will be broken for all of us at the end of our days.
Citations
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N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
"Freudian Psychoanalysis as Literary Criticism" 26 March 2003. Web. 21 April. 2013.
http://www.academon.com/analytical-essay/freudian-psychoanalysis-as-literarycriticism-25369/
"Freud Quotes." Freud Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
Moore, Joseph. "Freudian Analysis of Sonny in Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”." Joseph
Moores Writing Portfolio. N.p., 27 Nov. 2011. Web. 20 Apr. 2013.
"Sigmund Freud." About.com 20th Century History. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.
"Sigmund Freud Biography(1856-1939)." About.com Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 22
Apr. 2013.
"Sigmund Freud Quotes." About.com Psychology. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Apr. 2013.