Preview

Sonny's Blues

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
745 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Sonny's Blues
There are many types of artists in this world, from musical artists to paint masters and everything in between, they all contain a unique and imaginative prospective that we common people could have never created. Artists produce this abstract kind of painting or music that can be perceived in many ways depending on the individual. A musician provides us with many elements in their music such as being their life story, different perceptions of their pieces, and the ability of healing the soul.
In "Sonny's Blues" the narrator's brother was talented in playing the piano later on we found out that is how he expresses his emotions. In the story, when Sonny was staying in Isabel house they “confessed that they were not living with a person, it
…show more content…
Like James Baldwin said “only an artist can tell and only an artist have told, since we have heard of man, what it is like for anyone that gets this planet, to survive it. What it is like to die, or to have somebody die, what it is like to fear death, what is it like to fear, what it is like to love, what it is like to be glad.” Music expresses the pain, suffering, love and all sorts of emotions that we cannot express but just normal verbal means. Artists talk about the depressing topics that we are afraid to talk about and express our inner emotions for us and give us a sense of relief that someone else can relate to us. In the revelation of the narrator at the end of the story he realized that of all the things he been through that there is still light at the end of the tunnel because he still have his brother, they are surviving and living.
The short story “Sonny Blues” express the benefits and life of an artist. An artist has the responsibility of catering to the people and making sure that they connect to your art piece. In Sonny’s story we learn how individuals connect to a musician. Sonny expressed his life story through his music, the audience relates to the music and an emotion is triggered in them, and at the end you experience hope because the music provided the light at the end of the dark tunnel that an individual is experiencing throughout

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    When Sonny left prison, He has found his freedom through music and he transformed his frustration of being only another unsafe black person in Harlem by playing Bebop. He remembers his father grunting to his mother whenever she wanted to move another neighborhood, looking for a safe haven, “Safe, hell! Ain’t no place safe for kids, nor nobody.” Therefore, Sonny, through music, has found the solution to his alienation and marginalization of his own society. By playing blues, he was able to reconnect with the African Diaspora, which represents his roots, and he was escaping the social problems of the ghetto. It was his only way to feel free. When Sonny plays blues, “freedom lurked around” them and the brother “understood, at last, that” the blues…

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    From the narrator’s mother sharing the story about his late uncle, to the devastation from losing their parents, to the amount of care the narrator has toward Sonny’s wellbeing, there is a constant theme of family. After the death of their father, the narrator’s mother tells him, “’You got to hold on to your brother,’ she said, ‘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. You going to be evil with him many a time. But don’t you forget what I told you, you hear?’” (Beiderwell, Wheeler 395). Their mother made it clear to the narrator that he is to look after his brother, which is exactly what he did. Although Sonny ended up in jail and/or rehab, his brother was there for him when he got out, took him into his home, and supported him when he asked him to come what him play the piano in a blues…

    • 1349 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Sonney Blues

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In Sonny's Blues, the narrator is self-reflecting his experiences with various family members such as his mother and his younger brother, Sonny. Sonny and the narrator are brothers with a 7 year difference between them. The narrator was disappointed with Sonny at first due to his interest in becoming a musician. He thought it was a phase he was Sonny was going through and maybe it would pass. The narrator patronized Sonny with his insincere interest in music at first until it angered Sonny and he told his brother "don't do me any favors by telling me what to do with my life.…

    • 990 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Culture and identity go hand in hand. Everyone has their own identity, but where does that come from? The main contributor to someone’s identity is the culture they grew up in. Cultures vary in many different ways. Chinese is a very factual, to the point, respect your elders and family culture, while American culture is more carpe diem, freedom of speech, bigger is better mentality. So as you could imagine someone in China will grow up with a much different identity that someone in America. Someone’s true identity comes out when you’re placed in a situation that tests your culture’s view of right or wrong. Whether you go with the flow or choose to disobey is how you know one’s true identity.…

    • 1009 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a story of how a distant and conflicting relationship between two brothers is saved by the powerful message within music. In “Sonny’s Blues” the music portrays a very powerful message. The story begins with Sonny being arrested for heroin use. Sonny’s older brother is a school teacher and did not want to believe that the news was true, “I didn’t want to believe that I’d ever see my brother going down, coming to nothing, all that light in his face gone out, in the condition I’d already seen so many others” (Baldwin 293). Sonny used his music and drugs to distance himself from all the negativity in his life. Sonny dreams of becoming a musician but he finds himself trapped in a drug infested environment, which just about destroys him. Sonny used the drugs to temporarily tame and overcome his pain and problems. Sonny grew up in Harlem where he was exposed to but negativity. Drugs, alcohol, poverty, and crime were all negative influences on Sonny as a child. After the death of his parents, Sonny’s older brother was there to look after him. His brother tried to be an example in life to Sonny, but he could not find a way to understand Sonny’s beliefs. Soon after the death of their parents, Sonny’s brother joined the army. Sonny was forced to stay with people whom were strangers to him. Sonny used his love for music in order to get away from the discontent. Sonny found a way to focus on the negative energy in his life and use it to create his music. Through his music, Sonny exposed his deepest and most personal feelings. The music was so powerful and stirring because Sonny incorporated his life experiences into what he played. The music allows Sonny and his brother to deal with their pain and suffering. Sonny expressed his suffering through his music. Sonny’s brother is awakened by the music and can finally see Sonny’s situation. The image…

    • 2558 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    In the story “Sonny Blues by James Baldwin, displays the central conflict between two brothers who becomes estrangement due to several differences. The narrator feels obligated to look after his younger brother Sonny from the heroin incident and believes that Jazz music is a waste of his time. However, Sonny feels withdrawn from his older brother as he is unable to understand his feeling towards music. Sonny wants to express control of his life and use music as a way to talk about his suffering which most people do not often get to do because they keep their feelings inside. Baldwin states that they “were keeping it new, at the risk of ruin, destruction, madness, and death, in order to find new ways to make us listen. For, while the table…

    • 254 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    In his book The Soloist, Steve Lopez introduces us to Nathaniel, a mentally disturbed homeless man who has a special relationship with music. Lopez gradually befriends Nathaniel after noticing him play his violin with unusual skill and passion. Throughout their introduction, Lopez notices the strong relationship between Nathaniel and the music he plays. For Nathaniel, the act of playing on a violin is a way to escape from hostile reality and to find peace within his disturbed mind. Music forms a barrier between him and the environment he is in, as well as connecting him to the artists of the past as well as his passion for their history. Music is also Nathaniel’s only chance to get back to normal life - according to the doctor, there’s no “textbook treatment” that can cure his mental illness. Even Nathaniel’s life goals are centered around music: he simply wants to make the best out of his current situation by performing on his violin until he dies. Altogether, music is Nathaniel’s best friend, a chance of survival, and a lifelong passion.…

    • 632 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In Sonny's Blues

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages

    A high school algebra teacher and a drug addict brother. Two different personalities who want nothing but a brotherly relationship. The unknown narrator cares about his brother Sonny but blames himself for who his brother has become. He wishes he could have protected his brother more and in doing so, prevent him his brother’s drug addiction. Sonny and his brother’s relationship is nowhere close to perfect but tries to prove that people can change. In Sonny’s Blue’s, Baldwin uses symbols of Jazz and Blues music, and colors of light and darkness to show their brotherly relationship and their capability of having a good relationship.…

    • 1165 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Sonny Blues

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Character analysis is one way of discussing a novel or short story. Character analysis uses connection to themes in the plot; roles characters play in the text, relationships and characteristics to analyze the text. There are eight words that are used to describe characters. Those eight words are protagonist, antagonist, minor, major, static, dynamic, round and flat. A protagonist is a character that performs a heroic deed (something outside him/herself to help society). An antagonist is a character that works against the protagonist. Minor characters are the supporting cast in a story. Unlike minor character, major characters (main character) has the text revolve around them. Dynamic characters go through profound changes throughout the text as where static characters do not change. Round characters are multi-dimensional, have many roles and flat characters only have one role in the text.…

    • 457 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    There is no denying that it is human who gives the soul to music so that music can have thousands of types since people are distinct from each other. Because of the relationship between human and music, music also has a huge effect on human and connects strongly with emotion (Madison 2011). By the influence of the environment, people’s emotional personalities and the taste of music are diverse. So music has many different types, which means that each type will have unique emotional effect for people. In this essay, I will discuss the benefits that music has brought us. Namely, I will show the benefits from three parts that the short term effect of relationship between music and memory, the long term effect therapeutic benefits and how music…

    • 832 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Music is a big part of my daily life. I listen to songs both in my leisure or when I am doing something. Some of the songs touched me with their words and some with their melody. Music always gives me pleasure. However, today I learned that music is just not about feeling good or bad but it’s about expressing whatever one’s soul says. Music can take place in the deepest sorrow and in the brightest joy.…

    • 320 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Importance of Music

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Music has infiltrated every aspect of our society and culture during the course of thousands of years. In ancient Greece, music where everywhere from the slums to the palaces, today is no different.…

    • 648 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Music surrounds our lives at different moments of lives, whether we hear it on the radio, on television, from our car and home stereos. Different kinds of music are appropriate for different occasions. We come across it in the mellifluous tunes of a classical concert or in the devotional strains of a bhajan, the wedding band, or the reaper in the fields breaking into song to express the joys of life. Even warbling in the bathroom gives us a happy start to the day. Music has a very powerful therapeutic effect on the human psyche. It has always been part of our association with specific emotions, and those emotions themselves have given rise to great music.…

    • 1058 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Music in Our Life

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page

    Music is not a combination of pleasant sounds only. It is an art which reflects life. Music reflects people's ideas and emotions. In this world of ours, filled with conflicts, tragedies, joys and hopes, music strives to speak to people of what is most important, urgent and poignant.…

    • 244 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Family Relationships

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages

    “Sonny’s Blues” is a story about a long changing relationship between a man name Sonny and his brother. Although they grew up going separate ways, one could argue they still contain an inner relationship throughout their lives. In the beginning of the story, Sonny is in jail and continues to have an ongoing drug addiction. Once Sonny gets out of jail he has absolutely no idea where to go or who to call. Sonny’s brother saves him and decides to help him out and allow him to come back to his apartment and eventually live with his family for a while. His brother shows the characteristic of never turning his back or losing hope on Sonny. Instead of forgetting about Sonny and leaving him to live homeless on the streets, he comes to save him. This proves that the two brothers do indeed have an inner healthy relationship even if it may not always look like it.…

    • 713 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays