Sonny's Blues Literary Analysis Essay

Regina Carbone
Dr. Jessica Datema
WRT – 201 – 089WB
October 20, 2014

The Darkness In Between “Sonny’s Blues” “Sonny’s Blues” is a short story, written by James Baldwin, about two brothers from Harlem, NY. The story is told in the first person perspective by one brother about is younger brother, Sonny. The narrator, who remains unnamed throughout the story, is Sonny’s older brother and no other siblings are mentioned, so it is safe to assume it is only the two of them. The narrator remains unnamed simply because his name is not relevant. The story is told by him, from his perspective, however, it does not matter who he is exactly. The narrator is a representation of the few black men in that time that were able to overcome the effects of
inequality. We learn at the beginning of the story that the narrator was an algebra teacher, meaning he was able to get a fair education, he was able to finish school and make a career from the schooling he endured. Sonny, on the other hand, was not as fortunate. Sonny, like many from Harlem in that time, got mixed up in the wrong crowd, experimented with drugs, was ridiculed for spending time “in a white girl’s apartment” (Beiderwell, Wheeler 400).
Not only does the narrator remain unnamed, but also it evident early on that he is unable to “hear” what his brother, and many others, have to say. During a flashback to when their mother passed away, the narrator and Sonny are speaking about what is going to happen next. Sonny clearly states, “Look brother. I don’t want to stay in Harlem no more, I really don’t.” (398) When the narrator asks Sonny where he wants to go, Sonny replies by saying he wants to join the army, or navy. This enrages the narrator and Sonny tries to communicate is desperation even more clear by saying “I just told you. To get out of Harlem.” (Beiderwell, Wheeler 398) If the narrator actually listened to what his brother was telling him, he’d realize there was reasoning behind his desperation to leave. At the end of the story we come to find that he wanted to leave in order to escape the life he had been living, the life of a drug addict. The fact that the narrator is unable to really listen to other reflects that he may not have been listening to himself, or facing his own reality. He didn’t want to believe that anything else could go wrong after losing both their mother and father. He didn’t want to believe that Sonny wasn’t living a life outside of the stereotypes in place at that time. However, by the end of the story, the narrator becomes more open minded when he accepts Sonny’s offer to watch him play in a bandstand at a local nightclub. One could say that that’s the first time he actually listened to what his brother had to “say.”
Throughout the story there are several uses of symbolism. One that sticks out is the name of the narrator’s deceased young daughter, Grace. Grace comes from the Latin word gratia, which means favor or thanks. Grace was the only daughter of the narrator and his wife, Isabel; they also had two sons. Her name symbolizes exactly what it means; she was a favor to the narrator. It wasn’t until after Grace died of Polio that the narrator reached out to his brother who was in jail and/or rehab. In the end, although it may not be stated anywhere, the narrator is thankful to have decided to reach out to his brother who he hadn’t seen or spoken to in over a year. If Grace had not passed, that may never have happened. Grace’s death opened the narrator’s eyes to the fact that his brother needed him during that dark time in is life.
Another symbol is toward the end of the story, when Sonny is walking home to his brother’s house. There is a girl singing on the street whose “voice sounded like pain.” Her voice is a symbol of pain because in one’s voice you are able to hear their story. Whether they be speaking, singing, or what have you. Not only are you able to hear their pain, your own pain is reflected. The singing gave the pain a sound, causing Sonny to reflect on his pain. Both the singer and Sonny were trying desperately to be in control of that pain. Her singing gave the girl control of her pain, just as Sonny described how he was able to gain control in the past.
“When she was singing before,” said Sonny, abruptly, “her voice reminded me for a minute of what heroin feels like something – when it’s in your veins. It makes you feel sort of warm and cool at the same time. And distant. And – and sure.” He sipped his beer, very deliberately not looking at me. I watched his face. “It makes you feel – in control. Sometimes you’ve got to have that feeling.” (Beiderwell, Wheeler 403)

The girl’s singing symbolized pain in a way that Sonny was able to relate. Pain does not have a sound, however that girl was able to give it one. One heavy theme throughout this entire short story is importance of taking care of your family.
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
bandstand. The power of music as communication between others and as self-reflection is another main theme throughout this story.
After the death of both their parents Sonny was living with Isabel and her parents while the narrator was fighting in the war. Isabel described Sonny living with her and her parents as “it was like living with sound” (Beiderwell, Wheeler 399). This was because Sonny spent all his time sitting at their piano trying to find his voice, trying to communicate what was going on in his life while at the same time trying to figure out for himself what was going on in his life. This theme is also seen when Sonny and others were listening to music on the street. “As the singing filled the air the watching, listening faces underwent a change, the eyes focusing on something within; the music seemed to soothe a poison out of them; and time seemed, nearly, to fall away from the sullen, belligerent, battered faces, as though they were fleeing back to their first condition, while dreaming of their last” (Beiderwell, Wheeler 402). Music, although not understood by everyone in the same view, was a communication tool for many, specifically Sonny. Through music Sonny was able to finally communicate all the suffering he has been through throughout his life. More importantly, he was finally able to open his brother’s eyes to his suffering, through the sound of him piano, through his blues
music.

Work Cited
Beiderwell, Bruce John, and Jeffery M. Wheeler. "Sonny 's Blues." The Literary Experience. Compact ed. Boston: Thomson, 2008. 384-410. Print.

"Origin of the Name Grace." Namipedia. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. <http://www.babynamewizard.com/baby-name/girl/gratia>.

""Sonny 's Blues" Lecture." "Sonny 's Blues" Lecture. Web. 16 Oct. 2014. <http://cai.ucdavis.edu/uccp/sblecture.html#top>.