Story Analysis: Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

David Osman
Lit-220-002
Sonny’s Blues
10/14/2014

James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues” displays a lot of take to heart messages that we could learn from. Throughout this story we got a firsthand look at what a teenager’s life in Harlem looks like. It is told from the perspective of Sonny’s younger brother who is an algebra teacher in high school. Towards the beginning of the reading the narrator expresses concern about the root issue contributing to Sonny’s problems; Horse, otherwise known as Heroin. He states “I was sure that the first time Sonny had ever had horse, he couldn’t have been much older than these boys now”, (Baldwin 22). This sentence makes a wide-spread drug problem in their community evident. As any writer does Baldwin
As a musician creating music to me personally is a way to escape reality, if only for a few minutes. In that time your free from the worries of the world , all the sadness and tragedy, all the hate, and all the suffering dissipate as none of it has ever existed and in the present moment all that matters is expressing yourself and letting your soul take over. Just as doing a hard drug, music takes you away from reality, but unlike drugs reality doesn’t slap you in the face when you come down from your high. Sonny had a real passion for music, a passion that is common among serious musicians. When music begins to take over your life the passion and the artistry becomes real and a part of your life. “But I thought I’d never hear the end of that piano, everyday Sonny came home from school and went to the piano, after supper back to the piano, he played every day, every chance he got” (Baldwin 34). His brother chose to not make a scene of it or even bring it up to Sonny because he said he sensed that he was playing for his life. The narrator began to see music take over his brother when a letter got to him from the school that Sonny hasn’t been going to his classes. The narrator sees this as not caring about his future and self-destruction, and I disagree. I see it as knowing exactly what you want to do in life and pursuing it. I see Sonny as an artistic genius with a soul tuned to
Or, rather: his kingdom” (Baldwin 41). At this point in the story Sonny showed that all his hard work and dedication to music is paying off. Not in a monetary way, but in the way that he intended; being known by others for his musical talents and abilities. He took his brother to the club where he played with a group of guys, where Sonny was known by most. When they first started playing Sonny was stuck, trying to find his rhythm all while trying to find himself. After the first song, which Sonny struggled through, Creole the Fiddler started playing “Am I Blue?” After personally listening to this song I came to conclude that Creole knew exactly what Sonny needed, which was a slow song that would give Sonny the freedom to fully express his inner emotions, giving him room to do his own thing. I assume that Creole knew about Sonny’s struggles and his jail time because from experience I know that when you’re in a band with a group of guys you begin to bond and find out things about each other that you would have never