In the story Sonny is a man with dreams. He longed for turning into a jazz artist. He was committed
In the story Sonny is a man with dreams. He longed for turning into a jazz artist. He was committed
The Characters In “Sonny’s blues” represent a wide range about human nature. For example, Sonny is a character with very non serious sense of humor and he is drug addict his brother (narrator) is character with good sense of humor and he was not drug addict. Sonny is the musician But he cared mostly about himself and not about the nation but narrator he cared about the nation and place where he was more then just himself. Furthermore most of the other people in Harlem were drug addicts and had no reason to live, this is the reason why Sonny wanted to leave Harlem just…
In Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues,” the narrator on page 48 comes right out and states, that both of his parents died and he was off to take care of his little brother on his own while still involved in the army. Early on in the story Sonny states on page 51, “I want to be a musician like Charlie Parker, one of the greatest musicians alive.” And the Narrator (Sonny’s brother) states, “You are getting to be a big boy, it’s time to start thinking about your future.” This is just one small example of the first time Sonny was shot down and neglected in his household. Another example, as we learned about before, is when Sonny is living with Isabel and her parent’s and he gets yelled at for doing the only thing that seem right to him, skipping school and playing music. After this incident Sonny completely shut down and turned to a more damaging pain relief, Horse. Later on in the story on page 58, Sonny and his brother are talking about a singer down the street and Sonny says, “When she was singing before, her voice reminded me for a minute of what heroin feels like sometimes -when it’s in your veins. It makes you feel warm and cool at the same time. And distant. It makes you feel in control. Sometimes you’ve just got to have that feeling.” When Sonny say this it really makes me believe that during his whole life he was told what to do and how to do it, and his only family member…
He believed that Sonny was never in touch with reality, nor was he intrigued at all by Sonny’s ludicrous goal to become a jazz musician. It is not until the narrator decides to go watch Sonny play the piano at the nightclub that he realizes why Sonny loves to play and what exactly Sonny has been through. As a result, the narrator was able to experience Sonny’s life story through his music. “Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did”(275). Through Sonny’s music the narrator gains understanding in why Sonny was so determined and passionate towards becoming a jazz…
The story Sonny’s Blues was a very interesting to read with the talking about the brothers with more of the story being about the older brother who is the narrator. Sonny comes from a family that lived in what people sometimes call squalor. The narrator talks about how Sonny and his brother did not see eye to eye with him playing music in the bars and night clubs, also talking about the addiction to drugs. Within the book it can be seen that unspoken approval while at the bar from the narrator and Sonny when he sips the scotch and milk; and places it back on the piano to play the next song. The reader can see how the older brother being the narrator has such a hard time with his brother’s choice of life till after he comes to terms with his mother’s death, his daughter death and having a father who was a drunk. The reader can see the ups and downs of Sonny’s addiction to a good obsession being jazz, and the bad device being drugs.…
Two major themes throughout the story are drug abuse, what got Sonny locked up in the first place, and brotherhood. When the narrator finds out that Sonny is in prison due to the abuse of drugs, he says, "Look. I haven't seen Sonny for over a year, I'm not sure I'm going to do anything. Anyway, what the hell can I do?" (601) This shows that the narrator feels like there is nothing he can do anymore. The reader is able to understand that Sonny loves his brother, but does not understand his life choices. However, when Sonny gets out, the narrator takes him back into his home and decides to remember the promise to his mother of not betraying his brother. He begins to realize that the meaning of being a brother means helping each other out from a bad time, in Sonny's case, drugs. It takes time for the narrator to realize that Sonny is just a person who is channeling his pain and anger into music. Sonny and the narrator lost their father and mother at a young age, so now the brothers are all that each other has left. By the end of the short story the reader can conclude that Sonny is just someone who is trying to fit in somewhere and express his passion to the world. The theme of brotherhood is at it's peak when the narrator discovers that his brother is someone who is experiencing suffer and…
For Sonny, heroin is a seductive outlet for his blues, but he knows that in the end it will kill him. Sonny is looking for a way to conceal the blues within him but admits in a letter to his brother that "trouble is the one thing that never does get stopped.'' Music promises freedom from these blues, though, and during Sonny's solo at the end of the story his brother sees this: "he could help us to be free if we would just listen, that he would never be free until we did. I heard what he had gone through, and would continue to go through until he came to rest in earth." Sonny went into music, which is not a very secure profession; while his brother chose to go to college and become an algebra teacher, a stable job. Sonny's habits are very carefree and laid-back while his brother's attitude is conservative and strict. Sonny is carefree and single while the narrator is married with children. Sonny became addicted with drugs while his brother escaped that path. It’s also ironic at the end of the story when Sonny's brother tries to create a bond with Sonny and his passion for music because the narrator never really had a passion or interest in Sonny's music.…
Sonnys father was an alcoholic throughout his childhood and this exposure could have easily lead to his addiction of heroin. The…
In the story “Sonny’s Blues,” Harlem was the home and place where Sonny grew up. In Harlem most people lived very poor lives and were consumed by drugs and addictions. In this place the people lived life struggling socially and economically. Sonny felt trapped within his neighborhood, this was a place where people did not have much of a chance to succeed. Sonny proclaimed to his brother from his heart how he did not want to live in Harlem anymore. He did not want to stay and live in this place where he would be tempted to do drugs. He felt that he would find temptation with drugs in his life because he was constantly surrounded by people who were doing drugs and had become addicted to them. The political system brought upon Sonny lots of frustration and anger which prevented him from…
Sonny and the narrator love each other very much. But the two cannot get passed their differences in their lives and the choices that they make. Their love often makes them fuss and fight. Sonny and the narrator have different ideals of right and wrong. Everywhere they turn they seem to bump heads. The narrator see’s music as evil and the reason Sonny got addicted to drugs. But Sonny see’s music as his pain reliever his muse and his way of sharing what is wrong with him. Sonny uses his piano playing skills to better himself as a…
Music especially jazz is one of Sonny’s motivation in life. He loves the way it feels when he plays for hours on a piano, is like telling a story through his finger movement on the pianos note. His heroin addiction has made him one of the most loneliest person in the story, especially because he was incarcerated due to his addiction and was away from his brother which was suppose to be his support in life. Although his brothers views Sonny’s heroin addiction wrong, Sonny overcomes his addiction and shows he can cope by other means. He proves his brother that he can come out of his addiction and use his music to help him get out of it.…
Sonny is a young boy from Harlem struggling with his addiction to heroin and is eventually sent to jail for it. The Narrator, Sonny’s older brother is a high school Algebra teacher who loses connection with Sonny and does not realize where Sonny is till he reads in the newspaper about Sonny being imprisoned. During Sonny’s journey to get back on his feet once he incurs internal and external conflicts along the way.…
For example, Both brother had great heart and both had great bond. If they did not have that kind of bond, after releasing from the prison Sonny could have changed and could have lose contact with his brother. Instead of doing those things he got back to home and his brother helped him to choose his career after all. After reading the story, I thought Sonny overcame his fear and struggle because of his brothers presence and support however, reading the secondary source made me realized it was not because of his brother he overcome his fear. It was because he did not think he could start music again because of the long gap of time. Another thing I analysed wrong was that, drugs help him to forget his pain and past. However, the secondary source said that after music, drug is the only way helped him to escape, make him control himself and makes him warm and cool at the same time. He became addicted to drug after music and music was the only survivor for me. I did not know that Sony could not survive without music. From the secondary source it says, “Sonny makes it clear that his involvement with music is what sustains him.” Meaning music is the only hope for him to live his life. Either he needs his music otherwise drug. And this made his brother realize that its hard for me to see him like that and drug is ruining his life. In order to get Sonny back I need to be happy for him and let him be what he wanted to be. If music makes him happy then I will be happy for him and will support him for his…
During the course of this writing, you begin to understand exactly what trials and tribulations Sonny was going through. Having grown up in the projects/low income housing, finding out the truth out how his father had really passed and their rocky relationship with one another, his turbulent dynamic with his own brother, his heroin addiction and the problems it brought on, his struggle to fulfill the typical American dream, and finding the courage to do what he really loves; play music. Sonny’s Blues are the story of his life, and the failures or pitfalls he endured feeling imprisoned in his own body”.…
Sonny was a young man who suffered the effects of drug and substance abuse from an early age.…
Sonny is a very important character in the story. His past is with drugs and he has always wanted to be a jazz musician. He started off dealing and doing drugs. Not many people approved of this, but that was how he was living his life. This was the beginning of darkness in his young life. Dealing and consuming drugs eventually put Sonny in jail and his brother just could not believe it. After getting out of this place he temporarily called home, things started to change in his life. For example, he was getting better acquainted with his brother especially after all they used to do was fight every time they met. He invited his brother to a nightclub to hear him play. His brother soon came to realize that music was a very important part of Sonny’s life. Sonny always had this dream of being a jazz musician. His first instrument was the drums even though he felt like he could play the piano. However, he really wanted to play jazz. When he was young, he would always be at home with Isabel, his brother’s wife, playing music in all of his spare time. One day, Isabel’s mother received a letter from the school board. Sonny had been skipping school and hanging out at Greenwich Village with musicians and other characters. Music definitely identified Sonny as person.…