...James Baldwin’s “Sonny Blues” is yet another literary masterpiece encompassing the adversity and perseverance of African Americans throughout history. Entranced by the metaphorical weight of the blues, I heard its heaviness intertwined with the throe of the characters as the deafening melody of Harlem’s woe rang from the pages. Baldwin depicts his underlying theme of oppression in the experiences of his characters. Early in the story, the narrator reflects on the day of his father’s funeral when his mother tells him of his uncle’s unjust demise. “Your father says he heard his brother scream when the car rolled over him, and he heard…them white men shouting…And, time your father got down the hill, his brother weren’t nothing but blood and pulp.” (Baldwin 56). Even the narrator himself recalls the tragic death of his two-year-old daughter, Gracie, and the desperation that led to him contacting his brother. Moreover, Sonny was lost in a sea of torment and addiction. “I can’t get anything straight in my head down here and I try not to think about what’s going to happen to me when I get outside again. Sometime I think I’m going to flip and never get outside and sometime I think I’ll come straight back. I tell you one thing, though, I’d rather blow my brains out then go through this again.” (Baldwin 51). Baldwin also illustrates the theme of oppression in his portrayal of Harlem. But houses exactly like houses of out past yet dominated the landscape, boys exactly like the boys...
Words: 413 - Pages: 2
...“Sonny’s Blues” Final Essay In James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny’s Blues” he uses the unnamed narrator also known as Sonny’s brother to provide an intimate insight into both his and Sonny’s lives, but also into their environment Harlem, New York. The narrator used his point of view and personal perspective to reveal both Sonny and Harlem and how the environment they were both brought up in has shaped them into the young men they were in the past and who they are now. This story begins when the brother finds out Sonny was in jail, when the narrator went to pick him up they begin having flashbacks from when their parents were alive and were speaking about racial issues they had been facing. Sonny finds his passion in jazz music. When he finally encourages his brother to listen to his music he takes him to the night club. He has a great epiphany realizing that their hardships can be turned into something beautiful. Growing up in an environment such as Harlem has had immense impact on the people sonny and his brother have become. This tough environment in Harlem would easily shape any person living in it but in particular Sonny and his brother. Harlem influenced the courses of action the brothers individually chose to take. The narrator described the city as a place that seems to entrap the people living in it and suck them into a lifestyle that they cant avoid. The lifestyle of drugs and crime, even if an individual such as the narrator doesn’t choose to participate in these...
Words: 1664 - Pages: 7
...The life of two brothers misery, love and hatred Sympathizing with Sonny, the drug addict in the story, rather than with his brother, the narrator, "Sonny's Blues" presents a complex picture of drug use as a means of coping with sorrow and fear. The short story "Sonny's Blues,” by James Baldwin, (1957) tells the story of two brothers who come to un-derstand each other. More specifically, it shows, through its two main characters, Sonny and his older brother, the two sides of African-American's experience with much of racism. The narrator, Sonny's brother, has tried to assimilate to the white society, but still feel the pain and the limits on his opportuni-ty. On the other hand, Sonny has never tried to assimilate and has to find the way out for his pain through drugs. In "Sonny's Blues,” we can understand what happened, why it happened, and why char-acters acted the way they do. The story Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin (1957) explores the theme of suffering experienced by Black Americans as individuals fettered by discrimination, unemployment, housing problems, drug ad-diction, imprisonment and suicide. It features the struggle of two brothers separated and caught in the entangle-ments of time, space and ideals. Harlem, the setting of "Sonny's Blues," is packed with barely-contained anger. The community is forced to live in an oppressive and painful world; as a result, many are left deeply angry. The narrator describes the neighborhood as a "boiling sea" (112)...
Words: 884 - Pages: 4
...TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS “Sonny’s Blues” is about two brothers who grew up in Harlem and the pervading hopelessness involved. They had the same parents, environment, and choices. The story is narrated by the older brother who did not succumb to his surroundings, unlike the younger brother, Sonny, who gave into the temptations of the darkness around him. The focus of the story is on Sonny and the path he takes. Sonny’s older brother grew up, joined the army, and later became an algebra teacher in the heart of Harlem. He started a family and created a good life for himself, despite the hardships that he faced in his neighborhood. The story doesn’t tell us how, but he accomplished his goals, as he seemed satisfied with his life. The older brother rose above his circumstances. Sonny joined the service as well, but fell into the same sad, yet usual fate of an average boy growing up in Harlem. He started hanging out with the wrong crowd and fell into a life of drugs and addiction. Sonny confessed, “I guess I was afraid of something or I was trying to escape from something and you know I have never been strong in the head [smile]” (62). The brother and Sonny were not in contact due to the narrator’s frustration at the way his brother was leading his life. The older brother had suspicions (which he's been ignoring) that Sonny was doing drugs. They are confirmed when he read of Sonny’s arrest in the newspaper. He made no attempt to contact his brother, despite this information...
Words: 1502 - Pages: 7
...Sonny Faces Hard Times Sonny faced many battles throughout the years. Growing up in Harlem can be quite a challenge. Harlem is full of drugs and crimes. It can have an influence on a teenager’s life. He admires his older brother and is the “apple of his father’s eye” Baldwin (56). Sonny truly wanted to escape Harlem, but instead he faces troubles and ends up in jail. He becomes addicted to heroin at an early age. When he got out of prison, he tries to escape his past. He began to feel alone and disappointed in himself. He was never one to show his true feelings. Sonny used music to express the words he couldn’t say. Sonny has a passion for music. He always kept his emotions bottled up inside of him. Through music was able to express words and feelings that he is incapable of saying. In fact, music is his “calling”. He is a different person when he plays. The narrator sees a side to Sonny that he never saw before during his performance. Even though Sonny may feel that this music lifestyle may bring back his drug addictions, he refuses to give up his dreams. Sonny was never a man of words so uses his piano to tell stories. In a way, Sonny is “stalking” his calling by showing his blues to his friends, showing a side of him that no one knew. Many people are able to understand him through his music. He uses his imagination to create music, which comes from deep down in his heart. Just by hearing his songs, it truly shows how he isn’t afraid to explore new things and go beyond...
Words: 428 - Pages: 2
...“Sonny Blue’s” I really liked the story “Sonny Blues,” because the story pulled you in and kept you wanting more. It did this by not giving you all the details so that you would have to continue. An example of this would be in the very being when the narrator found out his brother was arrested in a drug raid, while he was riding the subway to work. But the story does not tell you what is going to happen to Sonny, so the reader has to continue. The narrator continues the story by letting you know all the good he has tried to do for his brother, making you think that he is the good child. When all along, all it really seemed to be was the fact the narrator felt he let his mother down for not looking after his brother Sonny. After his mother passed away Sonny moved into his brother’s in-laws house so that he could finish up school. But this is not what Sonny wanted, he wanted to drop out of school and join the military. That Harlem was no good for him at this point in his life and he needed to get away. I think he was trying to tell his brother that he started doing drugs and that he needed to get away from Harlem. It seemed to me that the brothers did not understand each other and could not communicate well. The brother’s disapproval of Sonny's decision to become a musician comes from his idea of musicians in general. His experiences with musicians made him believe that they are unmotivated, drug users, seeking only escape from life. He does not really understand...
Words: 392 - Pages: 2
...Finding Light through the Darkness In James Baldwin’s short story, “Sonny’s Blues”, the narrator which is Sonny’s brother, James attempts to understand the life of his younger brother Sonny. Through trials and tribulations both brothers see the light through the darkness that surrounds both of their lives. From childhood to adulthood, both brothers go through experiences, which would have an everlasting effect on their lives. The story is set in Harlem, New York City approximately after the Korean War. The brothers' military service plays an important role in the socio-historical context of the story. The narrator refers to being "home on leave from the army" during the war; he remarks that his father "died suddenly, during a drunken weekend in the middle of the war, when Sonny was fifteen", and he informs the reader that both he and Sonny served in the military. It is important to notice and understand these references to the military service of the brothers. The characters in "Sonny's Blues" reflect this tendency: As a teenager, Sonny yearns to enlist in the army or navy because it would take him away from the "killing streets" of Harlem and give him the opportunity to get a college education on the GI Bill. The narrator, too, has struggled in spite of his military service to his country to attain success and safety at home. He fought the war, returned home to become an algebra teacher, and a productive member of the middle class, and yet because of segregation...
Words: 1509 - Pages: 7
...Gail Horton AAS 131 Dr. E. Davis October 4, 2011 Student Sit-ins in Nashville, 1960 James Lawson, A theology student who decided that is was time to start a movement to stop segregation in Nashville. He and other student form a nonviolence workshop that consists of student’s witting in restaurants waiting to be service as customer. Nashville had some integrated areas school, council, board of education, police force and city buses, but hotel, libraries, theater and restaurants remained segregated. The nonviolence workshop was formed so everyone in Nashville could have a chance to enact with one another and to create a more just society. Black student was tired of segregated not been able to eat lunch and to do their homework. In November of 1959 the student planned a series of workshop to stop segregation four student went into Woolworth and sat at the lunch counter were black never sat before people look at them in disbelief and many of them were black worker. The media became of aware of what was happening day after day there were more and more students sitting in restaurants and at the lunch counter waiting to be serviced. Before long the student sit-in became cities wide at least 15-16 cities began to have though-out the South and most parts of the county. The student had some difficulty some of the student was beaten even jailed, but though it all Lawson and the students were determined to stop segregation. The purpose of the nonviolence workshop was to...
Words: 722 - Pages: 3
...In Paul’s Case by Willa Cather and Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin Paul and Sonny both have problems that are very similar. Paul’s family situation has no mother and a father who does no understand Paul and Paul is lacking parental guidance. Sonny’s parents are dead and he lost contact with his brother until he was released from prison, their home surrounding have major impacts on their lives, and they have similar hopes and dreams. Although they lived in different times and in different cities they share similar problems. Paul and Sonny share similar problems throughout their lives. Paul and Sonny share similar family predicament and situations. In "Sonny's Blues" Sonny was the youngest child in his family and after his parents died when he was young his big brother made a promise that he would look after him. Unfortunately, Sonny chooses the wrong path at first and gets involved in drugs and has to go to a rehabilitation center to get better. After he gets out his brother asks him "What do you want to do?"(47), to which Sonny replies "I'm going to be a musician. (47)" Sonny's brother doubts his aspirations from the beginning and even tells himself that "(he) never played the role of the older brother quite so seriously before (47)." Sonny's brother is a teacher and you can tell by his instincts how much he want to teach Sonny things about life in general. By playing the "roles" of parent, big brother, and teacher, Sonny's brother constantly stresses how he wants his brother...
Words: 1518 - Pages: 7
...reflected in both Sonny s Blues by James Baldwin and Paul s Case by Willa Cather. Both Baldwin and Cather illustrate the problem of a young man growing up and taking on the responsibility of finding out who they are and what they want out of life. In these stories the theme is most prevalent, developing the story and helping the reader form their own opinions on how they feel about their own individuality. No matter how hard someone tries to decide someone s life, it is up to the individual to decide what kind of life they want to live. In Sonny s Blues Sonny was the youngest child in his family and after his parents died when he was young his big brother made a promise that he would look after him. Unfortunately, Sonny chooses the wrong path at first and gets involved in drugs and has to go to a rehabilitation center to get better. After he gets out his brother asks him What do you want to do? (47), to which Sonny replies I m going to be a musician. (47) Sonny s brother doubts his aspirations from the beginning and even tells himself that (he) never played the role of the older brother quite so seriously before (47). Sonny s brother is a teacher and you can tell by his instincts how much he want to teach Sonny things about life in general. By playing the roles of parent, big brother, and teacher, Sonny s brother constantly stresses how he wants his brother to turn out. In the end Sonny s brother should have listened to himself when he told his mother that (Sonny is) a good boy and...
Words: 615 - Pages: 3
...Jazz James Baldwin’s “Sonny Blues” follows two brothers from different paths. The brothers are years apart but still face many problems of growing up and becoming a man. Deaths, wars, addictions, coming to terms with life all are portrayed in this short story. The central idea revolves around two brothers with many problems and struggles and brotherly love they have for one another. Sonny’s blues is a story about “A sense of the mysterious and inexorable limits of life, in a word, of tragedy."(Flibbert) The narrator, protagonist and sonny’s older brother is a very dynamic character. He was in the army, and now is a Math teacher raising a family in Harlem. The narrator believes “you know people can’t always do exactly what they want to...
Words: 775 - Pages: 4
...James Baldwin’s short story “Sonny Blues” is about a young jazz musician named Sonny, who is from Harlem, New York. Sonny gets addicted to heroin and gets arrested for utilizing and selling drugs. After he is released from prison he returns back to his childhood neighborhood. He moves in with his brother, who is the narrator of this story and his brother’s family. During Sonny’s stay, him and his brother reconnect after dealing with one another anger towards each other. The focal point of this story is drugs, but also it’s about family, music, and trying to overcome life’s struggles. The byword “Sonny’s Blues” doesn’t arise until the end of the story when Sonny is playing his piano at a nightclub. The term “blues” could be referring to...
Words: 869 - Pages: 4
...RESOURCE DIRECTORY BUSINESS CREDIT RESOURCE DIRECTORY - MONICA MAIN BUSINESS CREDIT RESOURCE DIRECTORY When I started off getting business credit for my business I had very poor personal credit. I have sources listed below for those who have good personal credit and those who do not. Please note: You cannot begin the process of applying for business credit without an EIN (employer identification number) and a DNB (Dun and Bradstreet) number. It is recommended that you FIRST establish at least 3 "small" trade accounts before signing up with a DNB package! When I first got started building business credit, I used the creditors that are highlighted below. By using only those creditors I was able to build stellar business credit inside of 4 months. No, you don't need good personal credit to build business credit but it certainly doesn't hurt if you do have good personal credit. Finally, even though it's important to build solid business credit, I strongly recommend that you begin building strong personal credit as well. It's nice to have a double arsenal of both good personal and business credit. When I say "pros" I mean that it is what makes it easier to get business credit from the creditor. When I say "cons" it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a "con" but rather they are extra steps/requirements needed to get the business credit. Here are the resources: 1) Advanta Business Credit Card - www.advanta.com Pros: Outstanding balance does not appear on personal credit reports...
Words: 1094 - Pages: 5
...“THE GODFATHER IS A STAGGERING TRIUMPH...THE DEFINITIVE NOVEL ABOUT A SINISTER FRATERNITY OF CRIME...” --Saturday Review “YOU CAN’T STOP READING IT, AND YOU’LL FIND IT HARD TO STOP DREAMING ABOUT IT!” --New York Magazine THE GODFATHER THE GODFATHER Mario Puzo Copyright © Mario Puzo 1969 All rights reserved For Anthony Cleri THE GODFATHER BOOK I Behind every great fortune there is a crime. --BALZAC Chapter 1 Amerigo Bonasera sat in New York Criminal Court Number 3 and waited for justice; vengeance on the men who had so cruelly hurt his daughter, who had tried to dishonor her. The judge, a formidably heavy-featured man, rolled up the sleeves of his black robe as if to physically chastise the two young men standing before the bench. His face was cold with majestic contempt. But there was something false in all this that Amerigo Bonasera sensed but did not yet understand. “You acted like the worst kind of degenerates,” the judge said harshly. Yes, yes, thought Amerigo Bonasera. Animals. Animals. The two young men, glossy hair crew cut, scrubbed clean-cut faces composed into humble contrition, bowed their heads in submission. The judge went on. “You acted like wild beasts in a jungle and you are fortunate you did not sexually molest that poor girl or I’d put you behind bars for twenty years.” The judge paused, his eyes beneath impressively thick brows flickered slyly toward the sallow-faced Amerigo Bonasera, then lowered to a stack of probation reports...
Words: 172795 - Pages: 692
...The setting of a story includes the time, place, cultural atmosphere, and more. The setting influences the themes of escape, suffering, and redemption in “Sonny’s Blues.” The story took place in Harlem, New York in the 1950’s. The area was considered to have low-income housing and the narrator of the story which was Sonny’s brother lived in a housing project. Most of the story takes place when he gets out of rehab but there are a lot of flashbacks that fill in the blanks about the past and gives a better understanding of the history between Sonny and the narrator. With the theme of escape, it is everyone’s dream to get out of Harlem and do better for themselves. Sonny wanted to be a musician and to make a living at it. With that...
Words: 462 - Pages: 2
