Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues

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Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues analysis
Sonny Blues is a story written by James Baldwin in the 1950s. The story’s setting is in Harlem, an area near New York mostly associated with African Americans. Harlem serves as a trap in the story where the narrator and his brother must escape (Golden 555). The narrator starts with him reading a newspaper about his brother called Sonny. Sonny is serving a jail sentence after being caught up in drugs. The narrator is a teacher and keeps wondering too if his students are suffering the same fate as Sonny. Initially, the narrator does not write to Sonny, but after her daughter succumbs to polio, the two starts exchanging letters. Sonny and the narrator are the main characters although there are others like Sonny’s parents and sister. Sonny has been jailed due to drugs but is later released. After his release, he stays at home but occasionally plays music at a local club (Golden 557). War is continuously mentioned in the story but not given the name of the specific war. The most probable war mentioned is maybe Korean War or world war two since the two occurred around this time.
Throughout the story, the narrator uses the symbolism of darkness. Darkness is used to symbolize threat faced mainly by the African Americans. As a teacher, he says that as his students move to adulthood, they get to know that opportunities are limited. Most boys, therefore, end up in drugs just like Sonny instead of concentrating on books.

We further see darkness in movie halls which are entirely dark (Francis 30). Boys are drawn away from their own lives for instance by internet and television a factor that is taking away their lives. The narrator and his brother pass through the streets of Harlem where they find the roads “darkened with people. “This was the scenario when they were young. Although he has a good job and a family, the narrator says his children are still in darkness. The darkness of challenges just like the ones they witnessed when young. The older man addresses this darkness without uttering a word since there is nothing they can do about it.
Light is a symbolism in the story. Light is used throughout to symbolize redemption from the many problems in Harlem (Francis 33). The club where Sonny plays music is very dark although there is a very dim light. The little light is present on the bandstand, and the artists are careful not to enter into it suddenly. The musicians claim that if you swiftly moved into the light, the flames will burn you. When the musician starts to play the lights change color, and they start looking different and unique. When they work as a group, they come up with something new, and they can all access that light. Instead of running away from the darkness, the narrator asks people work together and come up with a new form of light like the musician.
Music plays a central role throughout the story. Sonny’s blues is probably an allusion in the title. It is an illusion because Sonny is a jazz musician but do not play blues music. The narrators understanding of blues in wider and uses the music to explain peoples. Right now they are witnessing suffering, but at the end, they will triumph (Francis 35). In this context, therefore, jazz signifies revised blues. Both take an African American musical perspective and thus fit for this story which focuses on African Americans.
Racism is persistent in the story. The problems present such as segregation in housing and limited job opportunities are all attributed to racism. The African Americans are all suffering due to discrimination. Racism is evident when the narrator explains the horrific death of his uncle. The uncle died after being knocked down and ran over by a car driven by drunken white men. This incidence has permanently traumatized our narrator, and he fears that Sonny may face the same.
The religious theme of salvation highly features in the story. The narrator felt redeemed after a painful experience when her daughter named grace died (Tackach, 115). The narrator did not have control over the death of Grace. The experience enabled him to look for his lost brother, and through his music he received salvation. The redemption is both religious and secure.
Women play a role also in the story. For instance, Isabel participates in strengthening her brother’s relationship until he was well again. The narrator’s mother also encourages him to build a healthy relationship with Sonny. The mother of the narrator supports her husband and also her sons a factor that binds the family together. It is evident that even women who are not family members try to bring the brothers together.
The story concludes where the narrator is with Sonny in a club .He uses an illusion based on the bible where God promised the Israelites that they should no longer drink from the cup of trembling (Tackach, 110). God said that he would transfer his wrath to their enemies. In this case, God was referring to the story of the Israelites in slavery under Pharaoh (Tackach, 110). The biblical story is an illusion to show that at the end sonny will leave his addiction and live healthy lives. It also indicates that despite the suffering, there will be happiness in time to come.
Work cited
Francis, Conseula. The Critical Reception of James Baldwin, 1963-2010:” an Honest Man and a Good Writer”. Boydell & Brewer, 2014.
Golden, Timothy Joseph. “Epistemic Addiction: Reading “Sonny’s Blues” with Levinas, Kierkegaard, and Nietzsche.” The Journal of Speculative Philosophy 26.3 (2012): 554-571.
Tackach, James. “The Biblical Foundation of James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”.” Renascence 59.2 (2007): 109-118.