Theme Of Suffering In Sonny's Blues

Words: 1761
Pages: 8
Open Document
The narrator in Sonny’s Blues believed that the seven years difference between his and his brothers age lay between them like a chasm. He said that he wondered if these years would ever operate between them as a bridge. The brothers have differences far more important than just their age that alienates one from the other. The narrator tries his best to avoid and allow any tragedy affect him too emotionally. He has a difficult time expressing his feelings and stores them inside himself. He misapprehends how to greet these emotions and deal with them. Sonny’s one saving grace is his music through which he can express his longing and frustration. Sonny has to absorb the tragedies and sufferings in his life in order to create this artistic expression …show more content…
Ognibene stated that Sonny’s Blues is relevant to what Stanford said because it concerns itself with the fractures in family bonds. Ognibene describes Sonny’s journey of suffering as “his descent to the underworld through drugs and his resurrection through jazz.” She refers to the narrator as the “white” Negro and says that although he is older, he is not wiser. The fragment between the two brothers is evident from the beginning of the story when we read about the narrator hearing about his younger brother’s arrest from a newspaper. We also see age being a factor to this chasm that lies between the brothers when the narrator speaks with Sonny’s friend in the beginning. He says that the boy is Sonny’s friend and not his because the boy is too young for him. In this scene the narrator showed disdain for the boy, yet he gave him five dollars before he left him, fully aware that Sonny’s friend would use it on drugs. The narrator approaches his brother and his sentiments the same way when he chooses to avoid and just go along with it. Ognibene claimed that the author used Sonny and his music as tools to help the narrator reconcile with his racial heritage. …show more content…
He said the blues are synonymous to the low spirits that the two brothers have had their share of. As music, the blues are considered to many blacks an a reflection of and a release from the suffering they endured since the days of slavery. The black heritage that impresses itself upon Sonny’s brother is reflected when Sonny plays his music at the end of the story. Sonny’s blues brings the narrator back into the community of his black brothers and sisters. Sonny struggles with his music, which is indicative of how he struggles with his life: He and the piano stammered, started one way, got scared, stopped; started another way, panicked, marked time, started again; then seemed to have found a direction, panicked again, got stuck.” (Albert
Show More

Related Documents: Theme Of Suffering In Sonny's Blues

Sonny's Blues And Suffering Theme

The concept of suffering is constantly presented in “Sonny’s Blues,” by James Baldwin. From Sonny’s drug addiction to the death of the narrator’s daughter, one can see the theme of death. Sonny argues that suffering is inescapable, saying that “Nobody just takes it…Everybody tries not to [suffer]…[but] it’s not your way!” (17) In this story, the overall theme is that suffering is necessary for redemption. Sonny comments on “how much suffering [the singer] must have had to go through” to sing with…

Words 256 - Pages 2

Sonny's Blues Theme

James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues was published in 1957, but this story is one in which resonates for generations despite changing times. The story, of two brothers whose life choices have brought them together and pulled them apart over the years, is still applicable today. Sonny’s Blues begins with a narrator who reads shocking news of his brother in a newspaper on the subway on the way to work as an algebra teacher at a local school. The news of his brother being arrested for selling and using…

Words 1043 - Pages 5

Sonny's Blues Poem Analysis

that “wisdom comes alone through suffering.” In what ways is this theme revealed in “Sonny’s Blues”? How is the title of the story significant on both literal and figurative levels?’ In “Sonny’s Blues,” by James Baldwin, The piano represents Sonny’s soul. It is everything that he is, if sonny was rich he would play the piano, If he was poor he would play the piano because that is what he was born to do. The cup of trembling at the end represent the suffering that Sonny has gone through. Two…

Words 201 - Pages 1

Literary Elements In Sonny's Blues

about “Sonny’s Blues” because I thought it was a really good story that discussed real life struggles everyone can relate too. I did relate to some aspect of the story of going through struggles in life and find an outlet to deal with it. I was prior military so I did struggle with being away from home for long periods and had to find my own way since I was my sole provider. I felt the literary elements that stood out the most to me was the plot, setting, characterization, and the themes that were…

Words 182 - Pages 1

Analyzing Sonny's Blues Essay

Analysis of "Sonny's Blues" "Sonny's Blues" was written in 1957, but carries a vital social message in our society today of people trying to understand one another and find their identity. "Sonny's Blues" not only states dramatically the motive for Baldwin's famous polemics in the cause of Black Freedom, but it also provides an esthetic linking his work, in all literary genres, with the cultures of the Black ghetto (Reilly 56). To truly understand Baldwin's purpose in writing "Sonny's Blues" about finding…

Words 2126 - Pages 9

Sonny's Blues By James Baldwin

James Baldwin “Sonny’s Blues Shanta Carter South University Online English 1300 Gabriel Smith, Instructor The story Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin, explores the theme of suffering experienced by Black Americans as people chained around the ankles by, unemployment, housing problems, the state of being dependent on a drug, state of being locked in a prison, and suicide. The narrator shows the struggle of two brothers separated and caught in the tangled-up connections of time, space and thinking…

Words 1014 - Pages 5

Lost But Never Forgotten Essay

Claire Zeuschel February 20, 2015 English 102 Mr. Dornton Lost but Never Forgotten In the story Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin, the reader gets to experience a life that those who are living it may wish was just a dream. Growing up in the projects, two men, Sonny and his older brother, fight through a battle that is nearly impossible to win. They suffer a great deal of pain and loss and live through events that would likely kill your average human being. For some who grew up like these brothers…

Words 1854 - Pages 8

Sonny's Blues Literary Devices

use literary devices comprises of characterization, point of view, symbolism, imagery and allegory, and theme. This paper focuses on the short story titled Sonny's Blues written by James Baldwin and analyzes how symbolism has been used in the story to offer deeper meaning. Prior to analyzing symbolism in Sonny's blue, it is important to first provide an brief overview of the story. Sonny's Blues is a story narrated in first person with the narrator narrating about the relationship that he has with…

Words 1153 - Pages 5

Essay On Quilts In Alice Walker's 'Everyday Use'

story deals with Sonny's life, we also get the events of the narrator's life, allowing us to learn how and why the two brothers have grown apart over the years. This is then directly connected to a theme of the story, the alienation of the two brothers and how the narrator begins to understand what Sonny, his brother, is all about. Once the narrator is willing to enter Sonny's world of music, he's able to understand what the music means to Sonny, expressing his pain and suffering. By understanding…

Words 1042 - Pages 5

Langston Hughes, 'Toni Morrison, And Alice Walker's Motherless Child'

FRAZIER, DEBRA AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES 254 OSUM T/R JOURNAL Chapter 2 April 12, 2011 This was my first day in this class. The class seems engaged in the readings and discussion. I had the opportunity to read all of the introductory material, and found it very informative. Although I have read quite a few books, I seldom have noticed if it was a white or black author. I am familiar, of course, with Maya Angelou, Langston Hughes, Toni Morrison and Alice Walker; these authors…

Words 4057 - Pages 17