Sonny's Blues

Most people are forced to deal with their inner demons in order to find happiness but in James Baldwin’s Sonny Blues Sonny is trapped, physically and emotionally in his attempt for salvation and peace. Growing up in Harlem Sonny lived a tough life, surrounded by crime and drugs. Baldwin uses referrers to Harlem as a dark place and how difficult a child’s life can be there “Those who got out always left something of themselves behind” . The story is narrated by the voice of Sonny’s older brother who has never been able to understand Sonnies struggles with Heroin and his aspersion to be a jazz pianist. After reading that Sonny has been arrested he begins to reflect his relationship with his brother along with his mother. Sonny helps the narrator see that everyone suffers and there are different ways to deal with it.
The Narrator is 7 years older than Sunny, which he believes is the reason for their distance. Both men grew up together but Sunny got involved with drugs and with very little supervision due to the fact that his parents died before he graduated high school. The Narrators mother puts pressure on him to look after Sonny before she dies because she knows the darkness in Sonnies life. Even Sonnies father who was seen as a tough man had darkness in his hart and if not for their mother he would have broken down. This theme of darkness is reoccurring through out the story. The children in the story are never informed about their parents struggles because then they will know too soon the problems they will have to deal with in the future. Baldwin explains that there is no progress in Harlem and that the people are set up to fail. The narrator finally comes to terms with Sonny after they have a talk about inner struggles and how differently they have dealt with them. The narrator begins to understand why his brother took a different path than him. The real moment of clarity for the narrator was when he watched Sonny perform at the club. The Blues songs that Sonny played showed the sorrow path he had taken and his attempts to leave Harlem, and break free. This ending really brings growth to the narrator who previously been ashamed of his brother and what he had become.