James Baldwin s Reality Through Sonny - 1253 Words

James Baldwin’s Reality through Sonny Sonny’s Blues digs deeply into the â€Å"Negro American† during Civil Rights and Jim Crow Era’s. Set in Harlem, New York in the 1950’s. James Baldwin’s stories give insight based on events of his culture and this becomes apparent through the analysis of the characters in Sonny’s Blues. James Baldwin uses his talents to paint a vivid picture of African American life through a fictional story of two brothers who chose very different path’s in life in order to achieve the pinnacle of self-expression and acceptance. The narrator Sonny’s older brother had a difficult time accepting that his youngest brother had fallen victim to the Harlem streets. The narrator discovers that Sonny has been arrested in a drug raid for using and selling heroin, and that information did not sit well with him, he then began to reminisce on the brother he once knew, he remembered the brightness and livelihood he once endured. The narrator had been a teacher and he often saw the same potential in the students that he had once saw in Sonny, on the way home narrator had ran into an old friend of Sonny’s. Sonny’s friend had also been a drug addict, the narrator and the friend began to talk about Sonny and how his life was and how it would continue to be. Time passed and the narrator did not reach out to Sonny, until his youngest daughter Grace dies. He wrote to Sonny explaining why he ended where he was in life. SonnyShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Story Sonny s Blues By James Baldwin1481 Words    |  6 PagesIn reading the story Sonny s Blues by James Baldwin, we learn of two brothers and their lives growing up in Harlem. The narrator, who is the older brother in the story, narrates the trials and tribulations he and his younger brother (Sonny) had to endure growing up in such a harsh environment in Harlem (due to the drugs, violence, and Black s being looked down upon in general in the mid-1950s). We start in the future (present), with the narrator having a somewhat successful future being a teacherRead MoreSonny s Blues By James Baldwin827 Words   |  4 Pages In James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† it is only when a brother loses his child that he realizes how easy it can be to lose his brother. The narrator’s little brother, Sonny, was left in his charge when their parents passed away. He neglects Sonny and leaves him to work through hard decisions on his own which leads to Sonny being picked up by the police for using and selling drugs. W hen the narrator’s daughter, Grace, passes he sees how suffering can affect people and reaches out to Sonny, who isRead MoreSonnys blues literary analysis2558 Words   |  7 Pagesï » ¿Jane-Clare Dauito Professor Thorstensen English Composition 2 11 December 2013 Within The Blues James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† is a story of how a distant and conflicting relationship between two brothers is saved by the powerful message within music. In â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† the music portrays a very powerful message. The story begins with Sonny being arrested for heroin use. Sonny’s older brother is a school teacher and did not want to believe that the news was true, â€Å"I didn’t want to believe thatRead MoreAnalysis Of James Baldwin s Sonny s Blues 995 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin presents an emotional journey through Harlem in the 1950’s with his short story, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† From the beginning, the story is in medias res when the unnamed narrator is informed of bad news concerning his younger, troubled brother, Sonny. Throughout the story there is an ocean of emotions witnessed between these two brothers as they battle hardships from their past and present time. The setting plays an important role in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† to an extent where it is practically a characterRead More James Baldwins Story Sonnys Blues Essay1261 Words   |  6 PagesJames Baldwins Story Sonnys Blues James Baldwin?s story ?Sonny?s Blues? is a deep and reflexive composition. Baldwin uses the life of two brothers to establish parallelism of personal struggle with society, and at the same time implies a psychological process of one brother leaving his socially ingrained prejudices to understand and accept the others flaws. The story is narrated by Sonny?s older brother whom remained unnamed the entire story. Sonnys brother is a pragmatic person, a teacherRead MoreJames Baldwin s Sonny s Blues956 Words   |  4 PagesJames Baldwin brings you on an emotional ride through Harlem in the 1950’s with his short story, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues.† From the beginning, we are in media res when the unnamed narrator is informed of bad news concerning his younger, troubled brother, Sonny. Throughout the story we witness the ocean of emotions between these two brothers battling hardships from their past, through flashbacks, and present time. The setting plays an important role in â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† to an extent where it is practically aRead MoreJames BaldwinS Sonnys Blues713 Words   |  3 Pagesare the most similar in James Baldwins short story Sonnys Blues, and in Kurt Vonnegut Jr.s short story Harrison Bergeron, are the title characters of each respective work. They both embody con ceptions of youth within each story Sonny as the younger brother of the nameless narrator in Baldwins tale, and Bergeron as the son of the George and Hazel Bergeron. In their own way, each is antisocial and engage in practices that are disapproved of by their societies. Sonny is struggling with a heroinRead MoreSonnys Blues - Baldwin Personal Reflection1220 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"Sonny’s Blues† is an emotional story written by an amazing author, James Baldwin, who has come to be one of my favorite writers. This particular piece talks about the troubles of African American freeing themselves from the mental bondages of their surroundings, the ghetto. The title is significant, and helped me to understand the underlining meaning of the story. The title can be divided into two main reasons, the first, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues, meaning the music he plays. Second is the reference to hisRead MoreAnalysis Of The Book Going On Meet The Man By James Baldwin1312 Words   |  6 PagesWhen I was younger, I never fully understood why I was expected to appreciate life and American history. You can never fully understand a situation until you go through something similar yourself. Reading the story collection called, Going to Meet The Man, written by an American writer named James Baldwin, helped me to feel, think and question the way that I look at the world sometimes. This story collection has many stories with topics related to love, race, death, life, hatred and sexuality. TheseRead More`` Hills Like White Elephants `` By Ernest Hemingway1681 Words   |  7 Pagesreader’s senses. Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† utilizes the imagery of the train station in order to produce the effect of transition between the characters, both in terms of physical location and emotional mindset. Much like Hemingway, James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† takes a similar approach, using Sonny’s pa ssion for music to expose his deepest insecurities. Though their approaches are different, both authors use imagery to create a pathway to the character’s internal thoughts. Often