“Sonny Blues” written by James baldwin is a story written in 1957 told in first-person singular narrative style. The story begins with the narrator, who reads about his younger brother named Sonny who has been caught in a heroin bust. The narrator then goes about his day However, he cannot get his mind off Sonny. He thinks about all the boys in his class, who don’t have bright futures and are most likely doing drugs, just like Sonny. Throughout the story the unnamed narrator struggles to embrace sonny for who is, its not until the end of the story when the narrator goes to one of Sonny’s Jazz shows, where he fully understands and truly fathoms who Sonny really is as a person and musician.
Its most impressive effects are achieved, according to Ellison, when a delicate balance is maintained between the individual performer and the group” (Bone 6). According to Robert Bone, jazz form “consists of a series of solo ‘breaks’ within a framework of standard chord progressions”; this suggests balance, which is clearly portrayed throughout Ellison’s novel. As Ellison faces these conflicts, he can try to slove solve deep-rooted issues of “divided loyalty”. Every artist in the Negro group has a special function; this is to hold true to his individuality and to not clash and blend in with others. According to Robert Bone, “He must learn to operate within and
The apparent simplicity of blues music has been played with in a great number of ways along the years. If in the late 1800s, the poor African- Americans used a guitar, a harmonica and a powerful sad voice, things evolved with the adding of blowing instruments, drums and basses at the beginning of the 1900s. Blues music’s evolution was organic, it mend itself naturally to the fashion of the times to become the music that, when listened to, one immediately associates it with America, with all of its history, hardships and diversity of people and feelings. Blues music was born in the South, specifically in the Mississippi Delta, and migrated along with the poor African-Americans to the cultural and cosmopolitan city of New Orleans, Louisiana. These men were seeking for jobs on the docks of the city, trying to escape a very segregated environment where they were still being treated as slaves.
Because of his determination to write about the authentic experience of Black America, Hughes was criticized by some of his contemporaries for what they perceived as negative portrayals of African Americans as well as for dealing with subjects that some reviewers considered not fitting for literature. Hughes spent much of his career writing about the experience of the blacks in the United States, exploring issues of race and racism in his poetry, fiction, non-fiction and plays. He questioned the subconciousness of “white is best” proudly said “I am a negro- and beautiful” (Gates, Mckay 1271). Langston Hughes in his essay The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain says “Most of my own poems are racial in theme and treatment derived from the life I know. In many of them I try to grasp and hold some of the meanings and rhythms of jazz”(Gates, Mckay 1270).
FATHER/SON RELATIONSHIP Blacky’s relationship with his father is integral in moulding the adolescent that he is. Although the relationship between the two is clearly negative, it somewhat helps him to look past the fatherly influences, and to seek positive role models to assist him through the journey to maturity. Blacky’s self-esteem levels are low due to the negative relationship and he expects no support from his father. His relationship with his mother, the relationships he develops with other men assist Blacky in developing the courage to stand up for what he believes in. During the course of the novel of ‘Deadly Unna?’ the readers are exposed to the negativity between the father and his son.
In “Sonny’s Blues”, Sonny’s brother, despite being unnamed, is a key character in the story. He integrates himself, as best he can, into white society and wants Sonny to live the way he does. Conversely, Sonny is more radical and less accepting of his subordinate social status quo. When they talk about Sonny’s future as a jazz musician, the narrator says that one can’t always do what one wants (Baldwin 48); Sonny replies: "I hear you. But you never hear anything I say."
The second part of the paper deals with the comparison. Topdog/Underdog talks about the adult lives of two African-American brothers, Lincoln and Booth who were abandoned by their parents. They have to deal with various issues ranging from work to racism. Booth, the younger brother, admires his brother and is even jealous of him. Lincoln used to be a hustler, but then he turned into a circus attraction where he sits dressed as Abraham Lincoln.
Symbolism in Sonny’s Blues In "Sonny's Blues," a short story by James Baldwin, the narrator paints a picture of a Harlem full of turmoil and sin. The story is told by Sonny's brother, a high school algebra teacher, who is a helpless witness to Sonny's struggling drug addiction and his need for music. The narrator believes that he “escaped the trap,” while in actuality no one can escape the ties that firmly bind them to their past. Throughout the story, the audience is presented with a down trodden community consumed with drugs and hardships, the same drugs and hardships that the narrator and Sonny were forced to deal with during their childhood. It seems no matter what the characters do they cannot escape their past.
Throughout the story, the struggle to be able to understand one another is a constant battle. The climax in this story is obviously when Sonny and his brother Baldwin come to an understanding of one another. This particular scene happens in a jazz club while Sonny is
After then the blues have worked their way into all forms of contemporary music. Jazz, Rock and Roll, Bluegrass and even Rap are based on the patterns and principles of the Blues. This is why it is a turning point. Without this African influence it is obvious that most forms of music would be different if not nonexistent today. Blues legend B.B.