The Importance Of Brotherhood In Sonny's Blues

931 Words4 Pages
This story has shown many sides to brotherhood. It has shown the angry side that brings out sadness and rage. It has shown the understanding side when the brothers finally begin to learn about each other and the lives they lead. It also shows a progressive side that brings out love and trust between brothers that are willing to work to make each other better people. Sonny’s Blues has a good moral about family and how it is the most important thing we have got. Being able to learn from mistakes is a very valuable lesson but it is easier to learn and move on with family by your side. Sonny is described in a common stereotype of the time, a stereotype that his own brother holds until the end of the story: the heroin-addicted jazz musician.…show more content…
He’s also Sonny’s brother. Through the narrator we get to see how Sonny's drug addiction affects those around him and how difficult it is for someone who isn't a musician to understand what motivates someone who is. It's almost necessary that we hear the story from the narrator, since Sonny would have been an unreliable narrator himself (Negro American Literature Forum). In many ways the narrator is the voice of reason throughout the story. He tries to get Sonny to think about his future and he basically becomes Sonny's father figure once their parents have passed away. Although he doesn't really understand Sonny or his passion for music, he does have Sonny's best interests at heart. You could also look at it another way and say that the narrator had his faults also. We could argue that he abandons Sonny when Sonny needs him the most. And perhaps, as Sonny suspects, the narrator is really just upset that Sonny has chosen a life that's different from his own. Maybe the narrator is too guided by rules and by doing what he thinks he's supposed to do in order to help

More about The Importance Of Brotherhood In Sonny's Blues

Open Document