James Baldwin\'s Sonny\'s Blues Moments of Realization

James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues"

Moments of realization are one of the themes of the short story "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin. The narrator of this story is able to learn about his brother as well as himself through his relationship with Sonny. Baldwin allows the narrator to gain an understanding of his brother as he reflects on the differences between them. This paper will examine how the narrator comes to recognize and begins to respect Sonny for the person her has become.

In the beginning of the story, we are introduced to Sonny as a young man who was arrested for selling heroin. We also know that the narrator is not close to Sonny -- in fact, it had been seven years since he had seen him. His way of dealing with his brother was keeping it outside of himself for a long time. (Baldwin 22) The narrator admits that his brother is "wild, but he wasn't crazy . . .a good boy he hadn't ever turned hard or evil or disrespectful" (23).

We also know that the two brothers are different from each other in the way they choose to live their lives. For instance, the narrator has assimilated well into the community teaches Algebra at a local high school. Sonny, on the other hand, wanted to be a musician, which his brother feels is not a wise career choice for a young man living in Harlem. He tells Sonny to "stop kidding around and answer a serious question" (33) about his future. He becomes angry with Sonny for his nonchalant attitude toward his future and tells him it "it's not going to be so funny when you have to make your living at it" (34). He also tries to talk some sense into Sonny by telling him that "people can't always do exactly what they want to do" (35). Sonny responds by telling his brother that he thinks "people ought to do what they want to do, what else are they alive for?" (35). These scenes are significant because they illustrate the difference between the brothers. Sonny, on one hand, has a dream he wants to pursue, regardless of where that pursuit may take him. Sonny has a determination that his brother cannot understand. The narrator, on the other hand, chose a safe and cautious career that had a "future." For this reason, the narrator cannot understand Sonny and his seemingly careless attitude.

In addition, Sonny is driven by a passion to which his brother cannot relate. Sonny displays his passion when he tells his brother that there are many ways to keep from "drowning" in suffering. He says:

"It's terrible sometimes, inside . . . that's what's the trouble. You walk these streets, black and funky and cold, and there's really not a living ass to talk to, and there's nothing shaking, and there's no way of getting it out -- that storm inside. You can't talk it and you can't make love with it, and when you finally try to get with it and play it, you realize nobody's listening. So you've got to listen. You got to find a way to listen . . . Sometimes you'll do anything to play, even cut your mother's throat. (43)