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Analysis of James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues

By NASRULLAH MAMBROL on June 20, 2021

“Sonny’s Blues” is a first-person account by an AfricanAmerican schoolteacher trying to come to terms with his younger brother, Sonny, a jazz musician and sometime heroin addict. Some of James Baldwin ’s thematic preoccupations can be ascertained by noting the subtle variations and quasi-musical interplay of motifs: darkness (both atmospheric and existential), (in)audible attempts to articulate or testify, and the spatial coordinates of inside/outside (a complex motif entailing withdrawal into privacy, the filling of voids, and the impulse to escape or transcend compression).

The story begins as a retrospect from darkness. Shocked to read a newspaper account of his brother’s arrest for drug use, the unnamed narrator stares vacantly at his face reflected in the train window, “trapped in the darkness which roared outside” (831). Darkness recurs periodically throughout the narrator’s reminiscence and is often associated with the menace of the outer world. The narrator remembers Sundays at twilight, when as a child he felt “the darkness coming” while registering with anxiety the adults talking darkly of a dark past. His obscure intimations of the possibility of their death are not dispelled when someone turns on a light. Indeed, “when light fills the room, the child is filled with darkness. He knows that every time this happens he’s moved just a little closer to that darkness outside,” which he must endure as his ancestors always have (841–842). One of the incursions of darkness endured by his people has been the murderous running over by whites of his father’s brother, a musician. The narrator’s mother testifies that his father had “never in his life seen any thing as dark as that road after the lights of that car had gone away” (844). As an adult, the narrator muses on the less overt aspects of the darkness that envelops his students: “All they really knew were two darknesses, the darkness of their lives, which was now closing in on them, and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness, and in which they now, vindictively, dreamed at once more together than they were at any other time, and more alone” (832).

The narrator begins to realize after many years of conflict with his brother that the blues and jazz represent the antithesis of this escape through distraction into alienated solitude. They constitute a negotiation and transformation of darkness and suffering. Creole, the leader of Sonny’s group, testifies with his bass how innovative jazz approaches to the blues (in this case, be bop) are retelling the tales of “how we suffer . . . and how we may triumph” because they are “the only light we’ve got in all this darkness” (862). However, the intense revelations of light are also risky and potentially destructive. Sitting “in a dark corner” watching his brother and his colleagues preparing to play in their “circle of light,” the narrator notes that they are “most careful not to step into [it] too suddenly,” as if “they would perish in flame” (860). The external dimensions of the darkness of suffering and the light’s threat of exposure are associated with social conditions and a historical legacy, but their existential coordinate is associated with the inner conditions of the self. As Sonny tries, haltingly, to communicate the parameters of where heroin had found him and taken him, his brother notices that “the sun had vanished, soon darkness would fall.” This temporal observation stimulates an intimation of another kind of encroaching darkness: the possibility of Sonny’s relapse, encapsulated by his brother’s warning “It can come again” (859).

The narrator sees Sonny in his students because they are approximately the age that his brother was when he started heroin use and are “filled with rage,” much as Sonny must have been, because of “the low ceiling of their actual possibilities” (832). The narrator’s perception, suffused with guilt and pathos, is acutely attuned to their laughter, which is “insular” with disenchantment (832). Given the story’s preoccupation with finding one’s voice and the riskiness of light, it is significant that when the narrator hears one of the boys whistling, “it seemed to be pouring out of him as though he were a bird . . . moving through all that harsh, bright air, only just holding its own through all those other sounds” (832). After one of his quarrels with Sonny, the emotionally inhibited narrator whistles a blues song “to myself” so as not to cry (852). Baldwin’s images of the (in)audible entail other forms of what might be called injured communication. The narrator inadvertently reveals his cold, uptight-emotional tendencies when he describes “a great block of ice” that “seemed to expand until I felt . . . I was going to choke or scream” (831). The scream of his brother is said to have haunted the narrator’s father the rest of his life, while screaming and choking converge in the memory of the narrator’s traumatized wife, who discovers their daughter, Grace, struggling for air enough to scream: “And when she did scream, it was the worst sound . . . that she’d ever heard in all her life, and she still hears it sometimes in her dreams” (852). The narrator also reports that his wife “will sometimes wake me up with a low, moaning, strangled sound” (852).

Music transmutes these injured sounds, as it does the suffering from which they issue. But the spirituals sung by the street singers, which express a people’s desire for liberation, are contemplated with the ambivalence that Baldwin shows toward African-American Christianity throughout his work. Although everyone has heard these songs, “not one of them had been rescued. Nor had they seen much in the way of rescue work being done around them” (853). The usually passive Sonny forcefully expresses his own ambivalence: “It’s repulsive to think you have to suffer that much” (856). That said, these spirituals not only constitute a major emotional foundation of the blues and jazz, they articulate the quasi-spiritual themes resonating in Baldwin’s description of Sonny’s wilderness wandering and prospects for salvation. Sonny’s piano playing is best understood, as his brother understands it, as a form of “testifying”—a bearing witness to suffering and redemptive aspiration in the manner of the spirituals (853). Thus, when Sonny finally takes his solo from the group, “Every now and again one of them seemed to say, amen” (863). However, before the withdrawn and inarticulate Sonny can speak for himself through his piano, he must first struggle “to find a way to listen” to the soul of the music and to the turbulent, not-yet music in his own soul (857). It is for this reason all the more painful to realize that “ nobody ’s listening.” This situation constitutes a tacit silence inasmuch as he might just as well not be playing. Ultimately, silence testifies to the absence of existential attunement. The narrator belatedly realizes that he “had held silence—so long!” while Sonny, in need of “human speech” and under the pressure of unarticulated feelings, was turning to heroin in the hope of relief (856).

Baldwin’s story insists on the need to escape constricted, pressure-filled spaces. The narrator’s insistence on conventional obligation and responsibility has long put him at odds with his hipster brother’s desire for self-liberation, which he judges an escape from wisdom (838). He feels threatened listening to Sonny’s old friend talk about drug highs, as a jukebox plays: “All this was carrying me some place I didn’t want to go. . . . It filled everything . . . with menace” (835). At the same time he resonates to the lifelong effects of the “smothering” Harlem ghetto, “filled with a hidden menace which was its very breath of life” (839). He remembers how the people “came down into the streets for light and air and found themselves encircled by disaster.” Those who escaped did so “as some animals amputate a leg and leave it in the trap” (839). The new government housing project fails as a haven, a cleared space, because “the hedges will never hold out the streets” and the windows “aren’t big enough to make space out of no space” (839).

Space is not merely a circumscribed set of physical or even social coordinates but an existential-psychological domain of self-definition. Sonny’s greatest pain has resulted from his failure to escape the confines of the sealed space of his privacy. Challenged, he “just moves back inside himself, where he can’t be reached” (840), to “the distant stillness in which he had always moved” (837). Baldwin coordinates inside/outside with the imagery of darkness/light, as when the narrator recalls how Sonny “looked out from the depths of his private life an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light” (837). His inaccessibility makes him seem “some sort of god, or monster . . . as though he were all wrapped up in some cloud, some fire” (850). Inside/ outside is also linked to the (in)audible inasmuch as Sonny’s blues entail the struggle to find a “way of getting it out—that storm inside” (857).

Spatial prepositions are made emphatic the only time Sonny speaks at length to his brother in the attempt to explain what heroin had done for him: “When I was most out of the world, I felt that I was in it, that I was with it, really, and I could play . . . it just came out of me, it was there” (858). Baldwin also deploys spatializing tropes to characterize the addicting quality inherent in music’s capacity to remove the listener from unsatisfying contexts, especially the constricted dimensions of the self. Sonny compares the affect of the street singer’s voice to the feeling of being “distant” yet “in control” that heroin produced— a feeling “you’ve got to have” (855). It had been the need “to clear a space to listen ”—and the inability to locate that place—that had deposited him “all by myself at the bottom of something” (858). Sonny believes that his use of drugs helped him reject unavoidable suffering, “to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it.” It had been a means of making him responsible, of providing some demonstrable reason, for that suffering. The conversation ends with a spatial displacement, as Sonny looks onto the street below and observes, “All that hatred and misery and love down there. It’s a wonder it doesn’t blow the avenue apart” (859). There is an especially significant spatializing term in Baldwin’s story. The narrator feels remorse that he has not followed his mother’s counsel regarding Sonny, “you got to let him know you’s there ” (845). And his account culminates with his being there to bear witness and to testify to what his brother undergoes “up there” on the illuminated bandstand.

Descending to the bottom without being destroyed becomes the challenge of Sonny’s playing. Creole, another “witness,” urges Sonny with his bass to “strike out for the deep water . . . that deep water and drowning were not the same thing—he had been there and he knew.” As the narrator watches his brother move “deep within” himself toward the music, he becomes aware of the void that must somehow be made into a livable space—how “awful” it must be for the musician to have “to fill” his instrument “with the breath of life, his own.” The narrator evokes, in terms that are both spatial and redolent with the (in)audible, the pressurized threat that making music entails: “The man who creates the music . . . is dealing with the roar rising from the void and imposing order on it as it hits the air . . . more terrible because it has no words” (861). Finishing, “Creole and Sonny let out their breath, both soaking wet,” as much from depths descended as from sweat (863).

The story’s recurring references to breath and to personal atmosphere can be profitably linked to the death by constriction of Grace, which functions as a kind of grace. Sitting alone in the dark after burying his daughter and thinking of Sonny, the narrator begins to recognize that “my trouble made his real” (852). Baldwin seems to suggest by this that the inwardness of self need not be hermetic and might provide a route to others. Yet the narrator also remarks “that not many people ever really hear” music, and even “on the rare occasions when something opens within, and the music enters, what we mainly hear, or hear corroborated, are personal, private, vanishing evocations” (861). This principle is perhaps applicable to the narrator’s own concluding description of Sonny’s playing, which does not evoke the music as music so much as the thematic burden the brother is capable of hearing or would like to think he heard. In accord with this principle, the narrator reveals a newfound peace of mind, with but a residue of unease, when he designates the drink he sends his brother “the very cup of trembling” as it glows in the stage lights and shakes with the playing of the band (864). This designation arises from the same biblical source as the spirituals, being an audible renunciation, delivered by a prophet, of God’s threat to destroy a community: “Therefore now hear this, thou afflicted and drunken, but not with wine. . . . Behold I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury; thou shalt drink it no more” (Isaiah 51:21–22).

Literary Criticism of James Baldwin

BIBLIOGRAPHY Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” In Early Novels and Stories. New York: Library of America, 1998. Jones, Jacqueline C. “Finding a Way to Listen: The Emergence of the Hero as an Artist in James Baldwin’s ‘Sonny’s Blues.’ ” CLA Journal 42, no. 4 (1999): 462–482. Sherrard, Tracey. “Sonny’s Bebop: Baldwin’s ‘Blues Text’ as Intracultural Critique.” African American Review 32, no. 4 (Winter 1998): 691–704.

Sonny’s Blues

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Analysis of "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin

Baldwin's story was published in the height of the Civil Rights Era

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Ph.D., English, State University of New York at Albany
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"Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin was first published in 1957, which places it at the heart of the civil rights movement in the United States. That's three years after Brown v. Board of Education , two years after Rosa Parks refused to sit at the back of the bus, six years before Martin Luther King, Jr. , delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech and seven years before President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act of 1964 .

Plot of "Sonny's Blues"

The story opens with the first-person narrator reading in the newspaper that his younger brother — from whom he is estranged — has been arrested for selling and using heroin. The brothers grew up in Harlem , where the narrator still lives. The narrator is a high school algebra teacher and he is a responsible husband and father. In contrast, his brother, Sonny, is a musician who has led a much wilder life.

For several months after the arrest, the narrator does not contact Sonny. He disapproves of, and worries about, his brother's drug use and he is alienated by his brother's attraction to bebop music. But after the narrator's daughter dies of polio , he feels compelled to reach out to Sonny.

When Sonny is released from prison, he moves in with his brother's family. After a couple of weeks, Sonny invites the narrator to come to hear him play piano at a nightclub. The narrator accepts the invitation because he wants to understand his brother better. At the club, the narrator begins to appreciate the value of Sonny's music as a response to suffering and he sends over a drink to show his respect.

Inescapable Darkness

Throughout the story, darkness is used to symbolize the threats that menace the African-American community. When the narrator discusses his students, he says:

"All they really knew were two darknesses, the darkness of their lives, which was now closing in on them, and the darkness of the movies, which had blinded them to that other darkness."

As his students approach adulthood, they realize how limited their opportunities will be. The narrator laments that many of them may already be using drugs, just as Sonny did, and that perhaps the drugs will do "more for them than algebra could." The darkness of the movies echoed later in a comment about watching TV screens rather than windows, suggests that entertainment has drawn the boys' attention away from their own lives.

As the narrator and Sonny ride in a cab toward Harlem — "the vivid, killing streets of our childhood" — the streets "darken with dark people." The narrator points out that nothing has really changed since their childhood. He notes that:

"… houses exactly like the houses of our past yet dominated the landscape, boys exactly like the boys we once had been found themselves smothering in these houses, came down into the streets for light and air, and found themselves encircled by disaster."

Though both Sonny and the narrator have traveled the world by enlisting in the military, they have both ended up back in Harlem. And though the narrator in some ways has escaped the "darkness" of his childhood by getting a respectable job and starting a family, he realizes that his children are facing all the same challenges he faced.

His situation doesn't seem much different from that of the older people he remembers from childhood.

"The darkness outside is what the old folks have been talking about. It's what they've come from. It's what they endure. The child knows that they won't talk any more because if he knows too much about what's happened to them , he'll know too much too soon, about what's going to happen to him ."

The sense of prophecy here — the certainty of "what's going to happen" — shows a resignation to the inevitable. The "old folks" address the imminent darkness with silence because there's nothing they can do about it.

A Different Kind of Light

The nightclub where Sonny plays is very dark. It's on "a short, dark street," and the narrator tells us that "the lights were very dim in this room and we couldn't see."

Yet there is a sense that this darkness provides safety for Sonny, rather than menace. The supportive older musician Creole "erupt[s] out of all that atmospheric lighting" and tells Sonny, "I been sitting right here … waiting for you." For Sonny, the answer to suffering may lie within the darkness, not in escaping it.

Looking at the light on the bandstand, the narrator tells us that the musicians are "careful not to step into that circle of light too suddenly: that if they moved into the light too suddenly, without thinking, they would perish in the flame."

Yet when the musicians start to play, "the lights on the bandstand, on the quartet, turned to a kind of indigo. Then they all looked different there." Note the phrase "on the quartet": it's important that the musicians are working as a group. Together they're making something new, and the light changes and becomes accessible to them. They haven't done this "without thinking." Rather, they've done it with hard work and "torment."

Though the story is told with music rather than words, the narrator still describes the music as a conversation among the players, and he talks about Creole and Sonny having a "dialogue." This wordless conversation among the musicians contrasts with the resigned silence of the "old folks."

As Baldwin writes:

"For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness."

Instead of trying to find individual escape routes from the darkness, they are improvising together to create a new kind of light.

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“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin: Analysis

“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin wrote, which was first published in Partisan Review in 1957, later appeared in Baldwin’s 1965 collection of short stories, “Going to Meet the Man.”

“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

Table of Contents

“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin wrote, which was first published in Partisan Review in 1957, later appeared in Baldwin’s 1965 collection of short stories, “Going to Meet the Man.” Since its publication, “Sonny’s Blues” has gained widespread critical acclaim and popularity, and it has become one of Baldwin’s most celebrated works. The story has appeared in numerous anthologies, and scholars have analyzed and discussed it extensively, particularly for its themes of brotherhood, race, and music. Additionally, it has inspired adaptations for both the stage and screen, demonstrating the enduring impact and relevance of Baldwin’s work.

Main Events in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

The narrator, a high school teacher in Harlem, learns that his younger brother, Sonny, has been arrested for using and selling drugs.
The narrator reflects on their childhood and the strained relationship between him and Sonny due to their differing personalities and experiences.
Sonny is released from prison and comes to live with the narrator and his family.
The narrator witnesses Sonny play jazz piano at a club, and is struck by the power and emotion of his music.
Sonny explains to the narrator that playing jazz is his way of expressing the pain and suffering he has experienced in his life.
The narrator becomes more empathetic towards Sonny and begins to understand the challenges he has faced as a black man in America.
The narrator visits his mother and learns about the family’s history of suffering, including the death of their uncle, a heroin addict.
Sonny invites the narrator to hear him play at a concert, where he performs a powerful and emotional piece that moves the audience.
After the concert, the brothers reconcile and have a deep conversation about their past and future.
The story ends with the narrator watching Sonny play, feeling a sense of connection and understanding that he never thought was possible between them.

Literary Devices in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

1. Symbolism

Darkness: Represents suffering, fear, and the unknown. “All I know about darkness is what it feels like and what it smells like.”
Light: Symbolizes hope, understanding, and moments of clarity. “Then the lights would begin to go out… and something would begin to gleam.”
Music (The Blues): Symbolizes Sonny’s emotional expression, his way of processing pain, and a connection to a shared cultural heritage. “…the only light we could see… was the light from the juke box… I listened to Sonny.”

2. Metaphor

Suffering as a cup of trembling: Conveys the overwhelming nature of pain, despair, and addiction. “…please try to find out what goes on inside you, in order to create… I want to know how much suffering you’ve had to endure to make you tell such stories – like the one about the woman… holding that cup of trembling.”
Heroin as a means of control: Sonny describes how the drug makes him feel powerful against life’s struggles. “It makes you feel in control. Sometimes you’ve got to have that feeling.”
Darkness is like a swallowed razor blade: Emphasizes the sharp, cutting pain of living in inner turmoil. “It’s terrible sometimes, inside… that’s what’s the matter with Creole. … He was always in the dark… It’s like a razor blade there.”
The subway as an inescapable force: The claustrophobic environment mirrors the narrator’s internal struggle with his brother’s problems. “I read it, and I couldn’t believe it, and I read it again. Then perhaps I just stared at it, at the newsprint spelling out his name, spelling out the story. I stared at it in the swinging lights of the subway car…”

4. Personification

Darkness with a presence: Used to give darkness a tangible and oppressive quality. “But houses exactly like the houses of our past yet dominated the landscape, boys exactly like the boys we once had been found themselves smothering in these houses, came down into the streets for light and air, and found themselves encircled by disaster.”
Vivid descriptions of Harlem: Baldwin paints a detailed picture of the neighborhood, evoking its atmosphere and the challenges faced by residents. “…rows of houses, dark brown and dark grey… the babysitters, and the boys, and the shuffleboard games, and the tired, dissipated women…”

6. Foreshadowing

Sonny’s early struggles: Hints at Sonny’s future path with addiction and trouble. “Heroin… It was not like marijuana. It was something special.”
The narrator’s job as a teacher: Despite his efforts to instruct and protect younger generations, his own family faces the same hardships.
The mother’s plea: She begs the narrator to care for his brother, unaware her words foreshadow Sonny’s struggle with addiction.

8. Allusion

Biblical References: Allusions to the Bible add depth and resonance to themes of struggle, suffering, and redemption.
Street slang and dialect: Incorporating the natural language of Harlem provides authenticity and a sense of place.
Shifting tones: The text moves between despair, hope, frustration, and resignation, mirroring the complex relationship between the brothers.

11. First-Person Narration

Limited perspective: The story is filtered through the narrator’s viewpoint, emphasizing his emotional journey.

12. Retrospective Narration

Memories and Reflections: The narrator’s looking back on past events allows for self-exploration and understanding.

13. Juxtaposition

Contrasting the brothers’ lives: Emphasizes differences in how they cope with life’s struggles.

14. Dialogue

Reveals character and conflict The conversations between the brothers are raw and emotionally revealing.

15. Structure

Musical composition: The way the story weaves in and out of memory and the present moment mimics the structure of a jazz song.

Characterization in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

The narrator.

“I didn’t like what I saw. I gave the money to Sonny. There wasn’t any way I could have stopped him.”
“My trouble made his real.”
Transformation: Through Sonny’s music and their shared experiences of suffering, he begins to see beyond the labels of “addict” and “criminal.” The final scene suggests a newfound compassion and the possibility of a deeper relationship with his brother.
“Tell me what it feels like, Sonny, when you’re out there.”
“Sometimes, you’ve got to have that feeling… to keep from shaking to pieces.”
“For, while the tale of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn’t any other tale to tell, it’s the only light we’ve got in all this darkness.”
“You got to hold on to your brother…and don’t let him fall, no matter what it looks like is happening to him and no matter how evil you gets with him.”
Voice of Shared Experience: Her stories reveal the harsh realities of life and foreshadow the generational struggles faced by both brothers.
Innocence and Hope: Represents the possibility of a life outside the cycle of pain and addiction. The narrator’s desire to protect her mirrors his fear for Sonny.
Catalyst for Change: Her presence, Sonny’s connection with her, and the narrator’s reflections on her vulnerabilities push him to confront his own fears and offer Sonny support.
Embodiment of Danger: Symbolic of the destructive forces Sonny grapples with. Creole represents addiction’s power and the world the narrator desperately wants Sonny to avoid.

Significance of Characterization

Baldwin’s masterful characterization doesn’t present merely individuals but rather complex figures wrestling with:

Generational Trauma: The lasting effects of racism and poverty.
Internalized Pain: Individual ways of coping with suffering and hardship.
The Power of Connection: The search for understanding, compassion, and shared experiences as a pathway towards healing.

Major Themes in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

Suffering and Survival: Suffering permeates the lives of the characters in “Sonny’s Blues.” Both Sonny and the narrator bear emotional scars – the lingering pain of their father’s tragic death, the fear and hardship of living in Harlem, and the pervasive effects of racism. Baldwin presents different ways of coping with this suffering. Sonny turns to heroin to numb his pain, a path of self-destruction. The narrator tries to distance himself from the darkness, seeking stability in his profession and family. However, the death of his daughter Grace forces him to confront suffering head-on. References like “the darkness outside,” the “cup of trembling,” and the narrator’s internal struggle to understand Sonny’s pain showcase the constant presence and different manifestations of suffering in the story.
The Power of Music (and Art): Music, specifically the blues, is Sonny’s salvation. It becomes a language for him to express the depth of his suffering and connect with others on an emotional level. Baldwin describes how jazz musicians channel collective pain, struggle, and a yearning for a better life into their art. In the story’s climactic scene, as Sonny plays at the nightclub, the music becomes a shared experience. The narrator, filled with both pain and pride, finally begins to understand his brother, and the audience witnesses Sonny’s transformation of despair into something beautiful. Music becomes a force for catharsis, survival, and a means to find light in the darkness.
Family and Responsibility: The bond between the brothers is complex and fraught. The narrator initially distances himself from Sonny’s troubles, burdened by the weight of his mother’s plea to look after his brother. Yet, responsibility and a sense of familial obligation gradually chip away at his protective wall. The tragedy of his daughter’s death and a newfound understanding of Sonny’s inner world ignite a turning point. The story concludes with a hint of reconciliation, suggesting that genuine support and empathy within the family might be the start of a healing process.
Imprisonment (Literal and Metaphorical): Imprisonment serves as both a literal reality for Sonny, who faces incarceration for drug offenses, and as a metaphor for broader societal constraints. The narrator frequently refers to Harlem as a trap, a harsh environment that limits opportunities and breeds despair. The brothers feel imprisoned by social forces, racial injustice, and their own personal demons. Sonny’s addiction becomes another form of imprisonment, a self-imposed but ultimately destructive means to escape the harsh realities of his life.
Redemption and Hope: Despite the story’s focus on darkness and suffering, “Sonny’s Blues” doesn’t end in despair. The final scene at the nightclub offers a glimmer of hope. The music serves as an act of redemption for Sonny, a path to acknowledge his pain and transform it into something profound. Additionally, the narrator’s gradual understanding of his brother and willingness to connect despite past differences hint at the potential for reconciliation and healing. While the story doesn’t provide easy answers, it suggests that redemption is possible through shared understanding, the creative expression of pain, and a recognition of our common humanity.

Questions and Thesis Statements about “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

What is the significance of music in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin?
Thesis statement: Music plays a crucial role in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, serving as a metaphor for the characters’ emotional states and a vehicle for self-expression, communication, and healing.
How does the theme of identity manifest in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin?
Thesis statement: “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin explores the theme of identity through the characters of Sonny and his brother, who struggle to reconcile their past, present, and future selves, and through their interactions with the surrounding community and the larger social and historical contexts.
What is the role of addiction in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin?
Thesis statement: The theme of addiction is a central concern in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, portraying the destructive power of substance abuse, the cycle of addiction, and the struggles of recovery and redemption.
How does the setting of Harlem shape the narrative of “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin?
Thesis statement: The setting of Harlem in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin serves as a microcosm of the larger socio-cultural and political forces that shape the lives and experiences of the characters, highlighting issues of poverty, racism, violence, and cultural identity.
What is the significance of family relationships in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin?
Thesis statement: “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin explores the complex dynamics of family relationships, particularly between siblings, revealing tensions, conflicts, and reconciliations that reflect broader themes of love, loss, and redemption.

Literary Theories and Interpretation of “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

Psychoanalytic theory : You could explore how the characters’ unconscious desires, conflicts, traumas, and defenses shape their actions and relationships. For example, you could examine how Sonny’s addiction is a result of his repressed childhood memories of his father’s brother’s death, or how the narrator’s denial of Sonny’s musical talent is a projection of his own insecurity and guilt.
Marxist theory : You could analyze how the story reflects the social and economic conditions of African Americans in 1950s Harlem, and how these conditions influence the characters’ choices and opportunities. For example, you could discuss how Sonny’s blues music is a form of resistance and expression against the oppression and exploitation of racism and capitalism, or how the narrator’s teaching career is a compromise between his ideals and his material needs.
Feminist theory : You could examine how the story portrays gender roles and relations among the characters, and how these roles and relations affect their identities and agency. For example, you could explore how the female characters in the story (such as Isabel, Grace, or Sonny’s mother) are marginalized or silenced by the male-dominated society, or how Sonny’s relationship with his brother is influenced by their different expectations of masculinity.
Postcolonial theory : You could investigate how the story deals with issues of cultural identity, hybridity, diaspora, and resistance among African Americans in a predominantly white society. For example, you could analyze how Sonny’s blues music incorporates elements from both African American and European traditions, creating a new form of cultural expression that challenges stereotypes and norms.

Short Question-Answers About “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

What is the relationship between Sonny and his brother in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin?

In “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, Sonny and his brother have a strained relationship due to their different lifestyles and values. Sonny is a jazz musician who struggles with addiction, while his brother is a schoolteacher who tries to distance himself from the gritty reality of Harlem. However, their shared history and the tragic events that befall their family bring them closer together, as they attempt to understand each other’s perspectives and find a way to connect through music.

How does music serve as a source of healing in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin?

In “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, music serves as a powerful tool for healing and self-expression. Sonny, the protagonist, uses jazz as a means of coping with his trauma and expressing his emotions. Through his music, he communicates his pain, his hopes, and his dreams to his brother and the world, creating a sense of connection and community. The transformative power of music is also evident in the final scene, where the audience at the nightclub is united in their appreciation of Sonny’s performance, transcending their differences and experiencing a moment of collective joy and catharsis.

What is the role of religion in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin?

Religion plays a significant role in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, reflecting the characters’ search for meaning and redemption in a world marked by suffering and injustice. The narrator, Sonny’s brother, is a devout Christian who struggles to reconcile his faith with the realities of his life in Harlem. Sonny, on the other hand, turns to drugs and music as a form of escape from the constraints of religion and society. However, in the end, both characters find a sense of spiritual renewal through their shared experiences and the power of music, suggesting that religion and art can coexist and complement each other.

How does the theme of race intersect with other themes in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin?

The theme of race intersects with other themes in “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, highlighting the complex ways in which identity, culture, and history intersect in the lives of the characters. For instance, the racial tensions and injustices of Harlem inform the characters’ experiences of poverty, violence, and discrimination. The theme of addiction also intersects with race, as Sonny’s struggle with drugs is linked to the trauma of growing up in a racially oppressive environment. Similarly, the theme of music reflects the African-American cultural heritage and its significance as a form of resistance and self-expression in the face of oppression.

Literary Works Similar to “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin

Works featuring similar themes and concerns:.

Go Tell It On the Mountain (James Baldwin): A novel exploring themes of faith, family, and the complexities of growing up Black in Harlem. Baldwin’s insightful exploration of these themes echoes those found in “Sonny’s Blues.”
Invisible Man (Ralph Ellison): This seminal work examines race and identity, portraying a Black man’s struggle against the forces of social invisibility. Its themes of isolation and the search for individuality resonate strongly with “Sonny’s Blues.”
Giovanni’s Room (James Baldwin): A complex exploration of love, sexuality, and self-acceptance set against societal expectations. Like “Sonny’s Blues,” it focuses on an individual grappling with identity in a world that seeks to define him.
Native Son (Richard Wright): A powerful and controversial novel about a young Black man whose life is shaped by poverty, racism, and systemic oppression. Explores the desperation born from marginalization, a theme mirrored in “Sonny’s Blues.”
The Bluest Eye (Toni Morrison): A story about the destructive forces of internalized racism as a young Black girl longs for the unattainable standards of white beauty. Shares similar concerns regarding identity, social pressure, and the harsh realities faced by marginalized communities.

Reason for Similarity: These works share with “Sonny’s Blues” a focus on:

The African American Experience: The novels delves into the complexities of race, identity, and social injustice.
The Search for Connection: Characters grapple with isolation and yearn for genuine understanding within families and society at large.
The Power of Art: Often explores the role of music, literature, or other creative outlets in processing pain and finding a voice for self-expression.

Articles in Scholarly Journals

Eckman, Barbara. “Sonny’s Blues: James Baldwin’s Image of Black Community.” Negro American Literature Forum, vol. 4, no. 2, 1970, pp. 56–60. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/3041470.
Matlack, Cynthia. “Music Lessons: The Narrator of ‘Sonny’s Blues’.” James Baldwin Review, vol. 1, 2015, pp. 72-85. [invalid URL removed].

Articles/Websites

Als, Hilton. “The Creative Impulse” The New Yorker , 25 June, 2009. https://studentjournals.anu.edu.au/index.php/burgmann/article/download/99/97 (Offers a contemporary perspective and analysis).
“Sonny’s Blues | Encyclopedia.com.” https://www.encyclopedia.com/arts/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/sonnys-blues-james-baldwin-1965 (Provides a helpful overview, plot summary, and critical commentary).

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Sonny's Blues

By james baldwin, sonny's blues summary and analysis of "sonny's blues".

The story begins as an unnamed algebra teacher reads something disturbing while riding the subway to school. The teacher, the story’s narrator, exits the subway and continues towards his school, his fear and anxiety growing about the fate of his brother Sonny , who has been arrested for selling heroin. Thinking of his brother reminds him of his students, who face limited possibilities in a hostile world. The narrator speculates that many of his students may already be experimenting with drugs like heroin.

At the end of the school day the narrator listens to the laughter of his students for the first time and realizes it is mocking and cruel. Yet he also notices a boy whistling a complex tune that cuts through all the laughter and noise. As he exits, he is met at the gate of the school by one of Sonny’s old friends, a fellow addict, who has come to tell him about Sonny’s imprisonment.

The narrator is repulsed by Sonny’s friend, who always asks him for money; nonetheless, he greets him. They begin smoking and walking toward the narrator’s subway stop. When the friend agrees with him that nothing can be done for Sonny, the narrator feels the comment is presumptuous and experiences a surge of anger. Sonny’s friend muses that he should have ended his life long ago and the narrator snaps back in agreement. Immediately afterward he feels guilty and attempts to change the conversation back towards Sonny’s fate. As they approach the subway stop Sonny’s friend asks the narrator for money. Feeling compassion, the narrator hands him five dollars.

The narrator fails to write or visit his brother in prison until the death of his daughter, when he is finally pushed to pen a letter. Sonny’s response, which highlights just how much he needed to hear from his brother, makes the narrator feel “like a bastard” (109). Sonny writes about his anguish and even admits that he is glad his parents aren’t still alive to see him in this condition.

Sonny and the narrator continue to exchange letters and, upon Sonny’s release, they meet in New York City, where the narrator lives in Harlem. They exchange some brief, stunted conversation before hailing a cab. Sonny asks if the cab can drive alongside the park so he can see the city again. As they head towards Harlem, the “vivid killing streets of [their] childhood” (112), Sonny and the narrator become lost in contemplation, thinking of the parts of themselves they have left behind.

They enter the narrator’s apartment in a run-down housing project and sit down to dinner. Isabel , the narrator’s wife, mitigates any initial awkwardness by making Sonny feel welcome. However, the narrator scrutinizes Sonny for signs of heroin addiction.

The narrator reminisces about the brothers’ childhood, explaining that his father was a loving, if tough man, with an alcohol problem. He remarks that Sonny and his father never had a good relationship because they were too much alike; they were both very private men.

He remembers that as a child the adults would sit in the darkening evening and tell stories of the suffering they had endured. The children were afraid; they vaguely understood that this suffering would one day be theirs to bear.

The narrator recalls that after his father’s funeral his mother spoke to him about Sonny, asking him to be, essentially, his brother’s keeper. The narrator’s mother explains that his father had a brother who was killed one night when drunken white men ran him over with their car. The incident permanently traumatized his father, who viewed the scene from the side of the road. She reminds the narrator that “the world ain’t changed” (118) and makes him promise to look after Sonny.

The narrator forgets this promise until his mother’s death, when he returns home on furlough to see Sonny. Sonny attempts to explain his passion for music, but the narrator is unable to listen, thinking jazz music is beneath his brother. Similarly, he refuses to listen when Sonny explains his desperation to leave Harlem and join the military like the narrator. The narrator insists Sonny live with his then-fiancée Isabel and her family. He reminds Sonny that Isabel owns a piano, trying to cheer him up.

Sonny moves in with Isabel and her parents but creates tension in the household by constantly playing strange music on the piano. Yet Isabel, her parents, and even the narrator sense that they cannot begrudge Sonny his time on the piano, as it is too important to him. Eventually, Isabel’s mother receives a letter from Sonny’s school explaining that he has not been attending classes. When questioned Sonny admits that he has been spending time with musicians in Greenwich Village. After the resulting argument Sonny realizes his music, which is so important to him, has been bothering the family. Soon afterward he packs up his records and disappears, having joined the military.

After the end of the war the narrator and Sonny see each other once again. The narrator visits Sonny in his apartment in Greenwich Village and the brothers’ fight. It is clear the narrator neither understands nor approves of Sonny’s bohemian life-style.

The narrator details his daughter’s death of polio: she collapsed one afternoon, suffocating. Isabel, who rushed to her side as she died, is permanently traumatized. The narrator experiences a depth of suffering he never has before. His suffering reminds him of his brother’s trials and allows him to begin to understand what Sonny endured. He finally decides to write him.

Back in the present, it has been two weeks since Sonny has been living with the narrator. The narrator contemplates searching Sonny’s room, presumably for drug paraphernalia, but is stopped by a street revival occurring outside his window. He watches a man and three women testify and sing. One woman has a particularly moving voice that seems to offer people a brief reprieve from their suffering. The narrator spots Sonny standing in the crowd.

Sonny walks up to the apartment, praising the woman’s singing, if not the song. He then invites the narrator to come hear him play music. The narrator, sensing the importance of this moment, accepts the invitation.

Sonny begins to explain that heroin and music help him make his suffering his own, which keeps him from drowning in otherwise overwhelming pain. The narrator objects but forces himself to listen. Sonny continues to talk about the universal nature of suffering and the ways drugs and music have helped him cope. He admits that the reason he wanted to leave Harlem after his mother’s death was to escape his increasingly serious drug addiction. He ends by reminding the narrator that his addiction could come back at any time. The narrator accepts this.

Sonny and the narrator go to the nightclub where Sonny is scheduled to play. Everyone at the club knows and respects Sonny well. Sonny introduces his brother to the musicians he will be playing with. One of them, a fiddle-player named Creole , seems particularly proud of Sonny and happy to see the narrator supporting him. The narrator is seated back in a dark corner and prepares to watch his brother play.

The musicians tentatively walk into the spotlight shining over the bandstand and Creole leads Sonny to his piano. The band begins to play. Creole is leading the band, holding the other members back to allow Sonny to find his rhythm. Sonny struggles during the first set but during the second set he finds himself.

Sonny plays movingly, making the narrator understand, truly understand for the first time, his suffering. Yet Sonny speaks to more than just his own experience. He speaks of the experience of his mother and father, and of their community. The narrator is reminded of his own suffering and of his heritage. By understanding Sonny, he has come to understand himself.

After the song the narrator sends Sonny a glass of scotch and milk. Sonny nods toward his brother and sets the drink atop his piano. As he begins to play again it shakes like “the very cup of trembling” (141).

“Sonny’s Blues” is set in Harlem, a historically African American neighborhood in New York City. Despite the cultural revival known as the Harlem Renaissance, which bloomed in the 1920s, the neighborhood remained impoverished and oppressed in the 1950s when “Sonny’s Blues” takes place. James Baldwin ’s birthplace and home for much of his young life, Harlem plays an important role in the short story. Harlem is depicted as a trap from which the narrator and his brother must struggle to escape. Imprisonment becomes a motif in “Sonny’s Blues”: not only is one brother physically jailed during the story but the narrator repeatedly uses the word “trapped” when describing the brothers’ neighborhood.

The brothers, like the narrator’s students, are trapped in a ghetto brimming with anger. Housing projects are described as “rocks in the middle of a boiling sea” (112), an apocalyptic description of the anger that roils in Harlem. Angry figures appear throughout the story: from the narrator’s students, to a furious man at the street revival, to the narrator’s father. In one scene Sonny wonders at how the sheer pressure from all the hatred doesn’t explode, ripping the neighborhood apart (135).

“Sonny’s Blues” is not recounted by Sonny, but by his brother, the unnamed narrator. The story is not simply about Sonny’s music, but about how that music leads to a rapprochement between two estranged brothers. Using Sonny’s brother to tell the tale allows the focus of the story to be on this growing sense of brotherly love and not solely on Sonny. Using an unnamed character also allows the reader to more easily place himself in the narrator’s position.

The narrator moves back in forth in time as he is informed of Sonny’s imprisonment, reminisces lengthily about their shared past, and then moves back into the present for the story’s climax. Baldwin’s technique disrupts the reader’s sense of chronological time, making each event seem immediate. The accumulated suffering throughout the brothers’ lives comes into relief, as does the tension between the brothers.

The narrator has, what one critic termed, a “selfish desire to assimilate and lead a ‘respectable,’ safe life” (Albert 178). He aspires to conform to white bourgeois culture and in doing so alienates himself from his family and parts of the wider African American experience. When he learns of his brother’s imprisonment, he cannot find room inside himself for compassion. He has held himself at a distance for too long. Likewise, he is unfamiliar with contemporary African American culture: he admits to not knowing Charlie Parker, a famed jazz musician. He even treats aspects of his heritage with disdain: when he sees a barmaid dancing to something “black and bouncy” (107) and is overcome with contempt.

Music plays a tremendous and complex role in “Sonny’s Blues”. Perhaps most obvious is the allusion in the title, which has a seemingly odd discrepancy: Sonny is a jazz musician, not a blues musician. Yet Baldwin’s understanding of the blues is broader: the narrator explains that the blues are the story “of how we suffer, and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph” (139). Jazz, then, simply “represents a revision of the blues” (Sherard 693). It is one of the “new ways” of expressing the same old blues (139). Thus in playing jazz, Sonny is still playing the blues. Both blues and jazz are important African American musical forms and as such are appropriate to the story’s focus on community.

Given the descriptions of Sonny’s music it is clear that he is playing not just jazz, but bebop, a technically complex form that focuses on extended solos. Its emphasis on solos makes bebop the perfect sub-genre to bear Sonny’s need for self-expression; its cultural position as “an assertion of Black identity” (Reilly 57) makes it the perfect vessel for reinforcing Sonny’s connection to his community and heritage. Charlie Parker, Sonny’s idol, was considered one of the founders of bebop. Parker, who was nicknamed Bird, was known for experimental solos and, like Sonny, for a crippling heroin addiction, one that ultimately killed him.

On the other hand, Louis Armstrong, the jazz musician the narrator prefers, represents a form of jazz Sonny considers to be coopted by white culture. As one critic explains, Sonny’s protestations against Armstrong carry a “strong Uncle Tom implication” (Albert 180). The narrator’s knowledge of Armstrong and ignorance of Parker highlight his alienation from black culture.

‘Creole’, the name of Sonny’s bandleader, is also an allusion to musical culture. Creole is used to refer to hybrid languages, which parallels the new, hybrid forms of the blues Sonny experiments with (Sherard 702). Moreover the “first authentic jazz style” was known colloquially as the New Orleans style, and creole culture is strongly associated with Louisiana and New Orleans in particular (Albert 182). Creole can thus be seen to represent the hybrid jazz form that Sonny and his band play.

Baldwin’s decision to use “Am I Blue” in the story’s climax is somewhat confusing. “Am I Blue” was composed by two white musicians and originally sung by Ethel Waters, a singer who, like Louis Armstrong, was popular with white audiences. This is an odd song to mark the moment of redemption and reunion shared by two African American brothers in a story that emphasizes the importance of African American culture. Critics have suggested that the song represents an “amalgam of many ingredients that have become fused over the centuries” and thus is appropriate given the story’s focus on hybrid variations of the blues (Albert 184).

But it is not just Sonny who uses the blues to express himself. Given Baldwin’s understanding of the blues, “Sonny’s Blues,” the story itself, is a form of the blues. It follows the same essential structure: it begins with a lost and anxious man, follows two brothers growing together, and ends with a moment of redemption. Baldwin uses the blues to shape his short story, paralleling Sonny’s musical use of the blues. For both men the blues are a means for expressing themselves.

Music is the only way for Sonny to express himself. Throughout the story he struggles to communicate with a brother who refuses to hear him. The narrator rejects outright his passion for music and his desire to leave Harlem. The first time in the piece that the narrator truly hears Sonny is during the conversation the brothers have after witnessing the street revival. Listening to the honest and beautiful singing of one of the women has opened the brothers to each other and allowed them to communicate. More dramatically, the narrator’s moment of redemption occurs while finally listening to his brother play; Sonny’s music allows him to understand his brother’s struggles and through them understand his own.

Like music, suffering fills “Sonny’s Blues.” The darkness that menaces Harlem is a symbol for the suffering borne by the community. The narrator describes the darkness as what his parents “endure[d]” and what he is destined to “endure” (115). The darkness is everywhere, waiting outside a subway car, leaking in through the windows, reflected in a pair of lost eyes. Suffering is, as Sonny explains to his brother, inescapable. Sonny’s addiction, Grace ’s death, and the murder of the narrator’s uncle all seem to support this assertion.

Yet suffering has both “humanizing power and redemptive potential” (Nelson 28). Suffering allows an individual to understand the suffering of another, creating true compassion and humanizing the other. The narrator cannot understand Sonny’s plight until he has suffered similarly after the loss of his daughter. It is only then that he contacts Sonny.

Moreover, suffering, when channeled through art, carries tremendous redemptive potential. Suffering is integral to the production of art. Sonny recognizes this when he comments on the extent to which the revival singer must have suffered to sing so beautifully. When borne creatively, suffering can become a means of expression that connects people. It is Sonny’s music that releases the redemptive potential of suffering by connecting the brothers in understanding. The narrator’s redemption is only possible because of the suffering endured by his brother, community and self, and his brother’s ability to express that suffering through music. Music and art in general offer a path to redemption.

If suffering is represented by darkness then redemption is represented by light. The narrator explains the redemptive nature of the blues by describing them as “the only light we’ve got in all this darkness” (139). Similarly, the bandstand where Sonny plays is bathed in a bright spotlight.

Despite the narrator’s epiphany, the ending of “Sonny’s Blues” remains ambiguous. Deep in his moment of redemption, the narrator notes that trouble still “stretched above [the brothers], longer than the sky” (140). Sonny’s struggle during his first set may not only represent past struggles, but struggles to come. As he reminded his brother, his addiction could return. The drink the narrator sends Sonny, a scotch and milk, symbolizes the ambiguous nature of the ending. The scotch, an alcoholic drink, represents the darkness and the milk, a drink often associated with the innocence of children, represents the light. When Sonny sets it above his piano, the drink shakes “like the very cup of trembling”, a biblical allusion to the suffering endured by God’s people. Whether Sonny’s suffering has ended is unclear.

Women play a limited, but not unimportant, role in “Sonny’s Blues.” By smoothing over the awkward moments during Sonny’s homecoming visit, Isabel helps support the brothers’ relationship. Likewise, the narrator’s mother encourages him to strengthen his relationship with Sonny. Much of what his mother foresees—her own premature death, Sonny’s struggles, and the narrator’s mistreatment of Sonny—comes to pass, giving her warning to the narrator a prophetic cast. The narrator’s mother supports her husband as she does her sons, holding the family and its individual members together. Even women outside of their immediate family help bring the brothers closer; it is a woman’s singing at the revival that pushes the narrator and Sonny towards their first real conversation. Women support the relationship between the two brothers.

Though rarely overtly mentioned, racism is present throughout “Sonny’s Blues.” The Harlem Baldwin describes has been shaped by systematic racism. The decrepit projects are the result of segregationist housing policies; the limited opportunities available to the narrator’s students, the result of discrimination. The suffering borne by the community is in large part due to racism: the narrator explains he will inherit the darkness that haunts his parents. The depiction of racism becomes overt when the death of the narrator’s uncle is described. His violent death, being run over by a car full of drunken white men, permanently traumatizes the narrator’s father and worries his mother that a similar incident could befall Sonny.

Given James Baldwin’s background as a preacher, many critics have posited religious interpretations for “Sonny’s Blues.” Like in the Biblical story of Cain and Abel, the narrator refuses to be his brother’s keeper, leaving Sonny to languish in prison without human contact, figuratively ‘killing’ him. However, unlike Cain and Abel, the brothers are united and redeemed at the story’s climax. Other critics have asserted that Sonny is a Christ-like figure, citing “his descent to the underworld through drugs and his resurrection through jazz” (Ognibene 36). Like Christ, Sonny also suffers to redeem others, particularly his brother. Still other analyses hold that Sonny represents the prodigal son, who strayed and has returned to help his family. These religious interpretations, while contested, merit being considered.

Salvation is widely accepted as a religious theme in “Sonny’s Blues.” The narrator’s moment of redemption is precipitated by an act of heavenly, if painful grace: the death of the narrator’s aptly named daughter. Grace’s death, an act firmly beyond the narrator’s control, allows him to finally connect with his estranged brother and, ultimately, through his brother’s music, to be saved. The narrator’s redemption is of a religious as well as secular nature.

Given the time of its writing and publication, the midst of the Civil Rights Movement, “Sonny’s Blues” has wider political implications. The story’s focus on the importance of embracing heritage and community was extremely relevant to the political struggles then occurring in the African American community. The narrator cannot be redeemed until he reconnects with his family and with his wider heritage; aspiring to assimilate into white systems of control has not alleviated his suffering. Only understanding and identifying with his heritage can offer him a reprieve. Baldwin likely intended audiences to apply this moral to their own situations.

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Sonny’s Blues Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for Sonny’s Blues is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

1. How does the narrator describe the streets and the projects?

From the text:

So we drove along, between the green of the park and the stony, lifeless elegance of hotels and apartment buildings, toward the vivid, killing streets of our childhood. These streets hadn't changed , though housing projects jutted up...

How much money does the narrator give Sonny's friend?

The narrator give Sonny's friend six dollars.

Sonny’s blues

"Sonny's Blues" is told in the first person from the point of view of an unnamed narrator who, we find out, is Sonny's brother. "Sonny's Blues" takes place in Harlem during the early 1950s.

Study Guide for Sonny’s Blues

Sonny's Blues study guide contains a biography of James Baldwin, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

About Sonny's Blues
Sonny's Blues Summary
Character List

Essays for Sonny’s Blues

Sonny's Blues essays are academic essays for citation. These papers were written primarily by students and provide critical analysis of Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin.

Music Effecting Change
Black Masculinity As Constructed Through Baldwin
Redemption in "Sonny's Blues"
Darkness and Light in "Sonny's Blues"
Baldwin's Fiction: Liminal Agency and the Condition of Blackness

Lesson Plan for Sonny’s Blues

About the Author
Study Objectives
Common Core Standards
Introduction to Sonny's Blues
Relationship to Other Books
Bringing in Technology
Notes to the Teacher
Related Links
Sonny's Blues Bibliography

Wikipedia Entries for Sonny’s Blues

Introduction

“Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin Essay

To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
As a template for you assignment

The Narrator’s Epiphany

Sonny’s performance and its impact on narrator’s consciousness, narrator’s epiphany sentimental value, important life lessons, works cited.

The narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” is aware of social problems expressed in his brother’s music. The narrator, Sonny’s brother, realizes that music helps Sonny overcome his inner pain and suffering. For a long time, he has been detached from Sonny because they had different perspectives on life. Once they went to a night club where Sonny was offered a chance to play music to the audience. Therefore, music is used symbolically to connect the two brothers together because of their shared blood relations.

It gives the narrator and his brother a chance to escape from their pain, which they experienced while growing up in an environment full of poverty, crime and suffering. The narrator watches Sonny playing the piano in the club and concludes that this helps him deal with frustrations he has experienced in his life. He says, “He seemed to have found, right there beneath his fingers, a damn brand-new piano. It seemed that he couldn’t get over it” (Baldwin).

The narrator discovers that Sonny’s true calling lies in music. He manages to captivate the narrator and other people who are gathered in the club, because of the way he expresses personal emotions through singing. Sonny is deeply involved in singing, which makes the narrator have strong memories.

The song makes the narrator have a sentimental reconnection with his past, because of the way Sonny expresses himself through music. The performance by Sonny helps the narrator understand him better and thus, it manages to bring them closer as members of one family. The narrator offers Sonny a drink after he takes a rest from the performance. And according to the narrator, the one had carried him away. (Baldwin).

As Sonny continues singing, the narrator becomes more involved in his brother’s struggles. Sonny interacts freely with Creole and other band members, which makes him realize the importance of forming strong relationships with family and friends. The narrator realizes that music means a lot to Sonny because it helps him build strong social bonds that give him happiness.

Sonny’s musical talents and the way he expresses them enchant everyone in the audience. He becomes more excited by the way he draws them in. Sonny’s lyrics resonate with most people gathered in there and for a brief moment, he helps them forget about struggles they are facing in their lives (Baldwin).

Sonny’s performance makes the writer more conscious about his roots. The narrator and his brother had experienced a lot of suffering in their lives which affected the way they grew up. The narrator manages to reflect on the near hopeless situation which many people in the community face and finds solace in music played by his brother together with other band -mates. The experience at the club helps the narrator to discover his brother’s true personality and his outlook on life.

This gives him a chance to reflect on his heritage positively, without thinking about the suffering which people living in surrounding areas have to endure every day. This experience makes him accept the difficult situations which he and his brother have gone through and gives him the courage to forge ahead. He says “And I was yet aware that this was only a moment, that the world waited outside, as hungry as a tiger, and that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky” (Baldwin).

This self discovery by the narrator makes him understand his own background and issues faced by other people living where he grew up. Sonny has served a prison sentence which has made him suffer the pain of being incarcerated. He has difficulties in adjusting to life outside prison; a situation which is experienced by most former convicts.

The narrator becomes aware that his inconsiderate attitude towards the well-being of his brother failed Sonny and made him deviate into crime. He realizes that he cannot escape the reality that African Americans will continue being persecuted by the political system because of their race.

His brother did not get opportunities which would have empowered him to become a good citizen. Therefore, the narrator manages to overcome his fears and come to terms with the pain he has felt for most of his adult life. His perception of the African American society changes, because he gets to understand the root cause of their social problems (Baldwin).

The narrator leads a successful life as a teacher with his family, in a new residential area. This area is more comfortable and differs greatly from the unpleasant environment he was raised in. He gets to understand the importance of having compassion to other people who are not successful like him.

The narrator discovers the strong emotional connections he has with his brother, even though they do not share the same level of success. He learns that with the right determination, any person can get out of any hopeless situation. In the past, he thought it was wise to move away from where he was raised to a new area, which did not have a lot of suffering. This had made him reject his brother and heritage, so as to escape the pain he had lived with since childhood (Baldwin).

Flibbert describes the way the narrator has developed, “a mental and emotional state arising from recognition of limitation imposed-in the case of African-Americans-by racial barriers to opportunity” (69). This argument reveals how racially discriminative policies make it difficult for black people to live a better life.

Therefore, this consigns them to a life full of poverty, which makes Sonny and others like him to resort to crime and other undesirable activities. This assertion is true because issues which are raised in the story relate to what many African Americans endured before the Civil Rights movement era.

Clark explains the use of imagery in the story to show different stages of life which the narrator and Sonny had to pass through while growing up He says, “The light and dark imagery is pervasive in “Sonny’s Blues” and that this imagery can be roughly equated with the respective conditions of childhood and adulthood” (Clark 202).

This shows that the narrator had not yet understood what made his brother and other people in the neighborhood to live in poverty. The narrator manages to overcome the rejection he had of his heritage, which had been influenced by unpleasant memories he had while growing up. He has to deal with the burden of protecting his brother from any harm because of the promise he made to his mother before she passed away.

Baldwin, James. Sonny’s Blues . Scribd Digital Library, 2013. Web.

Clark, Michael. “ James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues: Childhood Light and Art.” CLA Journal 29.2 (1985): 197-205. Print.

Flibbert, Joseph. “Sonny’s Blues: Overview.” Reference Guide to Short Fiction. Ed. Noelle Watson. New York: St James Press, 1994. 69-80. Print.

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Critical Analysis of James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues

Categories: Sonny's Blues

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Published: Dec 3, 2020

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Works Cited:

Braun, S. (2017). Rescuing Indigenous land ownership: Revising Locke’s account of original appropriation through cultivation. Journal of Agricultural and Environmental Ethics, 30(1), 93-107.
Locke, J. (2019). Second treatise of government. Independently Published.
Locke, J. (2017). Two treatises of government. Cambridge University Press.
Macpherson, C. B. (2018). The political theory of possessive individualism: Hobbes to Locke (Vol. 303). Oxford University Press.
Nelson, S. A. (2019). John Locke on property rights: A study in feminist political theory. Cambridge University Press.
Riley, J. (2017). Re-Reading the Colonial Archive with Indigenous Women. Canadian Journal of History, 52(3), 451-474.
Satz, D. (2020). John Locke and the commodification of body parts. Cambridge University Press.
Stilz, A. (2019). Liberal Loyalty: Freedom, Obligation, and the State. Princeton University Press.
Tully, J. (2018). An approach to political philosophy: Locke in contexts. Cambridge University Press.
Waldron, J. (2016). The Right to Private Property. Oxford University Press.

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A look at James Baldwin’s enduring influence on art and activism

Jeffrey Brown Jeffrey Brown

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Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/a-look-at-james-baldwins-enduring-influence-on-art-and-activism

The legendary writer and activist James Baldwin would have turned 100 this month. He is best known for his novels and essays and as a moral voice addressing race, sexuality and the very fabric of American democracy. Jeffrey Brown looks at Baldwin's enduring legacy for our series, Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy and for our arts and culture coverage, CANVAS.

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Notice: Transcripts are machine and human generated and lightly edited for accuracy. They may contain errors.

Amna Nawaz:

This month, the legendary writer and activist James Baldwin would have turned 100 years old.

Baldwin is best known for his novels and essays and as a moral voice addressing race, sexuality and the very fabric of American democracy. Nearly 40 years after his death, his words are more relevant than ever.

Jeffrey Brown looks at his enduring legacy for our series Art in Action, exploring the intersection of art and democracy, and our ongoing Canvas coverage.

James Baldwin, Writer:

The inequality suffered by the American Negro population of the United States has hindered the American dream.

Jeffrey Brown:

James Baldwin, novelist, essayist, civil rights activist, public intellectual, here debating William F. Buckley Jr. at the University of Cambridge in 1965.

Eddie Glaude Jr., Princeton University:

He's engaged in this ongoing work of self-creation, in this sustained reflection on the power of the American idea. He's bringing the full weight of his intellect to bear on this project.

Eddie Glaude Jr. is a professor of African American studies at Princeton University and author of the 2020 book "Begin Again: James Baldwin's America and Its Urgent Lessons for Our Own."

Eddie Glaude Jr.:

I think, if you read Baldwin closely, there is this underlying idea that we have yet to discover who we are, right, because the ghosts of the past in so many ways, not only blind us, but they have us by the throat.

James Arthur Baldwin was born in Harlem in 1924 and raised there by his mother and stepfather, a Baptist preacher. The oldest of nine children, he excelled in school and served as a junior minister.

A man on the margins, Black and queer, he spent years of his life abroad, much of it in France, beginning at age 24. He wrote novels, including "Go Tell It on the Mountain," an autobiographical book about growing up in Harlem, and "Giovanni's Room" about a tormented love affair between two men living in Paris, and powerful essays exploring race and American identity, including "Notes of a Native Son" and "The Fire Next Time."

He's one of the greatest essayists we have ever produced, the world has ever produced I think, and his subject is us. But his vantage point, it's not that of a victim. His vantage point is from those who've had to bear the burden of America's refusal to look itself squarely in the face.

He was also a playwright and poet, an activist who marched and spoke out for civil rights, including on television, here on "The Dick Cavett Show" in 1969.

James Baldwin:

And the word Negro in this country really is designed, finally, to disguise the fact that one is talking about another man, a man like you, who wants what you want.

And insofar as the American public wants to think there has been progress, they overlook one very simple thing. I don't want to be given anything by you. I just want you to leave me alone, so I can do it myself.

Baldwin died in 1987, but he's remained a powerful cultural presence, one that's only grown in the past decade.

There are days — this is one of them — when you wonder what your role is in this country and what your future is in it.

In the 2016 documentary "I Am Not Your Negro," director Raoul Peck drew from Baldwin's own words. As he told me then:

Raoul Peck, Director:

He was already a classic, and he wrote those things 40, 50 years ago. And watching the film, you think that he would have — he wrote that in the morning, the morning before watching the film, because those words are so accurate, they are so prescient and so impactful, that you can't do it better.

In 2018, Baldwin's 1974 novel "If Beale Street Could Talk" was adapted by Oscar-winning director Barry Jenkins.

Barry Jenkins, Director:

Whether I had won eight Oscars or no Oscars, it's James damn Baldwin, you know? It's James Baldwin. That's pressure enough, in and of itself, because I wanted to honor his legacy in the way that I thought it should be honored.

And now a celebration of the centennial of his birth, including an exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery called This Morning, This Evening, So Soon: James Baldwin and the Voices of Queer Resistance, which takes its name from a short story he published in 1960, another at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture titled Jimmy: Gods Black Revolutionary Mouth, presenting Baldwin's archive of personal papers.

There's a new album by singer-songwriter and bassist Meshell Ndegeocello called No More Water: The Gospel of James Baldwin, and reissues of seminal works with new introductions and artwork.

Cree Myles, Host, "The Baldwin 100": What is the best lesson you have learned being in the spiritual community that you are in with James Baldwin?

Along with a podcast, "The Baldwin 100," in which host Cree Myles talks with contemporary writers and thinkers.

What is his relevance today, especially when you think about younger people, younger readers, younger citizens?

Cree Myles:

Despite the time that has passed, his amount of truth is still relatively radical. When I think about his novels and "Giovanni's Room," and we're thinking about the ways that he grappled with, like, sexuality, those are things were still coming to terms with.

Acclaimed Irish novelist Colm Toibin contributed the new book "On James Baldwin."

Colm Toibin, Author, "On James Baldwin": I'm interested in him as, I suppose, someone who really found ways of dealing with individuality versus community, with being an artist in a difficult time.

But more than anything, more than anything, he wrote well.

Toibin saw connections to his own upbringing and told us how Baldwin has influenced him as writer and man.

Colm Toibin:

It's a question of engaging with this great intelligence and with the sensuous intelligence, with someone sort of thinking brilliantly and glittering sort of way.

But it is also, of course, developing strategies, which he did in relation to his family, in relation to Harlem, in relation to Black America, in relation to exile, in relation to attempting to being an artist in a time of flux, and also in a way of being a gay artist, a homosexual artist coming out of a world which is very conservative and very religious, and attempting also to build strategies around that that give you energy, rather than ones that take you down.

One deeply resonant thread through all the commemorations, Baldwin's focus on the fragility of democracy itself.

Baldwin's exposing the lie that is the source of the suffering, that defines this fragile project, it seems to me. He's committed to democracy. He's committed to America. After all, we are deeply American. But, by virtue of that commitment, he has to relentlessly critique it.

It comes as a great shock to discover the country, which is your birthplace and to which you owe your life and your identity, has not, in its whole system of reality, evolved any place for you.

A commitment, as Glaude puts it, to the complex experiment called America.

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm Jeffrey Brown.

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In his more than 30-year career with the News Hour, Brown has served as co-anchor, studio moderator, and field reporter on a wide range of national and international issues, with work taking him around the country and to many parts of the globe. As arts correspondent he has profiled many of the world's leading writers, musicians, actors and other artists. Among his signature works at the News Hour: a multi-year series, “Culture at Risk,” about threatened cultural heritage in the United States and abroad; the creation of the NewsHour’s online “Art Beat”; and hosting the monthly book club, “Now Read This,” a collaboration with The New York Times.

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Kemerovo Oblast—Kuzbass

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Kemerovo Oblast—Kuzbass is situated in southern central Russia. Krasnoyarsk Krai and Khakasiya lie to the east, Tomsk Oblast to the north, Novosibirsk Oblast to the west, and Altai Krai and the Republic of Altai to the south-west. Kemerovo was founded in 1918 as Shcheglovsk. It became the administrative centre of the Oblast upon its formation on 26 January 1943. The city is at the centre of Russia’s principal coal mining area. In 1998 Tuleyev signed a framework agreement with the federal Government on the delimitation of powers, which was accompanied by 10 accords aimed at strengthening the regional economy. The Oblast’s main industrial centres are at Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Prokopyevsk, Kiselyovsk and Leninsk-Kuznetskii. Kemerovo Oblast’s agriculture consists mainly of potato and grain production, animal husbandry and beekeeping. The Oblast is the largest producer of coal among the federal subjects, and a principal producer of steel.

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Kemerovo Oblast, Russia

The capital city of Kemerovo oblast: Kemerovo .

Kemerovo Oblast - Overview

Kemerovo Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the south-east of Western Siberia, part of the Siberian Federal District. This region is also known as Kuzbass . In 2019, “Kuzbass” officially became the second name of Kemerovo Oblast. Kemerovo is the capital city of the region.

The population of Kemerovo Oblast is about 2,604,300 (2022), the area - 95,725 sq. km.

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11 February, 2019 / Kemerovo - the view from above .

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2 June, 2013 / Summer snowfall in Kemerovo .

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31 October, 2010 / The ship-house in Kemerovo oblast .

History of Kemerovo Oblast

People began to settle in what is now the Kemerovo region several thousand years ago. The indigenous peoples of the region were Shortsy and Teleuts. In 1618, Russians founded Kuznetsky stockaded town in the south of the present region to protect Russian lands from the raids of the Mongols and Jungars. In 1698, Mariinsk was founded.

In 1721, Mikhailo Volkov found “burning mountain” (a burning coal seam) on the banks of the Tom River and thus became the person who discovered the Kuzbass coal deposits. Industrial development of this land started at the end of the 18th century.

During the 19th century, the territory of the Kemerovo region was part of the Tomsk province. During this period, the first industrial enterprises appeared here: Tomsk ironworks, Gavrilovsky and Gurievsky silver plants, Suharinsky and Salairsky mines. Construction of the Trans-Siberian Railway was one of the main reasons for the rapid development of the local industry.

More historical facts…

In Soviet times, the region became part of the West Siberian krai, and then - Novosibirsk oblast. The development of the coal, metallurgical and chemical industries continued: Kemerovo Coke Plant, Kuznetsk Metallurgical Plant, a lot of new mines. The workers’ settlements built near the industrial enterprises quickly obtained the status of towns: Kiselyovsk, Osinniki, Krasnobrodsky, Tashtagol, Kaltan, Mezhdurechensk and others.

During the Second World War, this region was a major supplier of coal and metal. More than 50 thousand tanks and 45 thousand aircraft were produced using steel from Novokuznetsk. 71 industrial enterprises were evacuated to Kuzbass from the occupied regions, most of them remained in the region after the war.

In 1943, Kemerovo Oblast became a separate region that included 17.5% of the territory and 42% of the total population of Novosibirsk Oblast. After the war, the region continued to grow rapidly. On September 18, 1984, about 100 km from Kemerovo, a peaceful underground nuclear explosion was carried out, the power of the explosive device was 10 kilotons.

In the 1990s, the region’s economy declined. However, by the end of the 20th century, there were some positive developments - the development of the coal industry in the first place. Special attention was paid to the development of open-pit coal mining, as a more effective and safe way.

Beautiful nature of Kemerovo Oblast

Mountain stream in the Kemerovo region

Author: Sergey Timofeev

On the shore of a small lake in Kemerovo Oblast

Kemerovo Oblast landscape

Kemerovo Oblast - Features

Kemerovo Oblast is one of the few Russian regions that has a recognized and well-known alternative name “Kuzbass” - the abbreviation of “Kuznetsk coal basin” occupying a large part of the territory of the region.

It is the most densely populated part of Siberia. The length of the region from north to south is about 500 km, from west to east - 300 km. Russians make up more than 90% of the population. There are small nations of Shortsy, Teleuts, Siberian Tatars who have preserved their cultural traditions.

The climate is sharply continental with long cold winters and warm short summers. The average temperature in January is minus 17-20 degrees Celsius, in July - plus 17-18 degrees Celsius.

Today, about 86% of the population of Kemerovo Oblast lives in cities and towns making it one of the most urbanized regions of Russia. The largest cities are Kemerovo (548,000), Novokuznetsk (540,000), Prokopievsk (185,000), Mezhdurechensk (95,400), Leninsk-Kuznetsky (91,600), Kisilyovsk (83,700), Yurga (79,700), Belovo (70,100), Anzhero-Sudzhensk (65,700).

Sheregesh, a village located at the foot of Zelenaya Mountain in Tashtagol district, is one of Russia’s most popular ski resorts. The ski season lasts from November to May. Kuznetsky Alatau Reserve and Shorsky National Park are the main natural attractions.

Kemerovo Oblast plays a significant role in Russian industry. The following mineral resources are mined here: coal, gold, silver, iron ore, manganese ore, aluminum, nepheline ore, lead, zinc, barite, quartz, limestone, clay, dolomite, sand.

Kuznetsk coal basin is one of the largest coal basins in the world. The most important centers of the local coal industry are Prokopyevsk, Mezhdurechensk, Belovo, Kemerovo, Novokuznetsk, Osinniki, Leninsk-Kuznetsky. Coal mines can be found almost everywhere in the Kemerovo region. About 180 million tons of coal is mined annually.

Rail transport is well developed in the region. The Trans-Siberian Railway, the South Kuzbas branch of West Siberian Railway cross its territory. There are large airports in Kemerovo (Kemerovo International Airport) and Novokuznetsk (Spichenkovo Airport).

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Analysis of James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues
Analysis of James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues. "Sonny's Blues" is a first-person account by an AfricanAmerican schoolteacher trying to come to terms with his younger brother, Sonny, a jazz musician and sometime heroin addict. Some of James Baldwin 's thematic preoccupations can be ascertained by noting the subtle variations and quasi ...
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Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin. 's Blues by James BaldwinI read about it in the paper, in. the subway, on my way to work. I read it, and I couldn't b. lieve it, and I read it again. Then perhaps I just stared at it, at the newsprint spelling out his. name, spelling out the story. I stared at it in the swinging lights of the subway car, and in ...
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James Baldwin's short story "Sonny's Blues" examines darkness, light, jazz, and race in 20th-century America in the tale of two brothers.
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Sonny's Blues " Sonny's Blues " is a 1957 short story [ 1] written by James Baldwin, originally published in Partisan Review. The story contains the recollections of a black algebra teacher in 1950s Harlem as he reacts to his brother Sonny's drug addiction, arrest, and recovery.
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Need to write a Sonny's Blues essay? 📝 Here we've collected 85 title ideas, essay examples, thesis topics on Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin.
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Once they went to a night club where Sonny was offered a chance to play music to the audience. Therefore, music is used symbolically to connect the two brothers together because of their shared blood relations. Get a custom essay on "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin 185 writers online Learn More
Critical Analysis of James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues
Critical Analysis of James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues. When reading the short story 'Sonny's Blues' you can see it is Baldwin's exceptionally acclaimed treatment of his trademark subjects the kind of diversion, race cognations in the United States singular anguish, and withal the use of craftsmanship. In the 1950s, NYC, the story is ...
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Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin Essay Good Essays 1228 Words 5 Pages Open Document Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin A captivating tale of a relationship between two troubling brothers in Harlem, "Sonny's Blues" is told from the perception of Sonny's brother, whose name is never mentioned.
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Louis H. Pratt took the opposite viewpoint, believing that "Sonny's Blues" is specifically a black story. He asserted in James Baldwin that the stories in Going to Meet the Man all deal with the ...
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Sonny's Blues Essay. In James Baldwin's, Sonny's Blues, the title itself is symbolic of the blues in the matrix of the African-American culture of music and suffering. To understand the significance of the blues, one must first define the blues, where the blues originated, and how it is related to suffering and how it is communicated in music.
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This chapter presents history, economic statistics, and federal government directories of Kemerovo Oblast. Kemerovo Oblast, known as the Kuzbass, is situated in southern central Russia.
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ABSTRACT Kemerovo Oblast—Kuzbass is situated in southern central Russia. Krasnoyarsk Krai and Khakasiya lie to the east, Tomsk Oblast to the north, Novosibirsk Oblast to the west, and Altai Krai and the Republic of Altai to the south-west. Kemerovo was founded in 1918 as Shcheglovsk. It became the administrative centre of the Oblast upon its formation on 26 January 1943. The city is at the ...
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Kemerovo Oblast - Overview Kemerovo Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the south-east of Western Siberia, part of the Siberian Federal District. This region is also known as Kuzbass. In 2019, "Kuzbass" officially became the second name of Kemerovo Oblast. Kemerovo is the capital city of the region.