Why Sonny Is Not A Jazz Pianist - 921 Words

The narrator, a teacher in Harlem, has escaped the ghetto, creating a stable and secure life for himself despite the destructive pressures that he sees destroying so many young blacks. He sees African American adolescents discovering the limits placed on them by a racist society at the very moment when they are discovering their abilities. He tells the story of his relationship with his younger brother, Sonny. That relationship has moved through phases of separation and return. After their parents’ deaths, he tried and failed to be a father to Sonny. For a while, he believed that Sonny had succumbed to the destructive influences of Harlem life. Finally, however, they achieved a reconciliation in which the narrator came to understand the value and the importance of Sonny’s need to be a jazz pianist. The story opens with a crisis in their relationship. The narrator reads in the newspaper that Sonny was taken into custody in a drug raid. He learns that Sonny is addicted to heroin and that he will be sent to a treatment facility to be â€Å"cured.† Unable to believe that his gentle and quiet brother could have so abused himself, the narrator cannot reopen communication with Sonny until a second crisis occurs, the death of his daughter from polio. When Sonny is released, the narrator brings him to live with his family. The middle section of the story is a flashback. The narrator remembers his last talk with his mother, in which she made him promise to â€Å"be there† for Sonny. Home onShow MoreRelatedCompare/Contrast - Clean Well Lighted Place and Sonnys Blues1224 Words   |  5 PagesSonnys Blues, the protagonist, Sonny, in an attempt to escape his childhood in Harlem, finds the creative outlet of being a jazz pianist, and unfortunately gets sucked into drugs in the process. Although the elderly man in A Clean Well-Lighted Place and Sonny in Sonnys Blues face very different challenges in their lives, the manner in which they combat their struggles with themselves, with family members, and with society is similar in principle. Both Sonny and the old man are primarily inRead MorePoint of View and Symbolism in Sonnys Blues1558 Words   |  7 Pagessymbolism and the nuances of point of view to give the story a deeper connotation that could not be said plainly. The meat of the story is about an unnamed older brother’s relationship and differences with his younger brother, Sonny. Sonny’s aspiration to become a jazz pianist leads him in an opposite direction than his brother, and into a world where the common suffering is dealt with by heroin and music. The fundamental differences between the brothers in their lack of understanding for each otherRead MoreJames Baldwin s Connections With Sonny s Blues996 Words   |  4 Pagesthe United States was deep in the segregation of race. Harlem was a mostly an African American Project. A vast amount of its residents were either poor, homeless, or had drug related problems. At the beginning of the story, the Narrator’s brother Sonny, is arrested for both the use and distribution of heroin. The narrator whom is never named, is a public high school algebra teacher. He cannot help, but wonder what is in store for his students. He states, â€Å"These boys, now were living as we’d beenRead MoreEssay On Duke Ellington1506 Words   |  7 PagesEllington were both pianist. His father played operatic arias while parlor songs were his mother’s first choice. It is an interesting fact that Duke is not actually Ellington’s name, but it is only his nickname, which children gave him when he was a little boy for his aristocratic manners and the ability to dress elegant things. When Duke was seven years old, he began his piano training and took lessons from Marietta Clinkscales. (Ruhlmann) Duke Ellington was an American jazz pianist, composer, andRead MoreJames Baldwin s Sonny s Blues2994 Words   |  12 PagesINTRODUCTION Sonny, from James Baldwin’s â€Å"Sonny’s Blues,† is portrayed as a sufferer. He struggles with his stagnation in Harlem, his unfulfilled dreams and the disconnect between himself and his only family, his brother. However, not all hope is lost. He serves as a teacher for others, full of knowledge of how one can truly suffer and still triumph (Norton 47). Only when he is finally able to connect with his brother through music, are his â€Å"blues† finally heard and he affirms his individualityRead MoreJames Baldwin s Sonny s Blues905 Words   |  4 Pagesconnection, the question that I want to research is why would a man like James Baldwin represent a character like Sonny in Sonny’s Blues? James Baldwin is a man of his words through his experiences in Harlem, and this influences his writings and the person who he is. After reading Sonny’s Blues, I came to my claim, that James Baldwin would relate himself to Sonny in Sonny’s Blues becau se of the similarities in their experiences, growing up in Harlem. This is why I choose to do research on my topic to proveRead MoreThe Themes Of Symbolism In Sonnys Blues By James Baldwin1590 Words   |  7 PagesMusic brings Sonny and his brother together but also tears them apart, so its a contradicting factor in this story. Sonnys music and his drugs play similar roles within the text as well. Sonny and the narrator suffered not only because of their race but because of all the obstacles they have to overcome while being black in America. They lost not only loved ones but, they also lost themselves for a while, they’re prisoners in their own homes and bodies. Sonny wants to be a successful jazz player/pianistRead MoreSymbolism In Sonnys Blues1392 Words   |  6 Pagesaware of what true suffering is while they are young, they may not recognize it when they are older, and it can have a bigger impact on them or worse than that. In this text suffering comes in more forms than one and the setting plays a key role in why the narrator and his brother suffer. The narrator talks about young boys in his class he says, â€Å"These boys, now, were living as wed been living then, they were growing up with a rush and their heads bumped abruptly against the low ceiling of theirRead MoreAnalysis Of Sonny s Blues By John M. Lee2198 Words   |  9 Pagesbe interpreted in two ways (Reilly, 56). The first interpretation is the state of unhappiness and discontent amongst the Black community and the music played by Sonny, or rather his depression (blues). According to Reilly, the purpose of the story is to lead those reading Sonny’s Blues to sympathetically engage with the young man (Sonny) by digging in deep knowledge on human motives. The intention of the narrator, and even for James Baldwin himself, is to paint a picture of the hardships being experienceRead MoreSonnys Blue and Two Kinds Rebellion1915 Words   |  8 Pagesrealize that one does not simply rebel to disappoint others; it is more of a misery than having an understanding of one another. In the story Sonnys Blue by James Baldwin, Sonny struggle to find what he truly is and what he wants to be, with the inevitable interference of his brothers logical approach on how he raise him. Sonny finds himself lock between his dreams and reality that sets him off to rebel against his brother. Similarly rebellious but different in bearings, Jing Mei from Two kinds