Characterization Sonny's Blues
Sonny’s Blues In Sonny’s Blues, Baldwin uses a passionate tone and imagery to reveal how Sonny’s relationship to music characterizes him. Sonny is characterized as dedicated to his music. He’s someone who treats music as a lifestyle, and not just a hobby.
When Sonny moves into Isabel’s home, music officially becomes his life. It was an opportunity he did not have before, because now he would have access to a piano. “At first, Isabel would write me, saying how nice it was that Sonny was so serious about his music and how, as soon as he came home from school, or wherever he had been when he was supposed to be at school, he went straight to that piano and stayed there until suppertime. And after supper, he went back to that piano and stayed there until everybody went to bed. He was at the piano all day Saturday and all day Sunday” (Baldwin 195).
Here the reader is introduced to Sonny’s relationship with music. A vivid image is created of Sonny spending all the time he possibly has playing the piano. The passionate tone that Baldwin creates is being revealed to the reader, and the reader can see how dedicated Sonny is to his music. Sonny becomes so dedicated to music that it becomes the thing that defines him. “Isabel finally confessed that it wasn’t like living with a person at all, it was like living with a sound” (195). Not only does Isabel see how devoted Sonny is, but all the people who live in that house see it, and “they began, in a way, to be afflicted by this presence that was living in their home.” The reader can see that nobody currently in Sonny’s life supports his music. Music is the only thing Sonny has, especially when it comes to living in this house. This emphasizes the passionate tone because of the fact that all that there is in Sonny’s life is music. His mother and father are deceased, his brother is away on duty, and music becomes the only salvation from the world Sonny is trying to escape. Sonny’s dedication ultimately leads to
When Sonny moves into Isabel’s home, music officially becomes his life. It was an opportunity he did not have before, because now he would have access to a piano. “At first, Isabel would write me, saying how nice it was that Sonny was so serious about his music and how, as soon as he came home from school, or wherever he had been when he was supposed to be at school, he went straight to that piano and stayed there until suppertime. And after supper, he went back to that piano and stayed there until everybody went to bed. He was at the piano all day Saturday and all day Sunday” (Baldwin 195).
Here the reader is introduced to Sonny’s relationship with music. A vivid image is created of Sonny spending all the time he possibly has playing the piano. The passionate tone that Baldwin creates is being revealed to the reader, and the reader can see how dedicated Sonny is to his music. Sonny becomes so dedicated to music that it becomes the thing that defines him. “Isabel finally confessed that it wasn’t like living with a person at all, it was like living with a sound” (195). Not only does Isabel see how devoted Sonny is, but all the people who live in that house see it, and “they began, in a way, to be afflicted by this presence that was living in their home.” The reader can see that nobody currently in Sonny’s life supports his music. Music is the only thing Sonny has, especially when it comes to living in this house. This emphasizes the passionate tone because of the fact that all that there is in Sonny’s life is music. His mother and father are deceased, his brother is away on duty, and music becomes the only salvation from the world Sonny is trying to escape. Sonny’s dedication ultimately leads to