Narrative Ambiguity In Sonny's Blues

In the article, Words and Music: Narrative Ambiguity in "Sonny's Blues", author Keith Byerman studies the relationship between art and language and the effects that it has in James Baldwin's narrative, Sonny's Blues. In order for Byerman to examine the narrative, he begins under the assumption that there is no conflict resolution between Sonny and his brother, the narrator. "According to Jonathan Culler", in paragraph 2, "resolution can be accomplished in a story when a message is received or a code is deciphered". Byerman believes that the message is not received by the narrator of the story because he is unable to understand properly due to his reliance on skewed language or his own personal biases that he places on the message to change
For example, the narrator's first interaction with the message came in it's simplest form, when he was reading the newspaper. According to the article, the message was, '"spelled out,' a text that cannot be ignored" (Byerman 368), but the narrator's first response was to change his emotions and focus them elsewhere. Byerman believes he does this by using a strong art based metaphor and repeating his disbelief. By using this metaphor Byerman states that the narrator has a strong need for proper verbal language, but does not use it to receive the message. The next event that the author hits on is to reiterate and verify the thesis. This occurs when the narrator runs into an old friend of Sonny's. Byerman makes a point of analyzing the motif of darkness and reminding the reader of the narrator's intent to continuously distance himself from the message by distracting himself with visual as well as musical interpretations of the situation. By the narrator doing this, Byerman is able to continue to exemplify how conflict resolution is unattainable for the characters due to the seperation of language and