Sonny's Blues Literary Analysis Essay

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a story about two brothers who grow apart and reunite after many struggles. The narrator, Sonny’s brother, tells the story through his point of view regarding their issues, heartache, and finally their acceptance. The brother has the knowledge of the past from his mother that helps to shape the story and makes his point of view credible. His point of view, knowledge of the past, and his own experiences help to give the reader clarity of the overall meaning. The narrator of this story is Sonny’s brother. He knows the most about all the family and is best suited for telling the story. The brother is the one Mama told about their uncle and father’s tragic event. She tells him this so that he will take care of Sonny. This being said, he feels obligated to Sonny and his endeavors throughout life. His obligation is more of a guardian role than a brother. The brother’s knowledge of this event
Sonny’s brother was in a dark place after suffering this loss, which made him sympathize with Sonny. This tragedy helped the brother reach out to Sonny so that he could make amends for their long separation. At this point, Sonny’s brother tries to understand all that has transpired in Sonny’s life to get some clarity why Sonny went down this dark path. Sonny’s brother makes sense of Sonny’s struggles to help the reader piece together a complete picture of Sonny’s life. Lastly, the brother understands why Sonny expresses himself through music. It helps him cope with all the pain he has gone through. Creole got Sonny back playing the piano. Even though it has been a while since Sonny has played, it definitely brought back some memories. The brother talks about in the story that Sonny’s music brings back memories of Mama, father, and his sweet little Grace. It just shows that Sonny really did turn his life around, and the brother was right there watching it