Author: mmcnulty

Michael McNulty

Dr. Julie Sievers

CULF 1318.10

April 26, 2016

Sonny’s Blues: p. 2208 – 2215

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a story of two brothers that live in the Harlem ghettos during the early 1950’s.  Sonny’s older brother, who is never specifically named, but plays a significant character throughout, narrates the story.  “Sonny’s Blues” explores multiple topics ranging from the underground jazz scene, drug abuse, Harlem ghettos, and internal suffering, to artistic expression and various forms of family and corresponding dynamics.  Baldwin’s flowing style of writing allows the reader to connect with the brothers on an emotional level.  James Baldwin sets up two crucial conflicts between the brothers, their differing perspectives on jazz, and their opposing perspectives on what kind of family is best, which isn’t resolved until the narrator watches Sonny play with the band.

Baldwin uses the narrator’s point of view to reveal his negative perspective on the jazz scene and sees it as a bad influence.  In the beginning section of the story, the brothers are talking about Sonny wanting to become a pianist.  The narrator was uneasy at Sonny’s choice of profession because he didn’t think Sonny could make any money at it, along with his past drug habits and the impression the jazz scene is a bad influence.  The narrator believes the jazz scene is a bad influence because of the sketchy characters, prevalence of drugs, and laid back attitude.  My portion of the text begins when Sonny and his brother get into a fight over how Sonny had been living his life.  A pivotal moment in the story is when the narrator says, in regards to Sonny, “I didn’t like the way he carried himself, loose and dreamlike all the time, and I didn’t like his friends, and his music seemed to be merely an excuse for the life he led. It sounded just that weird and disordered” (Baldwin p. 2207).  I think the reason the narrator does not like the way Sonny is carrying himself because he is suspicious of Sonny’s drug habits recurring, especially when he says he mentions his constant loose and dreamlike state.  The brothers constantly get into arguments because he is doing everything he can to provide Sonny with a better lifestyle.  When it comes to the topic of jazz music and its culture, the narrator is very bitter; he associates it with hipster, drug using, degenerate, musicians.

The author uses Sonny’s perspective to show an appreciation for the jazz scene.  Sonny has the opposite view from his brother, he loves everything about jazz music.  Jazz is as much of a part of Sonny as are his arms and legs, and probably knows more about the music than himself.  In a scene from the previous section, the narrator was talking to Sonny about musicians and brought up Louis Armstrong; Sonny was disappointed his brother couldn’t hear the difference between Louis Armstrong and Charlie Parker (Baldwin p. 2204).  Sonny wanted to play like Charlie Parker who was very influential in the bebop style of jazz.  Bebop’s style was viewed as unconventional at the time, when compared to traditional jazz music because bebop musicians were able to take a free form approach.  Many musicians at the time used drugs in order to fully express themselves, including famous musicians such as Charlie Parker and Ray Charles.  Charlie Parker died of, “lobar pneumonia and the devastating effects of long-term substance abuse” according to a bibliography.com article (“Charlie Parker”).  Sonny’s passion for jazz music is revealed to us through the way he talks to his brother about the music.  Baldwin makes it seem like a life or death situation for Sonny; in the same conversation of trying to explain using drugs to his brother, Sonny explains his internal struggle, and the importance of playing music.  Sonny says, “Sometimes you’ll do anything to play, even cut your mother’s throat. […] Or your brother’s. Or your own” (Baldwin p. 2211-2212).  While the narrator finds anger and bitterness when thinking about jazz, Sonny finds comfort in the music.  Jazz represents his passion as an artist, and is Sonny’s only healthy, positive escape from his suffering that Baldwin reveals to the audience.

James Baldwin uses the narrator’s perspective of a traditional ‘middle-class’ family dynamic to show that it is the better option.  The narrator’s traditional family dynamic is exactly what it sounds like, a wife, children, and steady job he is advocating this is the better route to take.  Being the older brother, husband, father, and a veteran, the narrator has an inherent protective, fatherly characteristic which he shows in regards to Sonny.  This may be why the brothers butted heads so often, because Sonny didn’t feel as though he was being heard or taken seriously.  He felt as though his brother was making all of his decisions for him, and since he still viewed the narrator as his brother.  A prime example of a decision the narrator made for his younger brother was when Sonny was just released from jail and he had to live with Isabel and her parents.  Sonny was not happy with his brother’s decision of his living arrangements because, “You decided it, I didn’t decide nothing”, and may have felt a little suffocated (Baldwin p. 2205).  In this case the narrator has grounds to make these types of decisions for Sonny, since he is fresh out of jail and attempting to provide the best case scenario for Sonny.  In another pivotal scene their mother was talking with the narrator about Sonny when she said, “You got to hold on to your brother, and don’t let him fall, […] You may not be able to stop nothing from happening. But you got to let him know you’s there” which is is important because she reassures him that things, good and bad, will happen to Sonny and to be supportive of him (Baldwin p. 2203).  In that moment, the narrator assumes an unspoken parental role over Sonny.  The narrator’s ingrained paternal role initially did not always allow him to listen to what Sonny wanted.

Sonny tries showing his brother that the traditional family isn’t for everyone by creating an alternative family of his own.  As the narrator does his best to assimilate into the ‘traditional’ definition of family, but Sonny has never been the traditional type.  Sonny’s family obviously includes the narrator, his biological brother, but Baldwin reveals to readers his other family are the jazz musicians, hipsters, the Creole, and other friends are all part of Sonny’s alternative ‘family’ that can understand the pain he suffers.  Sonny is not only accepted by these people, but he is viewed as a distinguished musician.  He was in search of other likeminded artists that carried the same amount of passion for their craft as he did.  In the closing scene at the jazz club the band acted as a sort of family unit, but the way they communicated wasn’t with words, it was through how they were playing.  The Creole acted as a father figure to the band because he took the lead over the musicians, but eventually handed the reigns over to Sonny after he gets a feel for playing again.  While the narrator is listening to the band he says, “Then they all came together again, and Sonny was part of the family again. I could tell this from his face” in reference to the band striking up simultaneously again (Baldwin p. 2214).  This is a crucial scene because this is when the narrator begins to see Sonny’s alternative family and how their dynamic works together.

There are times when it’s hard for Sonny to be heard by his brother, but there is a quote Sonny says that graphically depicts and attempts to explain the allure of heroin use, “her voice reminded me for a minute of what heroin feels like sometimes—when it’s in you veins. It makes you feel sort of warm and cool at the same time. […] It makes you feel—in control. Sometimes you’ve got to have that feeling”, and continues with, “It’s not so much to play. It’s to stand it, to be able to make it at all. […] In order to keep from shaking to pieces” (Baldwin p. 2210).  When Sonny explains to his brother that some musicians need heroin to play, the text explains the tone of the narrator’s tone was, “very ugly, full of contempt and anger” (Baldwin p. 2210). Sonny was trying to explain that some musicians need the drugs to calm their nerves, feel a part of the music, and help them from ‘shaking to pieces’ so to speak.  In this critical scene Sonny is attempting to open up to his brother about his past, but talking about his dark past is tough for both of them.  The narrator wants to speak up, but instead he keeps quiet to listen to what his brother has to say.  This is crucial for the narrator to have Sonny open up to him and connect on a more personal level.

James Baldwin uses the scene when the narrator finally gets to see Sonny play to create a connection between the brothers.  Throughout the story the narrator or his family cannot make sense of Sonny’s music when he would practice because he was practicing the bebop, freestyle form of jazz that was still uncommon at the time.  When the narrator goes to see Sonny play he finally gets to see him in his own world where he seemed like a celebrity.  While the narrator was watching Sonny and the band play he noticed the band members were communicating through the music, and that the Creole wanted Sonny to take a not hold back and let loose.  The narrator comments on how hard it must be to be able to create music, “He has to fill it, this instrument, with the breath of life, his own”, and how musical creativity is not as easy as it may seem (Baldwin p. 2214).  The narrator finally felt emotionally connected to the music after experiencing a performance in person.  When the narrator says, “I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we listen, that he would never be free until we did”, Baldwin is saying that Sonny is free from his pain when the audience feels something from listening to his music (Baldwin p. 2214).  The narrator’s perspective is totally changed after seeing his brother perform because he sees how talented Sonny is, and how hard he has worked to get to this point.  The narrator has a lot more respect for Sonny after listening to him play and doesn’t view him as though he is still a child and makes peace with Sonny by sending him a drink.

James Baldwin uses the brother’s differing perspectives on lifestyles, and musical choices to create conflict that is eventually resolved.  The narrator views Sonny as immature almost entirely through the story because of his defiant nature and irresponsible life choices.  Once the narrator watches his brother perform with the band, his perspective of jazz, the band’s dynamic, and Sonny transforms and resolve their underlying issues.

 

 

Works Cited

Baldwin, James. Sonny’s Blues. Mankato, MN: Creative Education, 1993. Print.

“Charlie Parker.” Bio.com. Ed. Biography.com Editors. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 26 Apr. 2016.

“Isaiah 51:22.” Bible Hub. N.p., n.d. Web. 06 May 2016.

“Sonny’s Blues – Style and Technique” Comprehensive Guide to Short Stories, Critical Edition Ed. Charles E. May. eNotes.com, Inc. 2004 eNotes.com 26 Apr, 2016

 

 

Annotations

• “I didn’t like the way he carried himself, loose and dreamlike all the time, and I didn’t like his friends, and his music seemed to be merely an excuse for the life he led. It sounded just that weird and disordered” (Baldwin p. 2207) – The narrator seems worry some of his brothers old drug habits would resurface after hanging out with his sketchy friends. He also didn’t understand the bebop style of music at this moment
• “lobar pneumonia and the devastating effects of long-term substance abuse” (“Charlie Parker”) – What the narrator fears would happen to Sonny if he continued heroin use.
• “Sometimes you’ll do anything to play, even cut your mother’s throat. […] Or your brother’s. Or your own” (Baldwin p. 2211-2212) – One of those life/death scenarios where Sonny seems a little over the top, but in an attempt to portray how passionate he is about playing.
• “You decided it, I didn’t decide nothing” (Baldwin p. 2205) – The narrator making decisions about Sonny’s living arrangements, and doesn’t listen to Sonny’s side
• “You got to hold on to your brother, and don’t let him fall, […] You may not be able to stop nothing from happening. But you got to let him know you’s there” (Baldwin p. 2203) – The point of the story when he inherits the paternal role from his mother
• “Then they all came together again, and Sonny was part of the family again. I could tell this from his face” (Baldwin p. 2214) – Showing Sonny’s alternative family
• “her voice reminded me for a minute of what heroin feels like sometimes—when it’s in you veins. It makes you feel sort of warm and cool at the same time. […] It makes you feel—in control. Sometimes you’ve got to have that feeling, It’s not so much to It’s to stand it, to be able to make it at all. […] In order to keep from shaking to pieces” (Baldwin p. 2210) – Sonny opening up to his brother in an attempt to connect with him so he can get a better understanding for doing what he did.
• “very ugly, full of contempt and anger” (Baldwin p. 2210) – was not a fan of Sonny’s drug habits at all and was hard to hear Sonny talk about the drug trips
• “He has to fill it, this instrument, with the breath of life, his own” (Baldwin p. 2214) – The narrator realizes how hard it would be to go up and perform and it 100% up to the musicians to create a relationship between them and their instrument
• “I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we listen, that he would never be free until we did” (Baldwin p. 2214) – Baldwin is saying that Sonny is free from his pain when the audience feels something from listening to his music
• “it glowed and shook above my brother’s head like the very cup of trembling” (Baldwin p. 2215) – “Thus says your Lord, the LORD, even your God Who contends for His people, “Behold, I have taken out of your hand the cup of reeling, The chalice of My anger; You will never drink it again.” – Isaiah 51:22

In Eboo Patel’s article titled “My Neighbor’s Faith: The Heroes I Was Looking For” in the Huffpost Religion, he tells the readers about his experiences as a teenager in Chicago volunteering his time towards community service.  He spent most of his time volunteering at shelters and schools, but felt as though his efforts weren’t doing as much as he had hoped, like when he compared his time volunteering to flimsy tape, “I knew a broken world needed more than flimsy tape” (Patel, My Neighbor’s Faith).  Patel’s story continues as he begins to start working with a Catholic Worker house, which is considered, “Part shelter for poor folks, part anarchist movement for Catholic radicals, part community for anyone who enters” (Patel, My Neighbor’s Faith). At this part of Patel’s story is where I think he begins to see how beneficial community service is to those less fortunate than the rest.  When Patel was at the St. Francis Catholic workers house he couldn’t tell the difference between who was working there and who was living there because of how closely the individuals acted around each other. This house was a community where people from all types of backgrounds came for help.  I think this was a great experience for Patel because I feel like he was starting to get a little disheartened from all of the hard work he had put in over the years.

Patel uses multiple rhetorical tactics through telling his memoir.  His story goes in chronological order starting with high school ambitions, goes through his college years, and then ends with where he stands with his Muslim religious origins. The author also conveys inward thoughts to the readers, for example when he makes this metaphor, “Few shared my frantic outlook. Most people were happy changing their clothes to fit the climate. Some folks left for places where the climate suited their clothes. A handful cursed the climate, shrugged, and went on their way. I wanted to change the climate. My loneliness was freezing” (Patel, My Neighbor’s Faith). Here Patel’s metaphor properly illustrates his internal ideas without directly addressing what he wants to change.

• In the section “It’s That It Hurts” from And the Earth Did Not Devour Him by Tomás Rivera shows both strength and suffering in this scenario.  Rivera depicted the terrible working conditions they had to work in, and how those who were in charge seemed to have no regard for human life by not allowing them water breaks while they are performing hard labor.  This was due to the overseer thinking they wouldn’t be as productive because they aren’t continuously working, and would be a waste of money.  In the section “It’s That It Hurts” brings to light the social aspect of the narrator feeling like an outcast, and eventually being bullied by some of the older boys at the school.  The narrator takes a stand for himself and fights back against the bullies who have been taunting him and pushing him to his breaking point. At first the narrator admits the reason why he was picked on was because he looked afraid, for example, “There wasn’t any reason, it’s just that some of the older boys who already had mustaches and who were still in the second grade started pushing us against each other. And they kept it up until we started fighting, I think, ’cause we were plain scared” (Rivera, Tomás (Kindle Locations 1067-1069)).  Being physically bullied at school like this has a lasting impact on children, and may cause the child being bullied to snap and react violently.  A prime example would be in Rivera’s story, when the young boys were being pushed and eventually punched in the side of the head by one of the older boys, “I just felt a real hard blow on my ear and I heard something like when you put a conch to your ear at the beach. I don’t remember anymore how or when I hit him but I know I did because someone told the principal that we were fighting in the restroom” (Rivera, Tomás (2015-06-29)).  The writing style of Tomás Rivera is from a 1st person point of view, but is choppy in its stream of consciousness, as though parts are being told by a child.

• There are a few major themes that are prevalent throughout “Sonny’s Blues” especially the struggle with drug abuse, internal struggles, and family relationships.  I want to focus more on the family dynamic and the relationship between the narrator and Sonny.  At first the reader wasn’t informed that the narrator is actually Sonny’s brother and the story makes a little bit more sense about why the narrator is so invested in this heroin addicted musician.  It is obvious that the brothers love and care for each other, but their lives are so different it’s hard for them to see eye to eye about their lifestyle.  The brothers seem to create their own type of family that they haven’t been born into, for instance the narrator has a wife and kids and that is his own family he has made.  Sonny has a different type of “family”, his group of friends and musicians.  This is most apparent after Sonny and his brother get into a fight over each other’s lifestyle choices, and the narrator tries to find him he describes the scene, “there were lots of people in the room and Sonny just lay on his bed, and he wouldn’t come downstairs with me, and he treated these other people as thought they were his and I weren’t. So I got mad and then he got mad,and then I told him that he might just as well be dead as live the way he was living” (Baldwin, pg. 2208). The situation escalates so quickly because they are brothers and that’s what brothers do, they fight.  Later in the story, Sonny is talking to his brother about his drug addiction, how dirty it was, and how the drugs made him suffer.  He starts to reconnect and open up to the narrator about how Sonny struggles with being in Harlem because of his drug problem. At the bottom of 2212, Sonny brings up that he is his brother so that he can ensure he was paying attention and being not joking around.
• The most prevalent rhetorical technique Baldwin uses is that the story is being told by a 1st person point of view.  This literary style has it’s benefits, but also has its drawbacks.   It is beneficial to the reader because the brother is well put together and paints a good description for the audience and is trying to look out for Sonny’s best interests.  Sonny tries explaining to the narrator, how important jazz is to him and describes the situation as though it is a life or death scenario. Another reason that it is good that the narrator is Sonny’s brother is because it isn’t Sonny.  Sonny would be a very inconsistent narrator because of his drug abuse and mental state, his trains of thought would be very challenging to try to understand.

In Zitkala-Sa’s story I decided to annotate part of the first section because of how was attempting to describe her current situation in seemingly broken English.  What first caught my attention was when she was describing the train as “a ride on the iron horse” and how her and other Native Americans were being stared down by the “palefaces” (Zitkala-Sa 186).  She was extremely shy to begin with because I don’t think she has ever ridden on a train before, and she was also being glared at by a group of white children.  She explains the train ride scenario as though we could put ourself in her moccasins.  If I were in her shoes I probably would have reacted in a similar way, by trying to ignore the other kids on the train as they were staring and judging her. She sets a tone that she does not want to be on the train in the first place and this uncomfortable scene drives the point home.

Another uncomfortable scene for the author was when at her first breakfast at the school.  All of the students were all in the mess hall waiting to sit down after what seems to be a priest or principal says a prayer before breakfast. Zitkala doesn’t know how things are supposed to go and she accidentally sits down before everyone else, which got the attention of a very stern looking white lady. When she noticed she was the only, she immediately stood back up flustered and uncomfortable.  The author does a great job at portraying truly how uncomfortable this situation is because of how structured the school is, and how she has no idea what to do.

In paragraph four of Divinity School Address, Emerson begins to describe natural laws and gives the example of how a child is, “learning the action of light, motion, gravity, muscular force; and in the game of human life, love, fear, justice, appetite, man, and God, interact” (Emerson, Divinity School Address, paragraph 4).  Emerson then goes on to say that these learning experiences can not be written down or spoken about because they are experiences that only that child has experienced, others may have similar events that shape who they are today, but they are not the same.  I think that Emerson is trying to say that our experiences will mold who we are and how we make moral decisions later down the road.  In this paragraph, I also think that Emerson is trying to explain how man strives to be truthful and a moral human, than they are in line with God’s divine laws.

Emerson has an interesting writing style in my opinion because there are points in this essay where he uses whimsical, descriptive language and other parts where he is very blunt and straight to the point.  In paragraph four he’s describing how our moral compass and religious affiliation will guide us to be more like God’s image of us.  He talks a lot about the “sentiment of virtue” which I interpreted as how the world will reveal itself through life experiences.

In their annotations, many of our peers pointed out similar key points and themes.  The first common theme we found came in the first few paragraphs.  In those introductory paragraphs, Emerson begins with a description of this world and its nature which possesses a certain beauty, he then goes on to talk about laws that are revealed when the mind is opened.  Our peers made comments analyzing the author’s words and many said that he saying that life is beautiful and that is something that cannot be taken away from it, that every man and creature receives an equal part of nature, yet we do not appreciate it. Arthur Flores wrote, “Emerson is using great detail to describe the joy and beauty of life.  He describes the sun shining as fire which really helps the reader visualize the color.  He also notes that nighttime does not take away this beauty in any way, rather it may help it,” (arthurflores).

Another common theme arises in paragraph five of Emerson’s essay. Many students commented saying that Emerson was emphasizing the idea of being good and that he also talked about God’s guidance over humans and correcting their mistakes.  Wnieto wrote, “I believe in these sentences Emerson is pointing out the fact that even though there is this ‘energy’ (God) helping guides us in the right direction. Ultimately it is up to the individual’s free will in choosing which of their actions are right or wrong,” (wnieto).

Emerson tries to portray that being good is being filled with good morals and make ones choices from that good moral compass.  On the other hand evil will leave you feeling empty inside, and at the end of paragraph seven Aaron Simmons wrote, “He is saying that the more bad you do the more you ignore and don’t follow virtuous laws you become less of a person” (aaronsimmons).  Something else that continues to pop up is how religion helps guide our moral compasses by making better decisions that will lead to us naturally becoming a better person.  Later in the essay, around paragraph ten, Emerson starts to go off on how religion shouldn’t be forced upon someone just because it is an institution.  As Jeremy Lohr wrote in one of his annotations, “After he has just ranted about man separating himself from religion and the Supreme Spirit, Emerson is trying to say that man’s life can only become something pathetic. As soon as man puts away the sentiment he becomes ‘near sighted’ and because he ‘can only attend to what addresses the senses; the man loses that sense of mystery and beauty” (jeremylohr).

In this passage, an argument arises between Mr. and Mrs. Shelby, Mrs. Shelby voices her opinion in that she feels slavery isn’t right; “This is God’s curse on slavery! – A bitter, bitter, most accursed thing! – a curse to the master and a curse to the slave! I was a fool to think I could make anything good out of such a deadly evil. It is a sin to hold a slave under laws like ours, – I always felt it was, – I always thought so when I was a girl, – I thought so still more after I joined the church; but I thought I could gild it over, – I thought, by kindness, and care, and instruction, I could make the condition of mine better than freedom – fool that I was!” (chapter 5). This argument arose when Mr. Shelby began thinking about selling Tom and Eliza’s son. Stowe really captures Mrs. Shelby’s emotional state and her thoughts about how terrible slaves had it. The reader can pick up on her passionate feelings through the language and tone Stowe uses to express cruel nature of slave trading and how it tears families apart.

 

Stowe uses her expansive vocabulary to portray the tone of each character. For instance, on the topic of slavery, most of the female character’s tone has to do with their feelings while most of the men take a rational approach. “But, Mary, just listen to me. Your feelings are all quite right, dear, and interesting, and I love you for them; but, then, dear, we mustn’t suffer our feelings to run away with our judgment; you must consider it’s a matter of private feeling,—there are great public interests involved,—there is such a state of public agitation rising, that we must put aside our private feelings” (chapter 9). In this passage, there is a dispute between Mr. and Mrs. Bird about a law that just passed basically saying that it is against the law to give food or shelter to runaway slaves. The Bird’s have opposing viewpoints; on one hand Mrs. Bird takes the emotional religious route, and on the other Mr. Bird takes the rational secular approach. Mr. Bird does not truly believe in the law that passed, but he is trying to defend the courts decision.

Welcome to your brand new blog at St. Edwards University Sites.

To get started, simply log in, edit or delete this post and check out all the other options available to you.

For assistance, visit our comprehensive support site, check out our Edublogs User Guide guide or stop by The Edublogs Forums to chat with other edubloggers.

You can also subscribe to our brilliant free publication, The Edublogger, which is jammed with helpful tips, ideas and more.