‘Sonny’s Blues’ by James Baldwin

‘Sonny’s Blues’ by James Baldwin

The best story this semester was Sonny’s Blues by James Baldwin. The persona and the point from which the story is being passed down makes it unique. It keeps the readers interested in the story since the narrator is not defined, especially at the beginning. The story is narrated from a first persona, singular and in past tense, but nobody gets to learn about the narrator’s name, an element that Baldwin worked on perfectly. Apart from Sonny, we have limited knowledge on the rest of the characters, which makes them minor. One minor but significant character is Sonny’s mother, who also happens to be the narrator’s mother too. Her admonishes make her meaningful, “let [Sonny] know you’re there” (Baldwin,105).

Also, another exciting aspect of the story is the chronological set-up of ideas in building the plot. The author gets us into the mood of the story by unearthing to us that something unbelievable has occurred, this marks as our first hint to the exposition that is about to take place in the story. The story’s sequence is unpredictable, from how the narrator never listened or understood his brother, to going back to the springtime when the narrator gets to learn that his brother, Sonny, has been arrested for dealing in heroin, this goes to flashbacks when they were still young. Their mother was still around, it goes to when the narrator’s daughter died and wrote to Sonny, when he was still in jail, to when Sonny is released, and they are living together under one roof. This chronology makes it guileful when trying to identify the climax. This unsequential chronology has countless episodes of emotional drama.

Lastly, the story’s themes make it interesting besides the learning lessons in them. It is vital to appreciate that individual characters are building ideas in this story, for example, the narrator. From his perspective, we can note themes of sadness and sorrow, from losing his parents and daughter to seeing Sonny’s life deteriorate day by day. On the other hand, Sonny’s themes are based on suffering and music. Race and racism are also two themes that the two characters, narrator and Sonny, build on. They are used to portray two lives of African American men, one is educated and responsible (narrator), while the other is the direct opposite (Sonny).