James Baldwin tells the story of two brothers’ struggle through their life in the short story, Sonny’s Blues. The oldest brother, the nameless narrator, has survived life by assimilating into white society but “still feels the pain of institutional racism and the limits placed upon his opportunity1”. Unlike the narrator, Sonny has never cared to blend in and had to find his own outlet for his suffering. Without guidance, Sonny soon became addicted to heroin. The story explains the background and breakup of the brothers in an extended flashback, including the death of their parents and uncle. Over a year passes until the narrator recalls Sonny’s presence in the world, when Sonny was arrested for possession of heroin.
James Baldwin is an internationally recognized writer and civil rights activist. He has written numerous novels, essays, plays and speeches, such as Go Tell It On The Mountain and Nobody Knows My Name2. He was greatly influenced by the “situation of blacks in his country as well as his personal experience of poverty when he lived in Harlem”. He had multiple themes, such as discrimination, loneliness, contemporary issues, and religion, that appeared in his works3. James Baldwin was different from most African American authors, which gave him a unique view. The three distinctive identities he had were being black, poor, and homosexual. This brought the central point of the other and deep criticism of white American society. For all of his marvelous works and deeds he has done, the “James Baldwin Scholar Program” was created to provide “scholarships to talented student from underserved communities4”. One of his most famous works, Sonny’s Blues, is a clear representation of what James Baldwin had, and what most unprivileged people in communities, such as Harlem, still face.
Sometimes, it is not the major characters that make the story. In literature, the plot for the main character leads them to comes across minor characters. In Sonny’s Blues, this includes Isabel, Sonny’s childhood friend, the brothers’ parents and uncle, Jazz musicians, and more. These wide range of characters each have some specific impact in each of the brothers’ lives. Though the story primarily focuses on the narrator and Sonny, the other characters are essential because they provide information for the plot. Each minor character helps the development of the story of two brothers and how they come to understand each other.
Sonny’s nameless friend is a reflection of all the people who struggle with a drug addiction, which opens a new on Sonny, and symbolizes a passageway into Sonny’s life5. In his one appearance in the story, he and the narrator discuss Sonny’s current conditions. The narrator is frustrated from his lack of understanding of his brother while the friend is concerned that Sonny’s addiction may have been his fault. He explains to the narrator that Sonny’s life will be very difficult for a long time and may never fully recover from his addiction. When they are finished, the friend asks for money but is ashamed of it. The conversation represents the narrator’s passageway into Sonny’s life.“I wanted to ask him-too many things. He could not have answered, or if he had, I could not have borne the answers,” he thinks as he becomes invested into the conversation6. He wants to learn more about his brother but can not obtain much information from the friend. The friend himself is a portrayal of multiple people suffering from addiction. He is raggedy and has an odd smell. He has no home, no job, and no money. Being nameless suggests that he has been forgotten from society. If Sonny’s addiction worsen, he could become the exact same person. Though the narrator may not realize it at first, the audience can infer that he knows this is possible.
Tragedies bring people closer together. Grace, the narrator's daughter, dies at a young age due to polio. Though it seems like a time of sorrow, her death possess the narrator to finally write to Sonny for the first time. After that, both of them keep in constant touch. The narrator even agrees to meet with him when he is released. When he meets Sonny, he was the “baby brother [he’d] never known looked out from the depths of his private life, like an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light7”. They talk for a bit then head back to the narrator’s house. There, Isabel and her kids welcome Sonny as though he had never left. As they talk, the narrator is watching Sonny, looking for signs of addiction and wanting to talk about where he went wrong. This leads him to a flashback of their childhood, when their parents were alive.
Their parents set the course on the type of people the narrator and Sonny become. Their mother always tried to “protect her family from the darkness of the world8”. She was kind and loving, a light in their world. Their father was not as compassionate, but he cared deeply for his family. He was always looking for “something a little better9”. The narrator had a good relationship with both his parents, unlike Sonny. Sonny and his father did not get along. This was because they were very much alike. Both their father and mother predicted the many dangers that Sonny would have to face. Each took a different path to deal with the dilemma. Their mother acted as a guide and warned the narrator to protect his brother while the father just fought with him. Both Sonny and his father kept their feelings private. Their father never cried infront of anyone, except his wife, and Sonny often spoke indirectly, as if he was too afraid to say what he wanted. As for the narrator, his mother unintentionally put a lot of pressure onto him. He was given the responsibility of protecting Sonny when his parents died. His mother told him the story of how his uncle was killed by drunk, white people when he was young. It was a warning about how the world had not changed. It also taught him how to support his brother. His mother mentioned how his father was deeply depressed and was never the same person since then, yet she was always there for him. After Sonny and the narrator parted ways, the narrator felt guilty that he never looked after his brother. He felt responsible for Sonny getting into trouble. James Baldwin used the parents as informative characters that gave the reader insight to why the narrator and Sonny are the way they are.
As the story progresses, Sonny and his brother continue to fight with one another. They fight because Sonny has been ditching school, ran away, and more. When they meet up with each other for the final time, the narrator accepts Sonny’s invitation to watch him play with jazz musicians. However, the narrator is skeptical about his decision. When they finally begin the show, the narrator sees a different side of Sonny. He realizes that Sonny had found a way to cope with his suffering through music. The narrator notices how truly passionate Sonny is about it. In the end, the narrator understands that Sonny is no longer a child. He was a man and surpassed his addiction on his own. The narrator fully understands his brother and realizes that he belongs to a world full of music.
Sonny’s Blues is a work of literature that gives each of it’s characters meaning, including the minor ones. Even though most are introduced once, each minor character contains vital information that helps develop the story and allows the reader to understand the brothers’ past. The story contains many themes; the main one being hope. James Baldwin incorporates this theme within each character. Not only do they bring hope to the characters, but they also bring hope to the readers. Each time there is a fight between the brothers, a minor character unintentionally finds a way for them to reunite with each other. Sometimes people forget that there is more to a story than just the main characters. All the other characters help develop the story. This does not only occur in literature. This also occurs in music. Most people tend to love the main singer in a band and forget the rest of the members. People do not realize the importance of each member. Sonny’s Blues teaches a very powerful lesson that can be used for any aspect. There is meaning to every aspect in life, including the minor things.
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