A Life Lesson in Sonny's Blues
'"You know people can't always do exactly what they want to do -"' (91). This is the attitude of the narrator towards his brother Sonny in the beginning of "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin. '"I think people ought to do what they want to do, what else are they alive for?"' (91). This is Sonny's attitude throughout the story. The narrator's attitude changes as he learns to understand his brother and what he is going through throughout the story. The parents of Sonny and the narrator died by the time Sonny was in high school. This left the narrator in a father role for Sonny. Sonny and his brother grew up in Harlem with limited options open to them. Although they had grown up in the same house under the same conditions, they have both taken away two completely different views on life. The narrator, who
I had kept it outside me for a long time. "I suddenly had the feeling that I didn't know him at all" (91). Sonny had fallen into drugs at a young age and has had an ongoing problem with heroine. "Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last" (102). The narrator doesn't want to see this in his brother, but now has to face it. "His music seemed to be merely an excuse for the life he led" (94). The narrator's view on his brother's career choice or dream is not an encouraging one. The heroine makes him feel like the music does. The narrator learned that you do have to do what you want in life. He saw his brother in a different light. Sonny wants to be a musician; Sonny needs to be a musician. Something that the narrator cannot comprehend is how the music makes Sonny feel. "Sonny's fingers filled the air with life, his life" (102). He heard and experienced the music that Sonny has been telling about all along.
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