James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues Essay

In James Baldwins blighters Blues, the withdraw buddyly relationship amongst the speaker and his young blood br otherwise cuss is illustrated through break through the vote counters loony toons of view. The two brothers pose non spoken in eon until the narrator receives a note from rookie following his daughters death. He takes this importee as a vital indication from fella and feels the need to act in response. Despite the fact that both cuss and the narrator reside in separate worlds, every fellow desires is a brother to care for him while the narrator finds himself in the ult, even sotually learning his responsibility as an older brother. The speaker and Sonny at last get a chance to have a word with each other following m whatever years, they begin to step by step open up to each other the dismal reality that they faced. But in that locations no track not to sufferis there Sonny? I desire not, he said and smiled, further thats neer stopped anyone from to il or so. He looked at me. Has it? I realized, with this mocking look, that there stood between us, forever, beyond the power of time of forgiveness, the fact that I had held silence. so long When he had needed homophile speech to help him. (848)The narrator realizes that it was his responsibility to be at hand for his younger brother for all the years that Sonny looked for him, even if it was just to talk or listen. He doesnt know if Sonny will be capable of forgiving him, or if too much time has passed to be any forgiveness. Even though the narrator is there for his brother now, he could have been an authority figure to him for his do itd life, just as any brother should be. The two characters come to the appreciation that they do share a brotherly acquaintance, and that the narrator cares immensely for his brother, even after all the time of detachment. The narrator says, I fag outt give a damn what other people do, I dont even care how they suffer. I just care how you suffe r. And he looked at me, Please believe me, I said, I dont compliments to see youdietrying not to suffer(848). He knows his brother has a drug addiction, only if he does not desire to witness him give up without a fight. He cares about his brother, which is what Sonny has desired all this time, an elder brother to tell him that he ought to not give up, that he must require smart decisions and make something of himself. Sonnys brother is trying to make up for all the time apart from Sonny during his time of need.This will be his way of making himself feel better for abandoning his younger brother countless years beforehand. Sonny has had trouble with drugs for some time, which leads him having to serve a prison term. Sonnys brother tries to stay unaware, which is part of the reason he turned his back on his younger brother for numerous years. I couldnt believe it but what I mean by that is that I couldnt find any room for it anywhere inside of me. I had kept it outside me for a lo ng time. I hadnt wanted to know. I had had suspicions, but I didnt name them, I kept putting them away(831). The way that he dealt with his younger brothers problems was by turning his back on them. He knew that Sonny was dealing with soggy problems, but chose to look past them and live his own life. He also knows that leaving his brother during the time he needed him the most was wrong of him to do. The narrator goes on to say, I didnt want to believe that Id ever see my brother red ink down, coming to nothing, all that light in his face gone out, in the condition Id already seen so many others(831).The narrator has seen many kids around him in Harlem that went down the wrong road, but tried to convince himself that that would never rule to his brother. He was never there to steer him in the right direction, which could have possibly lead Sonny past drugs and jail, and onto a promising future. He knows that Sonny lives in a erupt where many kids make bad decisions with drugs an d crime, but by turning his back on Sonny he was never there to protect him like an older brother should. Sonny tells the narrator that he has always had a hallucination of becoming a musician. As a natural instinct, the narrator objects by saying that he should finish inform first. This important part in the story shows dialog from a protective older brother, a brother that Sonny has never had the chance to have in his life before and desperately necessarily now more than ever. Sonny. I said, I know how you feel. But if you dont finish school now, youre going to be sorry later that you didnt. I grabbed him by the shoulders. And you only got another year. It isnt so bad. And Ill comeback and I swear Ill help you do whatever you want to do. Just try to put up with it till I come back, Will you please do that? For me? (843).The narrator is finally coming to his senses he knows that his younger brother needs him to be a occasion model and guide to set his life in the right path. T he moment the narrator finally remembers that Sonny is a person who should be an important part of his life, not just a past memory, was the moment he saying a story in the newspaper about Sonny being arrested for peddling and using heroin. Then perhaps I just started at it, at the newsprint spelling out his name, spelling out the story. He goes on to say, And at the same time I couldnt question it. I was scared, scared for Sonny. He became real to me again(830). This turning point in the narrators life is a crucial aspect of the story because it is the moment when he remembers his past, and the fact that his younger brother is dealing with serious problems. The reality of the imperfections of the world, especially the dangers of his hometown of Harlem come back to haunt him. He has put his past behind him for so many years that the reality of his brother being arrested for drugs to him is like great hold of ice got settled in my belly and kept melting there slowly all twenty-f our hour period long(831).He began wondering what Sonny looked like, and if he still had his bright face. Although he does not resolve to his brother right away, this moment strikes the beginning of the narrators memory of his younger brother. Harlem plays a study role in the narrators life and his relationship with Sonny because it is where they were both born and raised. It is not the best neighborhood for children to grow up in, which is associated with the reasons for Sonnys poor decisions. All this was carrying me some place I didnt want to go. I certainly didnt want to know how it felt. It filled everything, the people, the houses, the music, the dark, the quicksilver(prenominal) barmaid, with menace and this menace was their reality(833). The narrator realizes that Harlem is a main reason for why Sonny is going through such struggles. He does not want to go back and face his past life. He brings Sonny into his house, which reminds him of the house in which they grew up in. The same things happen, theyll have the same things to remember. The moment Sonny and I started into the house I had the feeling that I was simply bringing him back into the danger he had nigh died trying to escape(836). The narrator is acting like the protective older brother that he should have been all along. After the narrators daughter dies he receives a condolence letter from Sonny, which leads him to hold up in touch with him as often as possible and eventually see him. When I saw him many things I thought I had forgotten came flooding back to me. He goes on to say, He looked very unlike my baby brother. Yet, when he smiled, when we shook hands, the baby brother Id never known looked out from the depths of his private life, like an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light(835).The narrator describes Sonny as somebody he has never known. All the years apart has turned the two brothers into complete strangers. This moment between the two men is very important to the central theme of the story, which is the importance of a bond between brothers. Throughout the story, the narrator learns how important it is to Sonny for him to care and listen to him. Sonny is undefended and in a state where he is getting into trouble with drugs and alcohol perhaps because he feels as though no one cares enough to help him. The narrator lives his life as a teacher while Sonny spends his days using drugs hoping someday to pursue his dreams of music. Both characters end up in a place they are meant to be acting as family and leaning on each other for support, which is the true importance of an older brother.