In this story by James Baldwin, the narrator's brother, Sonny, is a jazz pianist. He has also struggled with heroin addiction. His decision to devote himself to music was very different from the path of the narrator, who had enlisted in the military.
Although the brothers had their differences, family losses bring them back together. The older brother decides once more to help Sonny when he comes out of a stay in a drug rehabilitation hospital. This time, however, he takes a further step to really understand him, through the music that means so much to him. Perhaps because his own pain has recently been so acute—he has been grieving over his young daughter's death—he experiences a revelation. Sonny's playing shows him that the blues own Sonny, and he owns the blues. More importantly, this music is the suffering of everyone, and also the easing of that suffering. Both brothers find salvation in the music.
Sunday, September 2, 2012
"I grew up with music, you know, much more than with any other language. In a way the music I grew up with saved my life.” How does the story "Sonny's Blues" support this statement?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
What is the theme of the chapter Lead?
Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...
-
The statement "Development policy needs to be about poor people, not just poor countries," carries a lot of baggage. Let's dis...
-
James is very unhappy on a number of occasions throughout the story, but he's especially unhappy with his life situation as the story be...
-
Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...
-
One of the plot lines in Pride and Prejudice is Mrs. Bennet’s plan to marry off her daughters, preferably to rich men. Throughout the novel...
-
Bacteria are single-celled microorganisms that thrive in diverse environments (such as the ocean, the soil, and the human body). Various bac...
-
As if Hamlet were not obsessed enough with death, his uncovering of the skull of Yorick, the court jester from his youth, really sets him of...
-
Under common law, any hotel, inn, or other hospitality establishment has a duty to exercise "reasonable care" for the safety an...
No comments:
Post a Comment