"Sonny's Blues"

Paper Summary:

The philosophical question of who is actually more "successful" of the two brothers in James Baldwin's short story "Sonny's Blues", Sonny or his older brother, is more complex than it at first appears. The paper shows that the easy and convenient answer is that Sonny's brother is more successful than Sonny is, since he holds a responsible job as an algebra teacher, is married with a family and has never faced addictions or trouble with the law. The paper shows, however, that Sonny, with all his quirks, addictions and faults, has managed, against considerable odds (and self-sabotage), to become a successful jazz pianist. This is a rarer, more difficult-to-achieve accomplishment, even if the lifestyle that that accomplishment has demanded (and still demands) of Sonny is fraught with ever-present temptations and dangers.

From the Paper:

"For example, Sonny's older brother's complete lack of either any familiarity with, or understanding of, jazz or the blues illustrates just how far he has removed himself from his own African-American roots, or any real heartfelt connection to them. Moreover, Sonny's older brother does have some of his own failures in life, despite his respectable veneer. One of these is that he is still living, and raising his own children, on the "killing streets" of Harlem. Another is that he remains in denial about all the suffering of people like himself, only less fortunate, going on around him daily."

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