James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues"

Hearing the story from Sonny's brother's point of view kept me at arms length of what Sonny was going through. I never knew what Sonny was doing, or what he was going to do. Through flashbacks and the sequence of the events I slowly learned more and more about Sonny's struggles through the Narrator's struggles. Although the Narrator lived with Sonny they were seven years apart, and I was learning about Sonny the same time the Narrator was learning about Sonny. Having the brother tell it from his point of view opened up more conflicts than just Sonny and his addiction to heroin. It showed me the struggles the Narrator was/is going through, and how he learns through his struggles that he isn't alone.

Sonny's profession is that of a struggling musician, and the Narrator is that of a teacher. The Narrator is harsh toward Sonny when Sonny admits that he wants to work hard and become a musician. That alone makes me think of when I was a kid. A lot of kids wanted to be a professional musician or a professional athlete. It was always in class I'd hear a student ask, "What am I going to need to learn this for, I'm going to be a professional baseball player." Then the teacher, more times than not would say, "more than likely you will not become a professional baseball player, you're going to need to learn this to get a real job some day." That is pretty much the same kind of tone the Narrator uses when Sonny tells him he wants to be a musician. It shows their personalities are different because the Narrator is alright with having a job, raising a family, because the Narrator likes having that foundation. He still thinks of the days with his parents on Sunday evening sitting around with family and friends, and not wanting the moment to end. Sonny on the other hand is a private person who doesn't seem to know real well how to convey his thoughts and struggles to someone else. That is why Sonny makes music his release, and a way to say without  actually saying anything that his struggles are real and he feels all the same feelings.