Mr. H. Salsich
English 9
September 20th, 2008
Sonny’s Blues:
an analysis of Sonny’s Blues and Suzy Goldman’s essay
Sonny lived a hard life: his heroin addiction, his father’s secrets that were kept from him, and his loneliness kept him from finding what he really loved. His brother was not of any help until he realized that Sonny was not just a heroin addict, he was his brother and he needed help. Suzie Goldman writes an essay about Sonny’s Blues which truly takes us into the reality: Everyone has the “blues” once in a while and everyone makes mistakes. We just need to accept ourselves and find something “to soothe [the] poison out of [us]” (Baldwin).
TS In Suzie Goldman’s essay, Goldman rephrases the story of Sonny’s Blues with two major themes. SD Goldman’s first theme is “hear and listen” in which she talks about the miscommunication between Sonny
and his brother, the narrator. CM After Sonny is arrested for drug addiction,
the narrator lets Sonny back into his life, only to discover more about his brother. CM As the never ending discussions between the two brothers continue, the two seem to be parting from each other instead of helping each other through their problems. SD Goldman’s second theme is music in which she describes that the only way Sonny expresses himself, is through music. CM Sonny understand himself through “[his] desperate commitment to the piano” (Goldman). CM Sonny plays music not only, to let go of his feelings, but he also wants to be heard and understood. CS The two themes that Goldman describes in her essay, communication and music, saves Sonny and the narrator as they go farther into their lives.
TS This essay made me realize that these kinds of things happen in every day life, whether it is miscommunication between two people or feeling the “blues”, but there is one theme that Goldman defines so well in her essay: Finding yourself. SD Miscommunication played a big part in Sonny’s life as Sonny never listened to what his brother had to say and the narrator, never gave Sonny a chance to express himself. CM The only way Sonny expressed himself was through his music and “[while] playing his own song, Sonny [found] a way to listen” (Goldman). SD Sonny finds himself by playing music. CM That is, when he played music, he could finally feel good about himself as others accepted the way he was. CM Not only did he express himself while playing the piano, his brother was listening without judgment. CS “Sonny’s music stirs special memories in the brothers’ lives, but these blues belong to all of us, for they symbolize the darkness which surrounds all those who fail to listen” (Goldman).
Goldman’s essay not only summarizes the story of Sonny’s Blues, but she also depicts things that happen to everyone. Everyone feels “blue” once in a while and we all need that one person to listen to us. No one ever listened to Sonny except when he played music. Sonny begins to accept himself through his talent and the only thing the narrator can do is listen. We’ve all got our darkness and our sorrow, all we need to do is “to release the storm” (Baldwin).
Works Cited
Suzy Bernstein Goldman. "Sonny's Blues: James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 21 September 2008.
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