FREE ESSAY ON SONNY'S BLUE

SONNY'S BLUE

In James Baldwin's story Sonny's Blues, "blues" plays a very important part, even the
story itself is a "blues", there is a mood of unhappy throughout the whole story. Also,
this is a story about being safe and taking risk, and between the meaning of "blues"
itself and for the story, we can some relations in terms of this theme. 
"Blues" is a kind of music that to express a sad mood. It is synonymous with low spirits
and depressed emotion. The "blues", both as a state of being and as music, are basic to
the structure of the story, and both the narrator and his brother Sonny have had their
share.
The contradictory lives of the two brothers contribute to the theme of being safe and
take risks. In this story, Baldwin writes about two brothers who grew together. As each
of the boys grew older, they fell apart from one another and lived two completely
different lives. The narrator, who is the older brother, seemed to be more conservative
and more determined for a good future. Sonny, the younger brother, was more free-willed
and did not even know what his plans were for the next hour, much less for the rest of
his life. The narrator's major source of discontent has been his selfish desire to
assimilate and lead a respectable, safe life as a high-school algebra teacher. When he
learns of Sonny's troubles with drugs and the law, he feels threatened. For him, the way
he lives now is safe, and all Sonny does are dangerous.
Baldwin carefully establishes the brothers as opposites. The narrator is a
cautious, respectable family man. He teaches math and is proud of his professional
standing. Living in a Harlem housing project, he consciously protects himself from the
dangers that surround him. Sonny, by contrast, is a romantic artist who is not
afraid of taking risks to pursue the things he desires. His passion for music makes him
impatient with everything else. He drops out of school. In his brother's view he is
"wild" but not "hard or evil or disrespectful."
However, Sonny also tries to stay away from danger. It is not his wish that to live a
corrupted life like he had. He has several things that he is trying to escape, He tries
to escape by joining the military, but fails. He tries to escape through drugs and fails.
The drugs become another thing to try and escape but only compound his problem. Later, he
decides that the only escape he can get from his problems is those moments when he can
immerse himself in his music. He realizes that the problems are real and that he can't
truly escape them. Music becomes his escape. 
Perhaps there is no way that we can absolutely stay out of danger, like Sonny's father
said that there is no safe place for anyone, or just like Sonny says that Sonny says
there is no way not to suffer.