Post 14

Much of life is suffering. I am no means trying to sound empathetic or depressing. But it seems, even as Christians, that humans are continuously trying to work through suffering.

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” effectively demonstrates this exploration for an understanding of the universal suffering. Throughout the story, the narrator is painting a picture of his brother who is in a continuous search for his identity. But in the process of explaining his brother’s individual identity, the narrator finds his own.

I feel that this is the case for most of us. Not that we should necessarily live through the lives of other people. But we do develop understanding on the things in life through other’s experiences. We learn from others testimonies, actions, and ways of life. Sonny’s Blues can be seen as double-narrative, in that when the characters in the story are getting one thing out of the story, we, as readers, are finding a purpose for it to apply to our own lives. I am even doing that now while writing this post. (Then is this a triple narrative?)

Music, like literature, serves as a means of communication. This theme is evident in the last few parts of the story. The narrator is illustrating Sonny’s confinement throughout the story. Sonny says he feels stuck in Harlem. But Sonny seems stuck in the many complexities of life. But it appears that he finds an escape but then again a connection through the music; a connection with his brother, a connection with his future, and a feeling of contentment through music.

The narrator made a promise to his mom to look out for Sonny; a promise that comes back to him after his mother’s death. All the narrator wants to do is provide a better life for Sonny. But maybe the narrator was trying to find something himself.