Analysis of "sonny's blues"
James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a short story about a rocky relationship between two brothers. One way to work Sonny’s brother reads about Sonny being taken in to custody for peddling and using heroin. Through out the story Sonny’s brother begins to reminisce about their childhood events as well as those events leading up to Sonny’s incarceration. Both their parents die within a short time of each other each other so Sonny goes off to live with Isabella, Sonny’s brother’s wife, and her family. Shortly after Sonny’s niece, Gracie, dies, his brother decides to start writing to him. After keeping in touch for a while Sonny is released and moves in with his brother. One evening Sonny begins to describe to his brother what using drugs feel like and why most musicians tend to use. During the conversation Sonny explains to his brother that most musicians do it as a way of avoiding their suffering as an outcome Sonny’s brother begins to understand why his younger brother took that route.