James Baldwin's Sonny's Blues Expression Thesis

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With music, Sonny can express his pain without tripping up on words. Music becomes a flow of pure emotion, therefore leaving him satisfied with his mode of transmitting his emotions to an audience. Therefore, Sonny is allowed the chance at redemption for his past sins as an addict and criminal, (Tackach 113). He once was lost, but returns to his family to bring substance back into his brother's life. When Sonny does return back into the good graces of the narrator, he never blames him for anything or reminds him of his broken promise to their mother to watch over Sonny.

And so, the narrator himself becomes the burden for not watching over his brother, as he had promised. This becomes part of his pain and anguish over his life, (Tackach 114). As the narrator once again gets to know his brother, he becomes intrigued with the idea of music as a proficient mode of expression and provides him with a path to redemption. His acceptance of this other form of speech allows him a greater freedom that previously seen in his confined verbal world, "Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did," (Baldwin 122). Thus, Sonny is the one who actually inspires and frees the narrator through his music, an aspect which was not expected from the beginning of the story with Sonny's legal troubles. As he listens to Sonny's blues, the narrator is revisited with all the painful, yet also intertwined joyful events of his past which made him who he is. The rejuvenated relationship the narrator has with his brother provides him the context to learn new ways of expressing, and exploring his sadness as a way to truly learn who he is and find the identity he so longs for, "Sonny's presence forces the narrator to examine his own past, " (Murray 355). This past also includes the much deeper pain of the shared African-American community in Harlem and elsewhere.

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, "Baldwin's story ultimately signifies on, or repeats with a difference, the function of the blues as relating the history of Black culture in America in order to argue for a critical awareness among African-Americans of the historical contexts of their own cultural forms," (Sherard 691). The Blues has long represented a truly American art form directly related to the extreme pain and sorrow felt through oppression and degradation faced by the African-American community in the United States. The narrator then also plays a large part in the bettering of Sonny's life, once he can understand his brother's message "Sonny's suffering will be made easier by the narrator's willingness to be involved in his life," (Byerman 371).

Thus, music becomes a way for individuals to fully explore and express the sorrow and sadness which haunts them. The narrator finally discovers this through watching Sonny's emotional expression on stage. Music does provide a wonderful method of expression, whether it be of pain or of joy. However, the pure emotional power of the Blues represents a certain experience, a certain identity, which many people dare not dive into. However, letting yourself experience such strong emotions without verbal limitations also set one free.

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