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Journal: The Filial Empathy in Sonnys Blues

James Baldwins Sonnys Blues is a story about many aspects of life, such as racism,
privation, alcoholism, war trauma, and family relationships. However, the most important
message that comes through the story is that of empathy. The story shows how difficult it is
learn empathy, when anger and resentment are easier to build in life. The narrator in the story
gives an account of his family life, the hardship the family faced with racism and alcoholism.
The impact of such events on the two young boys, that is, the narrator and his brother, Sonny,
was naturally, negative. However, the narrator managed to survive and eke a sense of stability
in life. His younger brother, however, fell into the mire of drugs and focused on music, rather
than seeking a livelihood. The narrator describes the manner in which this situation left him
angry and resentful toward Sonny for most of their lives. However, when the narrators young
daughter, Grace, dies of polio, he experiences a deep pain, which makes him connect with his
brother. He realizes that Sonny has always had a sensitive temperament and begins to
understand how their difficult life was even more difficult for Sonny. He begins to empathize
with Sonnys attraction and dedication toward his music and understands that Sonny needed
the music to survive their difficult lives. This paper attempts to relate and show how empathy
is difficult and how often experience is the best means learning empathy. For this purpose, it
traces the manner in which Baldwin has relayed the character development in Sonnys Blues.

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Essay
A Lesson in Empathy: How Sonny Dealt with his Blues in Sonnys Blues
Introduction
James Baldwins 1957 short story, Sonnys Blues illustrates the difficulties and
problems that hounded the lives of the black people in the United States in that era. It shows
how the much racially stereotyped idea of blacks being great blues musicians was ironic,
since their talent often left them penniless, when they invested their lives in it. In addition, it
shows how racism was as horrific as to lead to blatant murders and leave families in traumas.
Poor black families sent their sons to war, but were hardly compensated for their sacrifices,
since they were never treated as equals in the nation. The narrator and his brother as children,
who faced such problems, had very difficult lives. With poverty came the issues of
alcoholism and drugs, to which their father (an alcoholic) succumbed and Sonny became a
prey. After their mothers death, when the narrator attempted to help Sonny with his life,
Sonny refused to give up his obsession with the piano and focus on studies and a career. In
addition, he could not leave his heroin habit. The narrator gave up on his brother, and was full
of anger and resentment toward him. However, when his daughter dies, he experienced an
intense pain, because of which he could relate with the pain of his brothers existential pain.
Clearly, as the narrators character developed, he could learn to empathize with his brother.
Thesis
This paper shows that Baldwins Sonnys Blues is a testament of the manner in which
experiences in life can help build understanding and empathy among peoplean aspect
Baldwin illustrates with character development in the story.
Discussion

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To begin with, it is apparent, through direct and indirect characterization, that both the
narrator and his brother had led a life of suffering. It is also notable that the narrator believes
his brother to be a gentle soul, as he expresses his shock to the readers in learning of Sonnys
arrest in a drug raid: It was a special kind of ice. It kept melting, sending trickles of ice
water up and down my veins (96). However, the sentiment that overcomes the narrator is
that of anger. He is unable to understand why Sonny would waste his life away. He holds
Sonny in the same light as he sees himself. He cannot understand why Sonny cannot make
the right decisions to turn his life around. He even offers to help Sonny with his education,
but Sonny prefers the Piano and drugs to the education. This creates a sense of anger and
resentment in the narrator for his brother. He sees Sonny as someone unwilling take
responsibilities in life. At this point in the story, the narrator cannot find any empathy or
understanding for Sonnys actions.
In the next part of the story, the fact that the narrators daughter dies of polio is
revealed. His grief and his difficulty in coming into terms with this loss are explained. The
loss makes the narrator want to connect with his family even more, and this makes him
proactively seek out a connection with his brother. His grief makes him want to connect with
the one other person, who has experienced a lifetime of grief with himhis brother, who
shared a difficult childhood with him. This is the point where the writers character has
developed to understand the deep grief of loss. Clearly, he has experienced a personal growth
here, which makes him realize that because of the grief they have experienced in life, he and
his brothers are kindred spirits. He begins to empathize with Sonny because he understands
the debilitating effects of grief. He understands how the burden of Sonnys grief in life was
immense enough for him to seek solace in drugs. This is best shown in the following words:
Yet, when he smiled, when we shook hands, the baby brother Id never known looked out
from the depths of his private life, like an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light (96). It

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shows how the writer saw for all the trails Sonny had been through, he had a good, loving
soul that simply needed to be comforted and guided.
In the final part of the story, the writer, after connecting with Sonny, reluctantly
follows him to a bar, where Sonny plays the piano. When he sees the reverence others have
for his brother and experiences the skills of his brother, he realizes that his brother needed to
use his skill in music to survive the difficulties in life. He realizes that because he did not
experience Sonnys skills, he did not understand the solace they provided to Sonny, an
obviously sensitive person with an artistic temperament. He also realizes that he was
incorrect to try and mould Sonny in a manner that he believed was good for Sonny, without
realizing that Sonny had his own life and needs.
Conclusion
Clearly, Sonnys Blues is an excellent example of how lifes experiences enable a
person to develop empathy and understanding for others. Sonny and his brother were
different from each other. Unfortunately, Sonnys choices and his skills were not appreciated
and understood by his people. This made life difficult for Sonny, adding to the trails caused
by racism, poverty, and their fathers alcoholism. The narrator believed that Sonny was
simply being adamant by refusing to invest himself in a career and familythings that could
bring him stability. However, after experiencing the loss caused by death of a child, the
narrator connects with his brother and realizes that his brother was different from him. This
makes his develop a sense of empathy for Sonny. The story thus ends on a positive note,
suggesting better times in the relationship between the brothers, as they have matured in their
lives.

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Works Cited
Baldwin, James. Sonnys Blues. April 27, 2016. Web.
http://swcta.net/moore/files/2012/02/sonnysblues.pdf.