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Salvatore Vieira
Professor Wycha
ENC 1102, CRN 15576
10/25/2015
Analysis Essay #2: Sonnys Blues Setting

Sonnys Blues is a beautiful story, by James Baldwin, about one man witnessing how his

brothers passion can reveal his true colors, and break him free from the cage that he is in. The

narrator, who is not named, tells the story of his brother, Sonny, who has been troubled most of

his life. He ended up in jail, due to his addiction to heroine, but through his contact with his

brother, he was able to get through it and come out a changed man. He struggles to get the

narrator to see who he actually is, but once he gets him to come and see him play the piano at a

jazz club, the narrator finally sees his brother in his element. The settings in which Sonny finds

himself affects how he acts in different situations. This is very apparent when Sonny is in

prison, when Sonny goes to live with his brothers wife, and at the jazz club.

First of all, Sonny finds himself in prison due to his addiction to Heroine. The prison is

not an actual setting that one witnesses Sonny face, but his whole experience can be seen in the

letter that he sent to his brother. At first, the narrator does not try to reach out to his brother, but

after his little girl Gracie died, he wrote him. This was very important to Sonny and his survival.

Sonny was not happy with who he was or where he was in life. He did not want to be in prison,

Im glad Mama and Daddy are dead and cant see whats happened to their son Id rather

blow my brains out than go through this again (Baldwin, 100.) He was very pleased to hear

from his brother. He hated being in prison so much that it made him very apologetic towards his

brother, and made him want to turn his life around.

Second of all, once Sonny gets out of prison, he meets up with his brother, and his

brother allows Sonny to live with his wifes family while he finished up college. At first, this
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idea did not seem ideal to him, but once his brother mentioned that they had a piano, it made him

happier. They got a piano at Isabels. You can practice on it. And as a matter of fact, it did

cheer him up for a minute (Baldwin, 108.) This was a huge turning point for Sonny as a

person. Having the piano at their house to practice on gave him purpose and something to look

forward to. This was a good thing for Sonny because he got to work on something he was

passionate about, but it also seemed to have made him make some not-so-great decisions. He had

stopped going to school so he could go to Greenwich Village and practice with musicians, and he

did not tell Isabels family about it. But he hadnt been going to school. One day a letter came

from the school board and Isabels mother got it there had, apparently, been other letter but

Sonny had torn them up, (Baldwin, 109.) Being at his brothers wifes home made him

reconnect with his music, but brought him off track from his schooling.

Last of all, when Sonny brings his brother to the jazz club, he finally gets to see him

broken out of his cage. Before they get to the jazz club, Sonny really begins to awaken as a

person. He starts off in prison after being a drug addict, and slowly works his way up to changing

his life, but music is the one thing that has stayed constant throughout his life. It has always been

what he is passionate about, but no one in his family seems to have given him the time of day

when he talks to them about it. I simply couldnt see why on earth hes want to spend his

time hanging around nightclubs Well, look, Sonny, Im sorry, dont get mad. I just dont

altogether get it, thats all (Baldwin, 106.) After Sonny gets back from the Navy, he gets to

spend time with his brother and asks his brother to go to the jazz club. When he is at the club, the

narrator notices Sonny really open up as a person. He is very personable, talking to this person,

laughing with that person, but it isnt until he sees his brother playing the piano that a spark is lit.

Sonny let his life free in this instance. Sonnys fingers filled the air with life, his life Then he
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began to make it his. It was very beautiful because it wasnt hurried and it was no longer a

lament and it brought something else back to me I saw my little girl again (Baldwin,

117.) What the narrator is describing is how Sonny made him feel, but also how free Sonny was

when he was playing his music.

In conclusion, Sonny was very much affected by his settings. If Baldwin had made the

settings different, the impact that the character would have faced and that we as an audience

would have faced would be very different. Sonny ending up in prison, and because of this made

him hate where he was in life and made him want to turn his life around. If he was not at Isabels

house, where he could openly practice the piano, he may not have pursued his dreams. He could

have found other places to play the piano, but not so easily accessible. The jazz club is where he

felt free. It would not have been as affecting to him or to people reading the story if he was

somewhere where he could not be his actual self. These are very important settings to the story,

and without them, the story would not be as beautiful and impactful as it is.

Works Cited
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Mays, Kelly J. "Sonny's Blues." The Norton Introduction to Literature. 11th ed. New York,

London: W.W. Norton, 2013. 95-118. Print. Shorter.