James Baldwin's "Sonny Blues"

James Baldwin’s Sonny is another character which captured my compassion. While written during the early 60s, his lifestyle captured what was yet to come for a lot of people. While Baldwin used a Negro character living in Harlem for this story, a modern version could be written by someone of almost any race in the United States. Baldwin seemed to anticipate the current state of society as he wrote of the “complex fate” and the idea that the concerns and conditions of the blacks during the time would soon become the same for whites and other races in the present America. Drugs, poverty, and poor living conditions are not isolated to one single race in today’s world; they cross over all ethical and cultural boundaries without consideration for anyone.

This is a story of two brothers, though raised in the same home by the same two parents, whose lives have taken them in completely different directions. The narrator is leading the all-American life: having secured a good job as a school teacher with a wife and a family. Sonny, the younger brother, has taken the more daring, searching lifestyle which has now led him to a serious encounter with the law. How many times does this happen within families with no explanation as to the difference in the siblings; each living their lives aware of the other but not wanting to be accountable or coupled to the other.

I found it interesting the description of the students in the algebra class and their apathetic outlook on education. It reminds me of so many today, not understanding the importance of securing a good education and positive outlook in preparation for the life which is without question ahead of them.

The story was very interesting and kept my attention to the end. The conversation and recollection of the past between the two and the unveiling of feelings and emotions they had experienced throughout their lives was humbling. It helps one remember we can never know why and how someone acts until we truly try to understand their lives and the paths they have taken to get where they currently are.