Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin

A detailed Summary of Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin


The story "Sonny's Blues" depicts the life of two brothers, the oldest being a prominent teacher and the youngest, Sonny a musician and drug user. The story opens as the brother learns of Sonny's arrest for the use of heroin, he contemplates about it all day

and cannot seem to forget. On his way out of the high school he notices a friend of Sonny's waiting to once again remind him of the shocking news. After a period of regret and sorrow passes, and after the death of his daughter Gracie, he decides to write to

Sonny in prison. When Sonny responds to his letter he feels like a coward, as if he should have done something to prevent the whole situation. The two brothers remain in

constant touch. When Sonny comes back to New York the two brothers meet, and Sonny goes to his house for dinner. The oldest brother then begins to reminisce on their past and the time that his mother as


The story "Sonny's Blues" is the prime example of day to day events that are happening all around the world. Families everyday are struggling to maintain their closeness. Each day someone in the world is striving for support and regard. This story could truly become an eye opener for those of us who do not keep in close contact withour loved ones.

No matter how tough times get, people should always stick by their family members and be there for them. If Sonny and his brother would have stood beside each other they would not have been faced with the dilemmas that each of them encountered. Naturally it is true that Sonny's brother could not have possibly kept him from doing heroin. However, if he would have been constantly present in Sonny's life it may have terminated Sonny's thoughts of using drugs. The theme in this story is carefully placed into effect so that the reader can better relate to it and make a conne

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Approximate Word count = 626
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

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