What Is Blue

A detailed Summary of What Is Blue

"Sonny's Blues," by James Baldwin, is a story about the relationship between two brothers. The central idea of this story is how peoples' own experiences of personal hardships make them better able to empathize with the troubles of others. Language is the dominant element employed by Baldwin, in which he uses imagery in the story. The imagery of light and dark is prevalent throughout this story and plays an important role in creating a visual mental picture, which gives way to underlying messages for the reader to decipher.

The story begins with the brother, who is riding the subway and reading about the arrest of his brother Sonny. The brother "stared at it (newspaper article) in the swinging lights of the subway car," representing that this could be either good or bad for Sonny and himself; he could not decide. Though, while still on the train, the brother felt, "trapped in the darkness which roared outside," which leads the reader to believe that the situation is more gloomy than pleasant.

The brother then thought back to a time in Sonny's youth and recalled how Sonny looked as a child. The brother remembered Sonny's boyish appearance as, "his face had been bright and open, there was a lot of copper i

After Sonny is released from prison the brother meets him and describes the look of Sonny's face as that of, "an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light." Like an animal hiding in the dark that does not trust its surroundings, Sonny is unsure and does not know if he can trust the world outside, a world that led him to prison.

In conclusion I found Baldwin's use of language in, "Sonny's Blues," to create imagery is exceptionally well demonstrated. Baldwin employs imagery of light and dark to help foreshadow upcoming circumstances, as well as conveying a message to the reader. Also, the appealing use of light paints vivid pictures in one's mind, especially at the end of the story with the blue stage lights. My favorite part of this story is at the end. Sonny is on stage, showered in an indigo light, where he is singing the blues, and in his song he sings of his sorrow, his blues. What an incredible use of imagery to illustrate a vivid portrayal that sums up Sonny's life!

Later in the story it is discovered that Sonny's father witnessed the murder of his own brother one night. It was late at night, they were walking home, "feeling kind of good," and "there was a moon that night, it was bright like day." Then after his brother was maliciously run over by a car the father recalls, "he never in his life seen anything as dark as that road after the lights of that car had

Some common words found in the essay are:
James Baldwin, Baldwin Sonny, Sonny's Blues, imagery light, stage lights, light dark, story imagery light, blue stage lights, imagery light dark, blue stage, light sonny's, story imagery, sonny's blues,

Approximate Word count = 935
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Miscellaneous