Sonny's Blues
In James Baldwin's short story, "Sonny's Blues," the narrator attempts to understand the life of his brother Sonny. Set in post-Korean War Harlem, "Sonny's Blues" places emphasis on the African-American community's struggle economically and socially to become successful. This struggle can also become anyone's battle and not just that of the African-American living in the ghetto. In Sonny's case, he tries to overcome his heroin addiction, a symptom of the lack of opportunities the ghetto offers, with music as he plays blues and jazz on piano. Thus, in Baldwin's story the importance of creativity as a means of expression and of escaping reality is demonstrated through Sonny. Creativity can be used to express the history of one's life and culture. Thorell Tsomondo suggests, "the artist historian is a kind of poet-prophet . . . bound at once to tradition and to change" (195). Sonny's story contains broken dreams and monumental anguish, which may have caused or perhaps were the result of his heroin addiction. In playing the piano, Sonny becomes a storyteller, and he tells about the struggle he and his audience daily experience: the realities of poverty, crime, and oppression. Even as he recreates the tale of his life, he must crea
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 2134
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)
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