One reason why the narrator does not visit his brother is because Sonny reminds him of his past, which is something from which he is successfully detached. The environment the two brothers grow up in is a symbol of desperation. The contrast is necessary for us to understand the extremes of both elements. From this perspective, we see how the symbols of darkness light means imprisonment and freedom for both brothers. Hence, the narrator, too, is redeemed" (Tackach 117). becomes a symbol of the special protection that the narrator will now extend to Sonny as Sonny struggles to confront the darkness surrounding him. Tackach adds, "The drink that now glows above Sonny like the cup of trembling. is as if Sonny were about to undergo another stage in his initiation into mature musicianship" (Murray 358). Murray concurs, pointing out that the light that spills from the bandstand and the "way in which Sonny seems to be riding the waves of applause. The final scene with the light that "glowed and shook" (48) above Sonny's head represents the narrator's epiphany. Finally, the narrator comes to understand what Sonny was speaking of when he talked about playing and connecting with the music.
#Blue darkness a sleepless town free#
He tells us, "Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did" (Baldwin 47). When the narrator hears him play, the light, so to speak, comes on and he begins to understand his brother. In the bar, light becomes a symbol for Sonny's redemption. Perhaps the most prominent scene involves the light references we find at the end of the story. Baldwin also utilizes light as a symbol in the story. With these images, Baldwin is connecting death, pain, and darkness to illustrate the troubled life that both men had as children and adults.
There isn't any other tale to tell, it's the only light we've got in all this darkness" (47). Just before the narrator experiences watches his brother play, he says, "For while the tale of how we suffer. When the narrator loses his daughter Grace, he simultaneously identifies with the pain and darkness in Sonny's life and realizes his own loss of grace, resulting from the broken promise that he made to his mother the last time he saw her" (Tackach 113). James Tackach notes, "The narrator's daughter's name is, of course, highly symbolic. We read that he sat in the "living room in the dark" (Baldwin 39) and the thought of his misfortune made Sonny's trouble "real" (39). When Grace dies, the narrator has to deal with his wife's grief as well as his own and the death triggered thoughts of Sonny. One painful scene that is associated with darkness is the death of the narrator's daughter. Donald Murray agrees with the powerful symbol of darkness in the story, asserting that there is "no escape from the darkness for Sonny and his family" (Murray 354). Here we see that darkness is like a disease the boys are born with and something from which they must fight to be to rid. And the darkness of the movies, which had blinded then to the other darkness" (Baldwin 23). We are told, "All they really knew was two darknesses, the darkness of their lives. Darkness is introduced early in the story as we learn how the boys grew up with and were filled with rage. Paper NOW! ⬇️ TOPIC: Essay on Significance of the Symbolism in Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin AssignmentDarkness and light are symbols incorporated throughout in the story to emphasize emotions and circumstances. These symbols operate together to create the image of loss, disappointment, and acceptance between two brothers that finally begin to value one another. Music is the ultimate language that they both can finally understand.
The most powerful symbol in the story is that of music because it allows Sonny to escape the world in which he lives and it finally allows his brother to understand from where he is coming. Other powerful symbols in the story are darkness and light, which allude to not only the life the brothers want to escape but also a sense of hope and reparation. Baldwin successfully describes the neighborhood that the brothers spent their lives trying to escape. Symbols help us see and feel what is happening in the novel and between the brothers. Symbolism becomes a powerful literary technique that allows us to understand the characters and the environment in James Baldwin's short story, "Sonny's Blues." Through symbols, we become closer to the characters and their plight.
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