Essay #2 Sonny - S Blues 1st Version

Building Family Bonds
Brotherhood is very important in a family, for it is a bond between people.
Brothers are there for you when you are at your best and worst, standing by
your side at all times. Having a brother is like having a big support for the rest
of your life, even when everyone else you know has turned their back on you.
Sometimes due to different life’s circumstances, brothers choose their own
way and end up growing apart. For instance, leaving the city where you grew
up to look for new opportunities, having different ideals and lifestyles, and
escaping from your reality. Such is the case of Sonny, a drug-addicted blue’s
musician, and his older brother, a high school algebra teacher married with
children; from the short story “Sonny’s Blues” written by James Baldwin.
After Sonny was sent to rehab, both brothers made several attempts in order
to make their relationship work; such as writing letter, having a meaningful
talk and spending a night at a club together.
One of the attempts that the brothers made was to write letters to each
other after Sonny’s niece died. After the narrator’s daughter was buried, he
decided to write a letter to Sonny in order to share his pain, […]”I was sitting
in the living room in the dark, by myself, and I suddenly thought of Sonny. My
trouble made his real”(1785). In this way, he was able to express himself,
burn out his sorrows and get his brother to contact him and share his pain
with Sonny. When Sonny got the letter from his brother, he decided to write
one back. In his letter he opened up to his brother by telling him how he was
feeling and how much pain he had caused him ”you don’t know how much I
need to hear from you. I wanted to write you many a time but I dug how
much I must have hurt you and so I didn’t write”(1775). He also sympathized
with his brother’s pain and asked him if the narrator could meet him once he
was out of rehab, “If I tell you when I’m coming to New York and if you could
meet me, I sure would appreciate it” “[…] I was sure sorry to hear about little
Gracie .” This shows that Sonny wanted to make their relationship work
again. The fact that the narrator sent Sonny a letter triggered them to have
contact with each other again.
There were two more attempts that the brothers made to strengthen their
relationship; the fact that Sonny talked and opened up to his brother and the
narrator’s acceptance of Sonny’s invitation to a night club. One afternoon,
when Sonny got home after witnessing a revival on the street, he talked to
his brother about how heroin felt like, ”[…]It makes you feel sort of warm and
cool at the same time. And distant. And Sure. It makes you feel- in control.
Sometimes you’ve got to have that feeling ”(1787); how much he had suffer
because of his drug abuse, “No, there’s no way not to suffer. But you try all
kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it, and to make it
seem- well like you. Like you did something, all right, and now you’re
suffering for it.”(1788); and the reason why he wanted to leave Harlem, “I
couldn’t tell when Mama died- but the reason I wanted to leave Harlem so
bad was to get away from drugs, And then, when I ran away, that’s what I
was running from- really[…]”(1789). As the narrator was truly listening to his
brother, Sonny could actually take everything he had gone through out of his
chest. After that long meaningful conversation, Sonny invited his brother to
watch him play at a night club. Upon entering the night club, he was
introduced to all of Sonny’s friends and realized that it was Sonny’s world,
[…] “Or, rather: his kingdom. Here, it was not even a question that his veins
bore royal blood” (1790). The narrator sat down and listened to Sonny play
blues. Having gone to the club and having listened to Sonny’s music, made
the narrator realized Sonny’s ways of expressing his suffering and releasing
his feelings. For the first time he was able to understand to what Sonny was
saying through blues. Both the talk and the invitation to the club, made the
brothers feel less estranged.

All in all, we can see that writing letters, talking and spending a night at the
club together were the attempts these two brothers made in order to make
their relationship work. Sometimes going to another city looking for a
different lifestyle may be the reason why brothers break a family bond.
Brothers tend to grow apart yet eventually find a way to revive an old distant
relationship. Even when times are hard and you have no one else to rely on, a
brother is a person you can count on. Brotherhood is one of the best things a
family can have.

Essay #2 Sonny - S Blues 1st Version

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Essay #2 Sonny - S Blues 1st Version

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Building Family Bonds

Brotherhood is very important in a family, for it is a bond between people.

Sometimes due to different life’s circumstances, brothers choose their own

to make their relationship work; such as writing letter, having a meaningful

talk and spending a night at a club together.

contact with each other again.

narrator’s acceptance of Sonny’s invitation to a night club. One afternoon,

brothers feel less estranged.

their relationship work. Sometimes going to another city looking for a

family can have.

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