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Sanchez 1
Jenny Sanchez
Professor. O’Connell
ENG 102
12 June 2020
Question 2
FAMILY AS SUPPORT
In the 1950s, was an era filled with poverty, drugs, and racial tension in Harlem neighborhood in
New York City. Where two younger brothers grew up, Sonny and James who fighting through to
overcome hardship as drug abuse, sorrow of a dysfunctional family, fear of family conflicts and
racism predominantly to African American in that time. Nowadays, as in many families, the
problems are present but showing commitment and responsibility for our family can offer rewards,
like the relief of a person’s most intractable suffering, and at the end family is our unit of support.
The story of “Sonny’s Blues”, focuses on the troubled relationship between, James who was the
narrator and his little brother, called Sonny, that explore hardship moments throughout various
stages of their lives. Nevertheless, The two brothers choose very different routes in life in order
to accomplish their goals, and in doing so, the relationship between the two brothers is greatly
strained due them being opposites, their lack of communication, and failure to truly hear one
another leads them to appreciate each other for who they are. The characters do not have much in
common beyond the blood that they share, thus making it difficult for a family bond. When the
two brothers who do not share the same views, profession, or beliefs the difficulty to find a
connection is only inevitable.
Sanchez 2
Another aspect of the story about brother´s conflict is that, the narrator is introduced as a successful
man in the clanship of Harlem for making something of himself with a stable career and life. He
is an algebra teacher with a wife and kids, he is a practical man with a broader view, far more
different view of the world that surrounds him. On the other hand, Sonny has seemingly failed at
reaching that level by only becoming another predictably, failed product of black community as
expects this type of outcome. He is a jazz musician with a drug abuse problem who has a simple-
minded, smiling point of view about the life.
Walter Dean Myers (2014), a famous New York Times journalist wrote that “…I read a story by
James Baldwin: “Sonny’s Blues.” I did not love the story, but I was lifted by it, for it took place in
Harlem, and it was a story concerned with black people like those I knew. By humanizing the
people who were like me, Baldwin’s story also humanized me. The story gave me a permission
