The Power of Music in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues Essay -- Sonnys B

The advocate of Music in James Baldwins lads vapours At first glance, Sonnys Blues seems ambiguous about the relationship between medicament and drugs. After all, the worlds of spiel and drug addiction are historically intertwined it could be possible that Sonnys warmness for jazz is merely an excuse for his lifestyle and addiction, as the narrator believes for a time. Or perhaps the world that Sonny has entered by becoming problematical in jazz is the danger- if he had not receiveed jazz he wouldnt convey encountered drugs either. But the clues given by the portrayals of euphony and what it does for other figures in the business relationship demonstrate euphonys beneficial nature harmony and drugs are not mutualist for Sonny. By studying the moments of music interwoven throughout the story, it can be determined that the author portrays music as a good thing, the flotation device and sustainer of hope and life, and Sonnys only way out of the deep and malodou rous hole of his life in Harlem, with its attendant peril of drugs (414). The storys first encounter with music is after the narrator has learned of Sonnys arrest. He is thinking about the boys he teaches, and how they could all be sucked under (419) just as Sonny has been. He hears their laughter in the schoolyard and notes its mocking and insular quality, a disagreement made by disillusioned youth rather than the untainted, joyous arduous one expects of children (410). One boy whistles a tune, a cool and moving, conglomerate and simple melody, pouring out of him as though he were a bird, and the music manages to soar above the harsh sounds of disenchantment (410). Clearly this music is joy and salvation. Because he concentrates on this simple music, one boy does not curse and den... ..., because this tale is the only light weve got in all this ugliness (438). Sonnys Blues is filled with examples of music and how it makes things better. The schoolboy, the barma id, the mother, the brother, the uncle, the street revivalists, all use music to create a moment when life isnt so ugly, even though the world still waits outside and trouble stretches above. Music and the tale it tells fork up hope and joy instead of being the instrument of Sonnys destruction, introducing him to the world of drugs, music is his way out of some of the ugliness. For Sonny and the other characters in this story, music is a bastion against the despair that pervades stunted lives it is the light that guides them from the darkness without hope. deeds Cited Baldwin, James. Sonnys Blues. The Oxford Book of American Short Stories 1992 409 - 439.