Symbolism of Light and Darkness in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues

He dont want to die. He wants to live. Dont nobody want to die ever.(2138).
In James Baldwins story, Sonnys Blues the themes of life and death, light and
darkness are major elements, that delineate the destiny of a young artist in an unhealthy
environment of white people disregarding their fellow human beings. Racism has always
existed and it is of a major importance in the development of black people. Having
different personalities, Sonny, the major character and his brother, the narrator have
developed differently according to their own beliefs and purposes. As shown by the creed
quoted above, Sonny is a rebel in his world, he does not accept his status as a contemned
nigger and he tries to emerge from the darkness of Harlem, he wants to live no matter
his means.
First of all, the image of life and death is proposed by Sonnys addiction to heroin.
Sonny is the young artist, whose addiction, although improper, is not viewed as
condemnable by the author of the text. This shows that the text is not a moralizing piece
of work; it is moreover an impressive story about two brothers who finally come to
understand each other, and their own selves. Throughout the story Sonny overpasses a
transformation. From the beginning he is viewed by us readers as a drug addicted outcast,
and until the end, we, alongside the narrator, Sonnys brother, realize that he is a true
artist and his music is the product of his sufferings. He is indeed addicted to drugs, but
his methods are not self-destructive, music and drugs are his means of protecting himself
from the dim world he was born into.
Secondly, it is important to mention that darkness and light are recurring elements
in Baldwins story, images of white and black, light and darkness are used in contrast to

emphasize the conditions of the narrator or the negative effects of the environment. For
instance, the opening images present us the narrator contemplating Sonnys fate in the
darkness, reading the newspaper: I stared at it in the swinging lights in the subway
car.(2135), allowing him to read about his brothers arrest, while the darkness roared
outside(2135). This image of dim light somehow suggests the idea that the narrator is
still down somewhere, in a place from which he needs to emerge in order to understand
his brother, who is still in mist, in a form of darkness to his brother, who yet cannot
understand him.
The most impressing image proposed by the contrast life and death is the episode
when the narrator comes aware of the fact that his fathers brother was killed on a
Saturday night under the wheels of a car driven by drunken white men. Like any other
young person, Sonnys uncle was a lively character, as Mama says: Like all young folks,
he just liked to perform on Saturday nights. Him and your father would drift around to
different places, go to dances and things like that.(2143). The atmosphere of this
particular Saturday night was regular, with Sonnys uncle being always kind of frisky
(2143), as stated by Mama, characterized by liveliness. Furthermore, although the events
happen during the night, there was a moon that night, it was bright like day (2143), the
brightness brings to surface a kind of light we have not yet discussed: the light, viewed
not exactly as a positive factor; viewed as the disappearance of the veil that shadowed the
sad reality. This night, through the uncles death is the night of revelation, the night that
marks out the fact that racism exists, and it will always be a social problem, like Mama
forecasts it in a prophetic way: the car kept on-a going and it aint stopped till this day
(2143). Considering this fact, the contrast between light and darkness might also have

significance in the aspect of skin color: while white people are characterized by the white
color, usually color of innocence, and African-Americans by black color, in this episode
the symbolism of colors tends to lose its intensity. White people in the darkness of a
drunken night lose their purity, they become animals enslaving, humiliating and
destructing their fellow.
A further example of commutation of the usual symbolism: white as purity and
black as sin or something bad, is in the episode when we witness Sonnys resurrection,
emergence from darkness into light: I was in Sonnys world. Or, rather: his kingdom.
(2155) as the narrator states it. After the ascension from all that hatred and misery and
love (2154), as Sonny characterizes Harlem, he becomes a ruler in the world he creates
himself. In the bar everyone looks up to him, he is viewed as some kind of winner, even
by the older ones, who admire him for all his struggles to overlap the suppressions his
fellows are subjected to. Both Sonnys and other persons lives are brought to light by
music. Music is the way of expressing their own feelings; it is a method of revealing their
aspirations and of getting free of their sufferings. In this final scene of the story, we
witness alongside the narrator that too much light or too sudden light, might signify
perdition: I had the feeling that they, nevertheless, were being most careful not to step
into that circle of light too suddenly: that if they moved into the light too suddenly,
without thinking, they would perish in flame. (2155) Perhaps this idea suggests that
musicians like Sonny and other superior beings, because I believe he might be called like
that, must be careful with approaching the truth of their lives, because the awareness of
their suffering might be painful and dangerous.

According to this, light, as symbol of knowledge can be dangerous and it looses

from its purity. The world of light is not a pure world, it is the kingdom of truth and the
total awareness does not have a securing characteristic. Thus, darkness signifies here the
dimness of the unknown, which on the one hand is safe, while on the other hand is
dangerous, too, and almost impossible for a man who tries to achieve something more,
who tries to reach the ultimate truth. Considering Sonnys emergence and the way he tries
to reach his purpose, we can demonstrate the fact that he emerges from darkness through
darkness itself. He is a superior being, but he becomes like that through his music being
helped also by his addiction to drugs, something very common to the world he lives in.
His world is not a world of light, but he resurrects from deep darkness trying to survive
all the harsh and painful events he has to pass through for developing his own identity.
Music is the only method that helps Sonny to develop his identity as a singular being in
his world, and this is the fact that the narrator comes aware of: music is not only
listening, but understanding, too. It means listening to other, hearing, and true
understanding. It is the ultimate way of reaching the truth: There isnt any other tale to
tell, its the only light weve got in all this darkness. (2156)
Considering all these aspects, I believe that Sonnys Blues is a very impressive
story about the development of a young artist, who finally reaches his purpose, coming
into light, but meanwhile it is a wonderful story about two brothers who come to
understand each other. In this story the narrator finally comes to understand all the
sufferings that consume his brother, and he begins to value the music through which his
brother channels all his pains. Life passes near us, death is omnipresent in our lives, in a
way or other, and yet, many of us are condemned to live in the darkness because of our

fear of emerging to light. It is terrible sometimes, inside. You walk these streets, black
and funky and cold (2156), being scared of what might happen if we do not obey the
rules. Sonny is an example that nothing is impossible. He is an example of the fact that
sufferings might be channeled into something beautiful and this action makes him a
superior being: he is able to build something really impressive from a world full of
misery. Sonny reaches a level where suffering is a fountain of preciousness: Its
repulsive to think you have to suffer that much. (2152). Sonnys example should be a
great example for people who suffer either from racism or from any other outer force.
Deep inside us, we all have a Sonny waiting to emerge with the purpose of achieving a
better life, because neither of us wants to suffer: Dont nobody want to die ever.(2138).

Works Cited:

Baldwin, James. Sonnys Blues. Literature of the Western World: Volume II:
Neoclassicism through the Modern Period. Eds. Brian Wilkie and James Hurt. 2 nd
ed. New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1988. 2133-57