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Navneet Kaur
Professor Wilson
ENGL-123-2985
21 February 2018
“Names have power” (Rick Riordan). Names have the power to connect us to someone or
distance us from someone. In a short story by James Baldwin called “Sonny’s Blues,” the
narrator never reveals his name. “Sonny’s Blues” is based on the relationship between two
brothers at various points in their life. Sonny’s life experiences are expressed through the eyes of
the narrator, his brother. It seems like the narrator remains unnamed thus the audience can relate
to him as an older brother, and not take attention away from Sonny, but also incorporate the
In Sonny’s Blues, the narrator does not reveal his name because the narrator wants to
indicate that he is not the main character, thus he wants the attention to remain on Sonny, his
brother who is the main character. The narrator states at the club, “yet, it was clear that, for them,
I was only Sonny’s brother. Here, I was in Sonny’s world. Or, rather: his kingdom” (112). This
indicates that the narrator is talking about Sonny and the story is Sonny’s life story from the
narrator’s perspective. When the narrator says he is in Sonny’s kingdom, this implies that Sonny
is the main character since the kingdom belongs to him. The narrator indicates that the story will
be about Sonny, by naming the story “Sonny’s Blues”. Moreover, the narrator states, “now these
are Sonny’s Blues” (114). Although by Sonny’s blues the narrator means a kind of jazz music
that evolved from the music of African-American, the narrator is also trying to mention that
these are Sonny’s struggles and the suffering he went through which is the other meaning of
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blues. Sonny allows his blues to dominate his life. While having a conversation with his brother,
Sonny states, “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… maybe it’s better to do something to give it a reason,
any reason” (110). This quote indicates that Sonny has been suffering in his life. This may
present Sonny as ignorant and irresponsible, however, it also illustrates that Sonny is trying to
control his suffering by making up a reason for it. He mentions that the reason behind his
suffering is his use of heroin and engagement in criminal activities. Sonny elucidates that all
humans, including the narrator, suffers, and that we all have our own way of coping with the
suffering. This detailed conversation between the narrator and Sonny indicates that the narrator is
sharing Sonny’s opinions and stories, which leads the audience to relate to Sonny and not the
narrator. Therefore, the narrator remains unnamed in the story so that the reader's focus is on
Sonny.
Furthermore, the narrator does the reveal his name in the story because he wants his
audience to relate to him by placing themselves in his shoes. The narrator and Sonny loose
contact when Sonny gets arrested. But when the narrator’s daughter dies from polio, Sonny
writes a letter to the narrator to explain his suffering and to empathize for Grace’s death. After
this letter, the two brothers stay in constant touch. When Sonny is released from prison for using
drugs, the narrator meets him and writes, “yet, when he smiled, when we shook hands, the baby
brother I’d never known looked out from the depths of his private life, like an animal waiting to
be coaxed into the light” (97). This quote includes phrases like “baby brother” which appeals to
the reader's pathos. If the reader is an older brother or sibling, he/she will automatically relate to
the narrator. This quote shows that the narrator is realizing that although Sonny has altered, he
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still has the same heart and is still his baby brother. While in prison, Sonny is like a caged animal
trying to come back in the right direction, the path of freedom. The audience gets a better
understanding of how the narrator feels because the narrator is unnamed and the reader imagines
himself/herself as the narrator. This lack of a name for the narrator makes the narrator seem
unknowable; however, it also makes the narrator more accessible to the audience.
Another reason the narrator is unnamed in the story is to express the relationship of
brotherhood. In the article “James Baldwin’s ‘Sonny’s Blues’: Complicated And Simple”, the
author Donald C. Murray states, “the final point of the story is that the narrator, through his own
suffering and the example of Sonny, is at last able to find himself in the brotherhood of man.”
This suggests that the narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” wants the audience to perceive the importance
and presence of brotherhood in the story. The narrator does this successfully by having the
audience put themselves in his shoes. By having the audience place themselves in the narrator’s
shoes, the audience gets a better understanding of by the narrator reacted the way he did when
Sonny went in the wrong direction. Due to the reason the reader connects to the narrator, the
reader also understands that a brother cannot be a parent and probably that is the reason why the
narrator could not fulfill his responsibility towards Sonny because it was never his, it was their
parents. Moreover, the reader understands why the narrator does not get Sonny’s passion for
music. While having a conversation with Sonny, the narrator finds out that Sonny wants to be a
musician. This surprises the narrator and he states, “well, you may think it’s funny now, baby,
but it’s not going to be so funny when you have to make your living at it, let me tell you that”
(103). The reader can relate to the narrator because this is a competitive society and it is difficult
to make a living out of music. Thus, the reader understands the narrator’s concern for Sonny’s
future when the narrator advice Sonny, “it’s time you started thinking about your future” (104).
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The narrator worries that Sonny will not be able to make a living as a musician. This upsets
Sonny because he thinks his brother does not understand his passion for music. However, as the
narrator senses Sonny’s anger, he tries to relate to his younger brother. He goes on to ask him
what kind of musician Sonny wants to be. Later in the story, the narrator realizes how Sonny has
used music to keep him keep him from drowning in his suffering. He goes to a jazz club with
Sonny to understand his brother’s world. At the jazz nightclub, the narrator realizes how
important music is to Sonny and how he has used it to cope with his struggles. Through this, the
audience realizes how difficult it can be for two brothers to understand each other.
More, the narrator in “Sonny’s Blues” remains unnamed to reinforce a theme of lost
identity. The narrator is not the only character in the story who is unnamed. The characters that
are named in the story are the ones that do not fit to the norms of the society; unlike the narrator
and his parents who are unnamed in the story. The characters who are not named in the story
have undefined identity thus they seem to stand as a representative of the African American
communities. For example, the narrator identifies himself as an algebra teacher in high school,
which indicates his effort to educate other students like Sonny. He is represented as a responsible
married man in the story. On the contrary, Sonny struggles to discover his identity. At the
nightclub, the narrator acknowledges the effect of music on Sonny. He states, “I had never before
thought of how awful the relationship must be between the musician and his instrument” (113).
By the term “awful” the narrator does not mean that musician and instrument relationship is
horrible or that they do not get along. In the content, this term is used as “intriguing”. The
narrator finds the relationship between the musician and the instrument intriguing due to how the
instrument is full of life and can clearly convey the musician's story. Since the narrator just
discovers this relationship, he feels a sense of loss and Sonny’s relationship with his instrument
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compels that narrator to reflect on his own opinions and perspective. Through this the narrator
can better discover his own self with an open mind and understand the type of person Sonny is.
described through his brother’s perspective. But due to the reason the narrator is unnamed, the
attention of the reader remains on Sonny, the reader can put himself/herself in the narrator’s
position to get a simpler understanding of Sonny and his relationship with his brother, and sense
Work Cited
Baldwin, James. “Sonny’s Blues.” Norton Introduction To Literature, 12th Ed. Ed. Kelly J.
Murray, Donald C. "James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues': Complicated and Simple." Studies in Short
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