The Inevitability of Suffering in James Baldwins Sonnys...

The Inevitability of Suffering in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues Everyone likes to feel safe. We try to protect ourselves and those we love, to make them feel safe as well. The idea conveyed about safety in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues is that there is no such thing. The narrator of this story had thought that his brother Sonny was safe. Or at least, that was what he had made himself believe. I told myself that Sonny was wild, but he wasnt crazy. And hed always been a good boy, he hadnt ever turned hard or evil or disrespectful, the way kids can, so quick, so quick, especially in Harlem. I didnt want to believe that Id ever see my brother going down, coming to nothing, all that light in his face gone out, in the condition†¦show more content†¦Thats when he started writing to his brother. My trouble made his real, he said (62). Because the truth is, we are never truly safe from anything. No one and nothing can protect us. This idea is brought out numerous times in the story. Driving past housing projects, where people have attempted to make nice, safe homes for themselves and their children in the midst of Harlem, and noticing the beat-looking grass and the big windows, and the playground, which saw more activity after dark, Sonnys brothe r notes: The hedges will never hold out the streets, and they know it (53). Sonnys brother is taking on the attitude he remembers hearing from their father. Safe! my father grunted, whenever Mama suggested trying to move to a neighbourhood which might be safer for children. Safe, hell! Aint no place safe for kids, nor nobody! (54). Sonny wasnt safe, no matter how much his brother had tried to protect him in his own way, by sending him to live with Isabel and her parents. He still got involved with drugs. The big brother syndrome kicks in again one day when Sonny had gone out. I was trying to remember everything Id heard about dope addiction and I couldnt help watching Sonny for signs. I wasnt doing it out of malice. I was trying to find out something about my brother. I was dying to hear him tell me he was safe (54). He was trying to protect his brother, but there was nothing heShow MoreRelatedExpectations in Sonnys Blues, by James Baldwin Essay1277 Words   |  6 Pagesthe Civil Rights Movement would gain momentum and drastically alter such social exclusion, but James Baldwin writes his story â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† before this transformation has occurred. In the style of other Post-Modernist writers of his day, Baldwin invents two brothers, Sonny and the narrator, who seem to have given up on find ing meaning in their lives: escape, not purpose, is the solution for suffering. Although marginalized by white society, these men are still influenced by external standards –