Study Guide: Sonny’s Blues
James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is centered around the lives of Sonny and his brother. Sonny is a jazz pianist who has endured incarceration and many other miseries due to his reliance on heroin. The Narrator is Sonny’s nameless older brother who finds himself devastated trying to cope with a younger brother undergoing the aftermath of heroin addiction.
Metaphor- concept of understanding one thing in terms of another. A metaphor is a figure of speech that constructs an analogy or comparison between two things or ideas.
An example of a metaphor in Sonny’s Blues would be the “great block of ice” that the narrator of the story claims to have settled in his belly. This metaphor was used to express pain, dread, or misery.
Simile- uses like or as. figure of speech that draws a comparison between two different things. Examples of a simile would be the passage of Sonny’s Blues that says “Every face looks darkening like the sky outside.” In this phrase you have Baldwin comparing the shift in people’s continence to the shift between night in day. This was used to show a change in emotion.
Personification- giving human traits to something non-living. “Killing streets of our childhood” is an example in which Baldwin uses personification.
Harlem Renaissance- cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. Named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke. It is noted by an expansion in the arts by African American people. Sonny’s blues reflects the Harlem renaissance because it is in many ways centered around Sonny’s jazz playing.
Protagonist- main character. The Protagonist in Sonny’s Blues is the Narrator, who is a main character and is the nameless older brother of Sonny.
Antagonist- rival. Sonny Himself would appear to be the antagonist as he stands opposite to his brother due to his struggle with heroin.
Setting- time, location, place the story took place. The setting of Sonny’s Blues takes place in Harlem New York, and ranges from school courtyards, to homes, and night clubs.
Modernism- modern thought, character, or practice. Modernism is seen in the Jazz music of Sonny’s blues, and the exposure of the destructive trend of heroin use
Genre- class or category of artistic endeavor having a particular form, content, technique. Sonny’s Blues is written in prose and it is a drama.
Tone- a literary technique which encompasses the attitudes towards the subject and toward the audience implied in a literary work. The tone of Sonny’s Blues transitions from depressive to redemptive.
Persona/Speaker – it is a term given to describe the versions of self that all individuals possess. The Speaker in Sonny’s Blues is the Narrator and one of the main characters.
Dramatic monologue- piece of performed writing that offers great insight into the feelings of a speaker. Words or a character spoken directly or specifically to the listener or reader.
Realism- most often refers to the trend, beginning with certain works of nineteenth century French literature and extending to the late- nineteenth and early twentieth- century authors in various countries . Depicts things as they truly are; realistic.
The acts and conditions shown in Sonny’s blues were true to life and do reflect realism.
Conflict- actual or perceived opposition of needs, values, and interest. The Major conflicts in Sonny’s Blues is turmoil between Sonny and his brother and is brought about due to Sonny’s struggle with heroin.
Submitted By: Markus Reed, Kyane Davis, Jairod Hardy, and Marshantia Rice
Leave a comment