HCCFL Sonnys Blues research paper assignment Recap of Research Essay Requirements
Choose one of the prompts from the Essay 1 Guidelines
Develop a clear, debatable thesis statement
Minimum 1000 words (not including heading or works cited)
MLA format (including works-cited page)
No more than 15% of your paper should consist of other people’s ideas/words (In other words, dont try to pack in a bunch of random quotes)
Primary source (the text you are analyzing)
TWO credible secondary articles from PEER-REVIEWED JOURNALS
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Remember: Do not provide plot summary. Analyze the text and use articles from PEER-REVIEWED journals
This is the prompt for the essay
James Baldwins Sonnys Blues: One critic has noted what he calls “a cultural chasm” between Sonny and the narrator, despite the brothers’ having grown up together. What evidence can you cite that a cultural division exists, and what does the narrator’s inability to see Sonny as “serious” indicate about their differences? Locate the article that discusses the cultural chasm between the brothers. Consider researching psychology articles that explore the relationships between brothers.
I uploaded pieces of the story Plot Overview
The unnamed narrator of the story discovers from a newspaper that his
younger brother, Sonny, has been arrested for selling and using heroin. As
he prepares to teach his algebra class, the narrator remembers Sonny as a
young boy. His students, he realizes, could someday end up like Sonny,
given the obstacles and hardships they face growing up in Harlem. At the
end of the school day, the narrator heads home, but he notices that one of
Sonny’s old friends, who is always high and dirty, is waiting for him by the
school. The two men walk together, talking about Sonny. The narrator
simultaneously hates and pities Sonny’s friend, who, despite his problems,
makes it painfully clear to the narrator just how difficult Sonny’s drug-
addicted life has been and how difficult it will continue to be.
Time passes, but the narrator never writes to Sonny in prison until the
narrator’s young daughter, Grace, dies. Sonny writes a long letter back to
his brother in which he tries to explain how he ended up where he is. The
two brothers then stay in constant communication. When Sonny gets out of
jail, the narrator is there for him. He takes Sonny back to his own family’s
apartment
In an extended flashback, the narrator recalls how Sonny and their father
used to fight with each other because they were so similar in spirit. He
remembers the last day he saw his mother while on leave from the army,
when she told him to watch out for his brother. She told him that when his
father was a young man, he watched his own brother get run down by a car
full of white men who never bothered to stop. The experience traumatized
and damaged the narrator’s father for the rest of his life.
army and didn’t think about his brother again until their mother died. After
the funeral, the two brothers sat and talked about Sonny’s future. Sonny
told his brother about his dream of becoming a jazz pianist, which the
narrator dismissed. The narrator arranged for Sonny to live with his wife’s
family until Sonny graduated from college. Sonny reluctantly agreed to do
so. He didn’t want to live in the house and spent all his spare time playing
the piano. Although Sonny loved the music, the rest of family had a hard
time bearing his constant practicing.
While living with his sister-in-law, Sonny got into trouble for skipping
school. He tried to hide the truancy letters, but one eventually made it to
the house. When his sister-in-law’s mother confronted him, Sonny admitted
to spending all his time in Greenwich Village, hanging out with musicians.
The two fought, and Sonny realized what a burden he’d been on the family.
After two days, Sonny joined the navy. The narrator didn’t know whether
Sonny was dead or alive until he received a postcard from Greece. After the
war, the two brothers returned to New York, but they didn’t see each other
for quite some time. When they eventually met, they fought about Sonny’s
decisions in life. After one especially difficult fight, Sonny told his brother
that he could consider him dead from that point on. The narrator walked
away, telling himself that one day Sonny would need his help. The
flashback ends there.
After having Sonny live with him for a few weeks, the narrator debates
whether he should search Sonny’s room. As he paces back and forth, he
sees a street-corner revival occurring outside his window and thinks about
its significance. Eventually Sonny comes home and invites his brother to
watch him perform later that evening. The two brothers go to a small jazz
club where everyone knows and respects Sonny. Sonny and the band get
on stage and play, and as they play, the narrator watches Sonny struggle
with the music. He watches all his brother’s struggles come pouring out as
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he plays, and only then does he finally realize who Sonny is and what he’s
made of.
At a Glance
The first-person narrator of “Sonny’s Blues” tells the story of his relationship
with his younger brother, Sonny. The story begins when the narrator reads
about Sonny getting caught in a drug bust. Saddened by his brother’s choices,
the narrator thinks back on their childhood, wondering what caused his brother
to become an addict.
After the deaths of their parents, the narrator tries to be a father figure to
Sonny. He isn’t able to control Sonny, however, and the troubled Sonny
turns to drugs for solace.
Sonny lives with his brother briefly, during which time he teaches himself
the piano. He joins the Navy and later enters a treatment center for his
addiction. Meanwhile, the narrator marries, goes to war, comes home, and
mourns the death of his young daughter.
In the final part of the story, the narrator agrees to come to one of Sonny’s
shows. As he listens to Sonny’s blues, he realizes that the music expresses
not just Sonny’s pain but all of humanity’s. He understands now that
suffering fuels Sonny’s art.
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