english essay-Sonny's Blues
In the story “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin the narrator vows to protect his brother and to keep him safe. His mother warns that this may not be possible to do but that he must be there for Sonny. The narrator cares strongly for Sonny and would give his life for him. Sonny’s mother has experienced enough of the trials and tribulations of life to know that no matter how much Sonny’s bother wants to protect him, he can’t stop the racism in the world and can not prevent anything from happening. Sonny’s brother although very protective, is not realistic in how he thinks he will be able to control the outcome of Sonny’s life. He thinks that he will be able to prevent anything from happening to Sonny and perhaps preserve what is left of his brother’s innocence. Although the heart and determination is there, it is not an accurate portrayal of his ability. Sonny’s brother wants to protect and preserve his brother’s innocence but he has not lost all of his innocence himself. He is, in a way, trying to protect himself by not letting anything happen to Sonny. When the narrator is told the story about how his uncle was killed he is in disbelief. “I guess I didn’t want to believe this. I guess she saw this in my face. She turned away from me, toward the window again, searching those streets” (Baldwin 636) The narrator doesn’t want to believe that this tragedy has occurred in his family and doesn’t want to believe that his father had to endure such emotional pain. Learning of his Uncle’s death makes him want to hold on to Sonny that much more. By ensuring that something that tragic doesn’t happen to his brother he is keeping the incident in a state of past images and events as opposed to present feelings and emotions. By protecting Sonny he is protecting himself and not allowing himself to come to a full realization of what happened in his family and of other possible tragedies in the world.