H5

Applied Humanities

Choices Choices in Literature By Eric Steineger 5 Module Five: Impact of the Humanities / Page 5.2.4 Choices in Literature On this page: 0 of 3 attempted (0%) Objective: Consider the staggering number of choices made in crafting a short story and how each has the potential to contribute to the overall message of the piece.

James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” was published in 1957 at a time when jazz was big— Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and countless others were performing to acclaim at the Five Spot in New York, and the genre neatly complemented abstract expressionism, the first American school of painting to garner worldwide acclaim. Both jazz and abstract expressionism held improvisation as a central value.

In the study of literature, motif is defined as a symbol or object that reoccurs in the narrative, offering meaning. As you read “Sonny’s Blues,” keep track of some of the motifs and how Baldwin uses them to inform the story. Note too that the two main characters, Sonny and his brother, represent different approaches analogous to perspectives on music: One is constantly improvising while the other follows the rules on a predictable and well-established path.

Sonny’s Blues

One reason “Sonny’s Blues” deserves a careful read is because it is not a linear narrative. Many stories unfold predictably: They start at the beginning and proceed to the end. In such stories, time passes predictably, evenly affecting the characters.

Not “Sonny’s Blues.” Notice how we slip into a flashback when the narrator invites his younger brother Sonny home for supper. In this scene, our narrator describes the housing project he lives in with his wife, Isabel. Once “uninhabitably new,” it now looks derelict along with the sad patches of grass and the kids’ attitudes in this urban environment. The narrator worries about this reunion, as if he were “simply bringing [Sonny] back into the danger he had almost died trying to escape.”

Then, without warning, Baldwin returns to that danger. “‘Safe!’ my father grunted, whenever Mama suggested we try moving to a neighborhood that might be safer for children. ‘Safe, hell! Ain’t no place safe for kids, nor nobody.’” Later, Baldwin telegraphs his use of flashback: “The last time I talked to my mother, I remember I was restless.”

The family’s history is tragic. Once we understand it, we can make better sense of the brothers’ relationship.

Response Board Why do you think Baldwin chose to tell this story out of order? What impact does that choice have on the experience of the reader?

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The anxiety that pervades “Sonny’s Blues” is presented both literally and metaphorically. The block of ice that sits in the narrator’s belly reappears in this story, never really going away: “It kept melting, sending trickles of water all up and down my veins but it never got less.” When an author repeats an image or idea in a short story, assume it is intentional and significant.

Consider darkness and light. How many times does Baldwin emphasize darkness or light in scenes? When Sonny is playing in the club, notice the following description: “The light from the bandstand spilled just a little short of them and, watching them laughing and gesturing and moving about, I had the feeling that they, nevertheless, were being most careful not to step into that circle of light too suddenly: that if they moved into the light too suddenly, without thinking, they would perish in flame.”

To notice repetition in a short story is a good first step. Ultimately, we want to assign a value to it. Why light in the club? Why darkness in other scenes?

Response Board Where else in this story did you see symbolic use of light or dark?

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Response Board Baldwin chooses to end not on the most recent event, but on that night in the club. Why do you think he made this choice?

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