Literary Devices and Themes in James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues'

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the literary devices employed in James Baldwin's short story, 'Sonny's Blues.' It examines the use of first-person narrative, exploring how it shapes the reader's understanding of the characters and their experiences. The essay also investigates the significa...Read More

Running Head: LITERARY DEVICES IN ‘SONNY’S BLUE’
Literary Devices in ‘Sonny’s Blues
James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” was first published in the year 1957 and are (is)
based on the African-American community and reflects the struggles which led to the civil
rights movement (Chakour). The short story utilizes the story of two brothers opening with
the news of incarceration of Sonny and the announcement of which disturbs the narrator, who
happened to an algebra teacher in a school. The theme of absence of familial bonding and the
effect of drugs on the personal psyche is shown with the help of various drug addicts, which
insinuates the feeling of sympathy in the reader. Baldwin has utilized the first-person
narrative as the primary literary technique with the inclusion of flashbacks as the secondary
literary element. The symbolism of inescapable darkness is used to convey darkness which
enveloped the life of the African-American and allows the readers to connect with the
characters. James Baldwin’s writings aimed at class division and the struggle related to it in
the American societies and Sonny’s Blues was included in his collection ‘Going to Meet the
Man’ in the year 1965 (Chakour).
Discussion
Sonny’s brother as the narrator of the story and the protagonist shows the use of first
person narrative in which the readers can feel and relate to the character as the story unfolds.
The story is based in the 1950s and deals with the familial bonding between two brothers who
drifted apart due to the narrator departing to take part in the War. Baldwin uses the literary
element of the first-person narrative to show the closeness which the narrator shares with the
story (Bakke). He is introduced as Sonny’s brother, who has been a closed person. This is
made known to the readers by the description of their father of being a ‘loud’ person in
whose presence Sonny has always been quiet and secluded. The narrator remains unnamed
due to the first-person narrative technique, which can be seen as intentional of Baldwin to
convey that it is the story of Sonny and his struggle with his family, society, and how it led

3LITERARY DEVICES IN ‘SONNY’S BLUE’
him towards the drug addiction (Johansson). The narrative of the story seemed to become
softer and the empathy he shows towards the children in his class shows the association he
makes with his brother. The changes and the clarity starts to shows from the very page of the
story where the narrator cannot forget the news of his Sonny’s incarceration showing that the
familial bond was not completely broken.
The second literary element which connects the reader to Sonny’s character and helps
them understand his position in life is the use of flashbacks. The flashbacks are tools that are
used to provide the reader with the background of the place where the two brothers grew up
but also depicts the journey which made them into the person they became ultimately. The
flashback also reveals the strong familial bond, which is expected and witnessed in the
African-American community. Particularly one memory of their mother telling him about her
brother she lost to addiction (Chakour).But the flashback freshened memory of his mother
explaining about people who are sucked into the system that is neither created by them nor is
their fault. However, they are the ones who end up being an outcast. The flashback serves as
the lesson which he needed at the moment to understand his brother’s position and his
involvement of drugs that, as readers, we know is his way of gaining control, which is
validated by Sonny’s word when he takes the narrator to the club.
The third device which plays in inducing empathy in the reader is the use of
symbolism to represent the life of the African-American community in the society after War.
Harlem is described as the abyss from which the resident cannot escape. The symbolism of
darkness is associated with the darkness of the fate that the community has to experience.
After the War, people from the community who have participated in the War refused to
accept the same racial discrimination they have experienced previously, and the civil rights
movement took a massive form making the American government bend and change their
rules (LeBaron). However, discrimination was based on societal, psychological acceptance,

3LITERARY DEVICES IN ‘SONNY’S BLUE’
which remained the same, so the constitutional changes were simply the facade of doing
good. It is shown from the housing projects which are described as the “rocks in the middle
of a boiling sea.” by Baldwin. The project depicts the hollowness and the darkness residing
inside is symbolical of the poor living condition in Harlem that was responsible for drug use
by individuals like Sonny who goes into the realm of darkness to escape the actual darkness
of his life. It is also symbolical of the effort which is visible through the enormous windows
of the projects, which are a vast lifeless entity in the middle of the surrounding filled with
poverty making their misery a prominent feature (Belilgne).
Conclusion
Baldwin’s ‘Sonny’s Blues’ is replete with literary elements that together work as the
tool to convey his motive of depicting the life of the individual and the society’s demarcation
of the location in terms of race. Harlem represented the location, which is populated by the
African-American community, where the playgrounds have become a hunting ground for the
drug dealers. Yet, the whole story shows how they are their only hope, for even after the
incarceration, the narrator is the only one who reaches Sonny for help also though Sonny was
a brilliant kid while growing up. The use of the first-person narrative shows how their story is
there and cannot be told from any other perspective.

3LITERARY DEVICES IN ‘SONNY’S BLUE’
Works-Cited
Bakke, Max. Brotherly Love: A Discussion of Fraternal Bonds in James Baldwin's Short
Fiction. Southern Connecticut State University, 2018.
Belilgne, Maleda. "Sonic Living: Space and the Speculative in James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s
Blues”." James Baldwin Review 4.1 (2018): 45-62.
Chakour, Khaoula. "Racial Politics in Zora Neale Hurston’s “Sweat”, Toni Morrison’s
“Recitatif”, and James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”." Studies in Literature and Language 17.1
(2018): 86-90.
Chakour, Kate. "Dystopian America in Revolutionary Road and ‘Sonny’s Blues’." Burgmann
Journal VI (2017).
Johansson, Marie Seljehaug. An Investigation of Empathy in James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s
Blues”. MS thesis. UiT Norges arktiske universitet, 2019.
LeBaron, Taylor. "16 November 2017 James Baldwin's: Sonny's Blues a Sociocultural
Analysis." (2017).