For most of the story the setting surrounded the narrator and his life. It was his house, his family, and his experiences that made up the majority of the story. However, after the narrator reconciles with Sonny and he is invited to be part of the narrator's life, the setting of the story changes to Sonny and that which surrounds his life; particularly his music. The narrator and Sonny visit a blues club where Sonny, after nearly a year without touching a piano, gets up on stage with the band and begins to play. Only at the end of the story, when Sonny is playing on stage, does his brother, and the readers, understand that music is Sonny's outlet for his emotional pain. All the pain of life that he has endured from a lifetime of drug abuse is released through his music. Sonny and his music become the focus of the story, and not his brother. And it is through the narrator's choice to reconcile with Sonny that allows him, and the readers, to experience Sonny's musical abilities as the setting of the story changes.
Finally, the choice of the narrator to attempt to reconcile with his troublesome brother also brings about the redemption of the narrator. He is in need of redemption for the breaking of a promise to his mother and his turning his back on his brother Sonny. But it is only when he experiences the loss of his own daughter Grace, and the impact it has on his family, that he comes...
In response to learning the lesson of loss, the narrator reaches out to his brother and in doing redeems himself. It is the narrator who learns the lesson and applies it to his life and the relationship with his brother. And through his reconciliation with Sonny, the narrator comes to see how truly talented his brother is and changes his view of Sonny. In a way Sonny also receives redemption from the image that has hovered over him in the eyes of his brother: the image of a useless drug addict has transformed into a talented but emotionally complex person.
Sonny's Blues is a story that revolves around a moment in a person's life when they fundamentally alter their outlook on life. The narrator, Sonny's brother, had always been the good, obedient brother while Sonny often acted like the proverbial prodigal son. And like the prodigal son's brother, the narrator also became embittered and resentful. However, Sonny's brother, through experiencing the loss of his own daughter, comes to understand the pain of life that can cause a person to turn away from life and toward drugs. And in doing so redeems himself and comes to understand the importance of family relationships; as well as the role of music in the life of his brother Sonny.
Works Cited
Baldwin, James. Sonny's Blues. 1957.
