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Sonny's Blue" by James Baldwin African-Americans today are seen in many industries as successful. In the movie industry alone, Africans-Americans have started to advance quite well. They have also conquered the music industry. Some of the more famous names recognized for their achievement in the music industry include Tina Turner, Ray Charles, Alicia Keys, and Kanye West.
In the government, we have Condoleeza Rice, and Colin Powell, making their distinctive marks. It seems the successes of these African-Americans signal the complete eradication of the concept of race in the United States. However, despite the massive advancement of African American population in the United States, there is still a continuous struggle to fight for equal rights for African-Americans in the United States. This struggle is part of the original struggle of African-Americans since the inception of slavery.
This paper looks at James Baldwins story, Sonny's Blues, and attempts to situate the characters and the situation with the argument that a persons beliefs and personal motivations contribute to his success or failure in life. It will use the point of view of Sonny in the story and matches this against the backdrop of African Americans and posits that a large part of ones success ultimately lies in ones character and personality. To start off, we see Sonny, the main character of the story, caught in drugs and gets arrested and imprisoned. Sonny's brother who stands as the narrator in the story is at a lost on how he can help his brother.
Sonny drinks a lot and becomes an alcoholic, yet nurtures that one dream that he has: to be able to make it big by playing his music. The narrator is overcome with both anger and guilt that he is not able to protect his brother at all. How could he, when Sonny himself drowns his dreams and ambitions in alcohol and drugs. The narrator is approached by one of Sonny's childhood friends, an addict too, who blames himself for Sonny's blues. The narrator and the friend then discusses the reason for Sonny's behavior. As guilt and sorrow overwhelms him, the narrator is approached by one of Sonny's childhood friends, an addict who blames himself for Sonny's addiction and subsequent arrest.
The narrator and the friend discuss what has happened to Sonny. It is in this context that we find a confused Sonny, unable to function well in his environment. The backdrop is after the emancipation of the African-Americans from the bonds of slavery as a result of the Civil War in the United States in the 19 th Century. Many black communities have started to emerge (History of Minorities II). They have built small communities doing their own trade and conducting their own communal practices. These black communities right after the war are still plagued with several problems as Southern slave hunters are continuously looking and searching slave fugitives who have already started their independent lives.
Many of them are caught and face Federal trial. Although, there is an existing effort from the Northern side in protecting the black communities, the fierce Southern slave hunters never stop in their efforts of establishing hold of the African-Americans. The order of many black communities had been replaced with an eternal effort of protecting fugitive slaves. Despite the Civil Rights Act, which provided protection for all, the status of these black communities was still unprotected in reality (Nagle).
African-Americans, although declared as equal in the American Constitution, experienced various forms of discrimination. The Black population was segregated. They cannot attend the same schools that white population attends, and many public places were segregated as well (Bader). Opportunities for employment and education standards are clearly to the disadvantaged of the black population. Blacks were unable to vote because of various tests and exams that they have to go through in order to be registered. With lack of opportunity for education, it was impossible for them to gain rights to vote.
Hate crimes against African-Americans happened everyday and many of these cases were dismissed because the victim was an African-American (Cornell and Hartmann 42). This led to the eventual mobilization of African-American populations in order to end the discrimination. The Civil Rights Movement sprang from the need of African-Americans to be liberated from the bondage of discrimination, which prevented them from advancing in many aspects of American life. Perhaps to fill the emptiness and lack of purpose, Sonny years to enlist in the army since it would take him away from the killing streets. (Norton Introduction to Literature 53) of Harlem.
That would also be his vehicle to get a college education on the GI Bill (Norton Introduction to Literature 60). It seemed a distorted kind of reasoning that he would find war safer than the streets of his home. Yet this was the tyranny that hovered around the mind of Sonny. Both brothers tried to make their mark in society, to prove themselves worthwhile, yet they constantly faced discrimination and segregation. The history of the long years in striving for opportunities and access to social services are seen to have played significant role in Sonny's self-determination. This was similar to the other blacks experience then.
They came to the country initially as slaves and with onset of the Civil War, their cause of emancipation had been evident as statesmen began lobbying for their cause, foremost to which is the freedom from servitude. As the United States started to consolidate itself into a nation, it had to accommodate the interests of minority groups, which included African Americans and incorporate them as stakeholders in its political and social process. As the years progressed African Americans began to enjoy significant roles and contributions in shaping American society in general. Their participation in the dynamics of American society is largely based on the liberal and democratic settings operating in the country. However, there are still some instances where African Americans still experience some degree of marginalization because they are still perceived as minorities in a predominantly white society (Lutins, Allen, 2002). In Gina Philogene's work From Black to African American: A New Social Representation the aspect of contemporary issues on African Americans was discussed.
The author notes, Old conceptions associated with Black and new projections carried by African American clash to the extent that they embody different visions of America, one based on racial differentiation and the other striving for a truly American culture shared by all. The interdependent coexistence of these two different visions concerning the relative position of black Americans has bred a dynamics fueled by conflicts and motivated by the search for a resolution to the dissonance underlying those conflicts. With respect to this continuous dissonance, the author reiterates The role of African American in this context has to be understood as an attempt to resolve the dilemma by creating for the social object a more positive representation. As a collective effort to shift America from a racially antagonized society to a multicultural society in which diversity becomes a national quality, this new social representation places itself at the center of a profound cultural debate (Philogene, Gina). As Sonny and his brother live with the challenge of equality, it is important to note that their roles in American society undergo dramatic changes. In meeting these challenges they would have to be equipped with education and with it they can effectively articulate their concerns.
Equality in the full extent would be difficult to achieve especially considering the highly diverse cultural groups that comprise American society, as conflicts would inevitably arise. Towards this end, there should be viable and sustainable channels in which the interests of each group are upheld based on what is good for society in general. With this in place compromises are made leading to a more harmonious society (Class Lecture on Sonny's Blues). But Sonny and his brother cannot have the luxury of education. Thus, Sonny's brother is realistic and when told that Sonny wants to become a musician, his brothers reply tells it all, Well, Sonny, you know people can't always do exactly what they want to do. The brother is not all encouraging here, and bases his comment on the reality they are faced at that time.
Sonny's determination is immediately seen here as one of the components that spell success as long as it is a laser-focused attention. Sonny responds to his brothers disparagement with "No, I don't know that. I think people ought to do what they want to do, what else are they alive for?" (Norton Introduction to Literature 59). This shows Sonny as different and exactly the opposite of his cautious brother. Sonny, despite indulging in drugs and alcohol, remain hopeful of the future, He says with conviction, I believe not, but thats never stopped anyone from trying, has it? (Class Lecture on Sonny's Blues). In the article Marginalization of African Americans Allen Lutins states that the misery and so-called ghettoization of African Americans would be eliminated through a clear understanding of their historical conditions.
Moreover, when myths dealing on welfare and the supposed antiquity of black rights in this country and the state are shattered, and when social programs and public education are funded amply and given sufficient time to achieve their goals. The author notes, that those who claim that all Americans have equal opportunities fail to recognize the importance of history. By claiming that the playing field is now level for all is the equivalent of allowing someone to belatedly join a game of Monopoly after most of the properties have already been purchased; without an intentional redistribution of resources, fairness cannot be expected to advance of its own accord, and this is what Affirmative Action and welfare are all about (Philogene, Gina). Sonny continues to find expression in his music and finds satisfaction despite the struggle as contrasted with his brothers point of view that just accepts his lot and position in society. Sonny never lets external factors to spell his future.
He knows that he alone holds the key to his personal advancement. WORKS CITED Class Lecture on Sonny's Blues. Accessed 5 March 2006 at: web Lutins, Allen. Marginalization of African Americans. 2002.
Accessed 5 March 2006 at: web Nagle, George. F. Fugitive Slave Incidents in Central Pennsylvania. 23 January 2006. 4 March 2006. < web > Philogene, Gina. From Black to African American: A New Social Representation. Westport CT: Praeger Publishers, 1999. p. 17 Accessed 5 March 2006 at: web Wikipedia.
Alternative term for African American. Accessed 5 March 2006 at: web
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Research essay sample on African Americans Sonny Blues
