##ing Suffering Through Music An Analysis Of Sonnys...

Jameka Gaston Dr. Basaninyenzi English 102 11/29/17 Expressing Suffering through Music: An Analysis of â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† Written in 1957 by James Baldwin, â€Å"Sonny’s Blues† is a short story where music plays a dominant role in defining characters, specifically Sonny. The story has three main topics of discussion, family struggles, drug addiction and most importantly music. In the beginning Sonny’s older brother, a high school algebra teacher. He reads about him being arrested for selling heroin. He is disappointed and thinks about the future of his students. The narrator doesn’t talk to his brother until the tragic death of his daughter. After Sonny is released he moves in with the narrator and his wife. After being confronted about Sonny†¦show more content†¦Originating from the deep south, blues and jazz music is rooted from the African American culture. Blues is a musical genre that has its own musical progressions. There are many types of blues, as times moved ahead it devel oped more sounds. For example, there is Country blues, Delta blues, Chicago blues, Jazz blues and more. The central idea of blues is that one is able to overcome sadness and personal adversity. Blues originated on southern plantations, creators were slaves in the nineteenth century. These slaves found that this music was not always about their self-pity, but about saying what you feel and â€Å"letting your hair down.† It was away to have fun and escape the everyday life that slaves had to endure. Blues originally came upon the Mississippi Delta near New Orleans, but spread to other urban areas. After a while, blues became one of the biggest elements of African Americans well known music. Blues evolved from performances on the streets and juke joints to entertainment in theaters. People like Etta James, B.B. King, Billie Holiday and John Mayer made blues popular among the world. Sonny decides he wants to be a musician at a young age, something that his brother had a hard time dealing with. Sonny teaches his self how to play piano. His urge to play the piano was his way of showing that he was ready to let go of his suffering. â€Å"They certainly couldn’t throw him out. Neither did they dare to make a great