Sonny's Blues

James Baldwin is a true master of what I have come to call "Fiction of the American Psyche ." Having read this story for a past course, and I still find it relevant in discussing the construction, and loss of identity in Modern American culture. In Sonny's Blues, the vanishing of innocence is propelled by the geography in which the story unfolds, and the oncoming realities of aging. The process of growing older often leads to the death of childhood dreams, especially in the fictions of James Baldwin. There are references (I am paraphrasing from memory) to children's expectations growing into the ceilings of their realities, as well as countless mentions of dirty streets, and the darkness that gradually encapsulates the narrator's surroundings. When I think of James Baldwin's true artistic power, one particular scene, in which Sonny is explaining his life philosophy to his brother, always comes to mind. In this exchange, the narrator refers to his brother as "baby." Sonny then proceeds to gesture aimlessly with his hands, rubbing and poking at his clean-shaven face, calling to mind the image of a helpless newborn baby. Baldwin consistently succeeds at giving the reader chills throughout this story, slowly drawing Sonny and the narrator's hazy paths through a dark, post-industrial Harlem. The idea of "the storm inside" and a "great block of Ice that settled in my belly and kept melting there all day long" are hugely important images that emphasize the hopelessness of the story's characters. As the ice melts and trickles into the author's "veins," I can't help but wonder if Baldwin is referencing the rivers and tributaries leading in and out of New York City. These polluted bodies of water trickle across the country, only to be heaved into a roaring ocean. The waters have no control over where they are lead, they just coarse haphazardly across America. To me, the characters in this story move in similar patterns, raging, grasping and rushing for anything that might lessen their pain. This story, much like it's Author's life, explores the limits of control- control over one's identity, the control of one's surroundings upon their lives, a substance controlling a human through addiction, the examples become a story in themselves. Baldwin felt the U.S., New York City particularly, was keeping him down, both creatively and socially. Most of his life was spent between Paris, Switzerland and Germany, a fact there are countless echoes of, both across this story and within it's themes. Despite Baldwin's expatriate status, one thing is for sure: the Blues are a purely American art form, and this story strives desperately to find out why.