Sonny's Blues

Separation and Differences

No two people are ever exactly the same. Looks can be similar or even identical with some twins, but personalities and thoughts are one hundred percent unique. In James Baldwin’s Sonny’s Blues this is proven to be true. Even though the two brothers are family they way they act and think are complete opposites of one another. In fact if it were not stated in the story that they were brothers, it may have been impossible to even tell. Sonny and his brother are detached from one another. Over their years of growing up they have built up a brick wall between themselves that seems nearly impossible to tear down. The author tells of all the struggles the brothers have endured and in doing so he illustrates the main conflict between the two. Sonny’s brother is only trying to protect Sonny and keep him from becoming their father, but in doing so he has crippled Sonny in a way and is holding him back from his dreams. In writing this paper I am trying to show the separation and differences between the two brothers and how they must overcome these things in order to help Sonny conquer his drug addiction.

The biggest degree of separation between the two brothers came with their age difference. In being so far apart in age, Sonny and his brother had a hard time sharing similar interests which in turn took away from their “brotherly bonding” time. This led to Sonny having to make other friends. These friends were involved in doing drugs, specifically heroin, and Sonny was pulled into it right along with them. Sonny’s brother unrightfully judged Sonny based on his actions with using drugs and in doing so built up a lot of tension between the two. Even though Sonny’s brother was only trying to look out for Sonny, he did so in an overbearing manner which ended up pushing Sonny further away. Things seemed to be unfixable.

Another degree of separation was the fact that Sonny had a drug problem and needed the love and support of his brother, but his brother was ashamed of Sonny and was not there for him. This is very common even in today’s society. A person who is dealing with a drug problem needs more than anything to have the love and support from a friend or loved one in order to have a successful recovery. Sonny’s brother, however, was ashamed that Sonny was involved in the use of drugs and he completely cut off all communication with Sonny. This hurt their relationship a great deal. Sonny’s brother was the only family that Sonny had left and because he was lacking support from him, he had no one else to turn to. In Sonny’s eyes, he was abandoned by his brother when he needed him the most.

Sonny’s brother did try and help him stay off the path of destruction, but in doing so he crippled Sonny in a way and further delayed his recovery. Instead of just letting Sonny know that he was there for him, his brother pushed Sonny to live the safe life that he himself was living. He wanted Sonny to go to school, get a good job, and settle down, but that is not what Sonny had in mind. Sonny did not want to be like his brother because he saw what his brother was too blind to see. Even though Sonny’s brother had a lot going for him, he was actually the one who was suffering. He was suffering from living the same scheduled lifestyle every single day. Sonny was not interested in this sort of lifestyle at all. He wanted to wake up each morning not knowing what was in store for him that day. I believe that this varies with certain people’s personalities. Sonny’s brother just could not understand how Sonny would endanger himself just to live that kind