The Changes in the Narrator's View of Sonny
Can one know another's thoughts? Through dialogue, actions, and events, the thoughts and
views
of a man of whom we know not even a name are shown. The man is the narrator of "Sonny's
Blues" and
his thoughts we are shown are those directed towards his brother. Over the course of the
story, there are
three major stages or phases that the narrator goes through, in which his thoughts about
his brother
change. We see that those stages of thought vary greatly over the narrator's life, from
confusion about his
brother to understanding. Each phase brings different views of his own responsibility
toward his brother,
his brother's manhood, and his brother's sense of reality.
Through out the story, three of the narrator's view are changed, the first of which is
Sonny's
manhood. During the first phase, early in the story, the narrator showed that he viewed
Sonny as a child.
"I was beginning to realize that I'd never seen him so upset before... [and decided this
was] one of those
things kids go through and that I shouldn't make it seem important."(49) This quote is an
example of how
the narrator viewed his brother. He not only thought Sonny acted as a kid, but was also
too young to be
planning a future or career. "He still wasn't a man yet, he was still a child, and they
had to watch out for
him in all kinds of ways."(51) The narrator decided that he would plan Sonny's future and
when Sonny
rebelled, the narrator saw it as yet another childish action.
Another way in which the narrator's overall view changed was his view on whether Sonny's
idea
of reality was sound. Still in the first phase, the narrator often presents his view of
reality and when Sonny
rejects it, the narrator feels Sonny is being unreasonable. For instance, "'Well Sonny,'
I said, gently, "you
know people can't always do exactly what they want to do-' 'No I don't think that,' said
Sonny, surprising
me."(49) Actually, Sonny understood life much more clearly than the narrator, but the
narrator did not
realize that then. He thought that perhaps Sonny was just too young or too high on drugs
to understand
what life was about.
Finally, the third view changed was the narrator's responsibility towards Sonny. Before
the
brothers' mother died, the narrator promised he would take it upon himself to take care
of Sonny should
the mother die. The narrator viewed Sonny as a responsibility he had. Because of the
promise made to his
mother, he felt he owed it to his mother to take care of Sonny. Therefore, whenever he
did something for
Sonny it was because his mother had wanted him to, not because he cared about Sonny. As
soon as taking
care of Sonny stopped working with his schedule, he sent him to his mother-in-law's
house.
During the story, however, a long separation brought the narrator into his second stage
of
thinking, and changed his views of Sonny. The narrator recognized that Sonny wasn't just
a kid any more.
Sonny had been in the Navy and had been living on his own for some time. Yet he didn't
see him as a
man either. "He was a man by then, of course, but I wasn't willing to see it."(52) He saw
Sonny as a
teenager of sorts. Sonny dressed strangely, became family with strange friends, and
listened to still
stranger music." In the narrator's eyes, Sonny foolishly thought he knew everything.
Even though the narrator's views on Sonny's manhood changed, during the second stage his
feelings about Sonny's sense of reality didn't. When he saw Sonny after Sonny's stay in
the Navy, the
narrator still viewed Sonny as if he were on drugs. "He carried himself, loose and
dreamlike all the time,
...and his music seemed to be merely an excuse for the life he led. It sounded just that
weird and
disordered."(52) He thought that Sonny had been driven even farther from reality than
before. He thought
that Sonny's view of reality was so distorted that he might as well have been dead.
Unlike his views on Sonny's sanity, when his views on Sonny's manhood changed so he
thought,
did his responsibility toward Sonny. He began fighting regularly with Sonny, "Then
[Sonny] stood up and
he told me not to worry about him anymore in life, that as he was dead as far as I was
concerned."(52)
During this time in which the narrator thought Sonny was acting as a teenager he forsook
his promise all
together. The narrator did not communicate with his brother at all for some time. During
this time of no
communication, he felt that he could do nothing more and could not be held responsible
for what
happened to Sonny.
As the story nears completion, a single event brings the narrator out of the second phase
and into
his third phase. It is in this final pahse that the narrator obtains a true
understanding of Sonny. The death
of the narrator's daughter Grace was so devastating to the narrator that he said, "My
trouble made his
real"(53). The narrator finally felt the pain and despair that had plagued his brother
for so long. It was at
that moment that the narrator found himself understanding Sonny's manhood. He was on the
same level
as his brother, and he was finally seeing his brother as he truly was. When the narrator
felt these feelings
he saw that Sonny was just a man that was steeped in despair and deserved respect.
All of the narrator's views did not change at once. He had already come to accept Sonny
as a man
before his views of Sonny's sanity changed. As he listened to Sonny's emotional playing,
he came to the
realization that Sonny had always understood what life was about. He listened to the
playing and
recognized it as more than merely music. Through his mentioning the cup of trembling, the
cup that hold
the anger of the Lord, he shows he understands what Sonny has been through. He finally
knew that
Sonny's songs, Sonny's blues weren't weird or disordered but were actually a way to
freedom.
Finally, during the third phase, the narrator finally started caring about Sonny instead
of try to
care for Sonny. He no longer saw him as just something to be taken care of, he finally
began to see him as
a brother. He became sensitive to what offended Sonny and took caution to avoid them. He
was willing to
be interested in what Sonny interested in. Finally, he was willing to sit and listen to
Sonny instead of
telling him how to run his life. All of these were drastic changes from when their mother
had first died
and improved the brothers' relationship.
Through out the story it is as if the narrator is descending a stair well. Each stage
that the narrator goes
through is another flight of stairs and each flight of stairs he descends brings him
closer to an
understanding of Sonny. The narrator descended one flight and it changed his views one
way, another
flight and his views changed again. During the whole ordeal he can see Sonny, yet his
views of Sonny are
distorted or blurred. After each stage he believes his new view is the correct one,
however it is not until he
reaches the ground that he gets a true idea of what Sonny is like. It is then that he
brings himself down to
Sonny's level and begins seeing Sonny as an equal.
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