Kennia
Gonzalez
ENL
10C
Katherine
Anderson
In this blog I will compare and
discuss an actual Jazz song with the song that is portrayed in the ending scene
of James Baldwin’s, “Sonny Blues”. In “Sonny’s Blues”, the relationship of two
brothers, one being a teacher and the other being a musician who is overcoming
a drug problem., is at the focus of the story; the brothers reunite and it is
tricky for them to understand each other because of their very different
outcomes. However, with all the walls being put up and the older brother trying
to play the role of knowing what is best and the tension between both of them,
the ending scene brings forth a lot of emotions and closure that was very much
needed between Sonny and his brother.
The song and the narrative both depict a
scene where everything that is held within comes pouring out. Sonny decides to
let his musical ability speak his feelings for him and it works because then
his brother is able to see what Sonny, his little brother, has been chasing and
feeling. Sonny’s brother questions what and why he did what he did and Sonny
feels that his cookie cutter brother wouldn’t understand even if he explained
it to him. Sonny playing the piano is a way for him to speak what has no words
and to allow his pain and his journey be transferred through the melody that he
is playing.
The ending scene can almost be heard
when reading it because of the great details that are put within the story. I
can picture everything that the author has written on the paper. One song that
stands out to me, and can be a real representation of the “imaginary” song that
we hear described within the story, is “So What” by Miles Davis. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrfzenYhv9w&index=2&list=PL8F6B0753B2CCA128
(Hopefully
this link works and allows you to listen to the song).
The song starts off with only the
piano, slowly and as if trying to find and build confidence, just like Sonny
does in the music scene. Baldwin mentions that Sonny lays his fingers on the
piano keys and tries a melody and then quits it, tries again and finally gets
the rhythm to the song that he is trying to play. The next instrument that is
heard in the song is the joining in of the cello. It’s more quiet and
suppressed than the volume of the piano and the instruments that then decide to
chime in. It could also mimic Sonny’s older brother’s quiet life compared to
that of the loud and center of attention that a piano commands—just like Sonny
is taking command of the stage with his music.
The song picks up with the subtlety
of the drums in the background and the saxophone then takes the center stage.
In this song, there isn’t a whole lot of low and melancholic notes; there is
however, the prominent and inviting notes of the saxophone just like Baldwin
describes. “The dry, low, black man said something awful on the drums… the horn
insisted, sweet and high…” (Baldwin, P. 20). The horn would be the saxophone in
this case because it is loud and smooth like it would be in the song that
Baldwin describes. The piano then chimes in again around the seventh minute and
is more prominent—this reminds me of when Sonny is playing the piano and his
brother sees the emotions that Sonny is putting out there for the world. Baldwin
mentions the highs and the lows that the song contains, which parallels those
of the feelings that are hidden within Sonny.
Music is a language that speaks to
the soul regardless of where you come from and where you go in life. And that
is why music is a big factor in the story, “Sonny’s Blues”, because him and his
brother come from a neighborhood where everything was set up for them to either
die young or amount to nothing. However, we see two different outcomes of two
different journeys and maybe a song could relate to the both of them and allow
both to relish within each other’s company and allow the emotions that they
feel take over. Just like that last scene where Sonny plays and his face shows
the pain and the trials that he went through, and his brother finally saw what
was unspoken before. He sees the hurt in Sonny’s expressions and the way his
body moves with the music. Sonny and his brother embrace the music, just
differently. Sonny is speaking and reliving his pain, meanwhile, his brother is
just discovering and understanding the truth.
I like your fourth and fifth paragraph when you explain how the the song, “So What”, matches with the descriptions of Sonny’s blues at the end of the story. Your specific explanations are very clear and allow the readers to imagine how it fits well into the story. I think you could have added more of how this song creates a similar emotional impact as Sonny’s blues did to its listeners. For example, in the story, the song seemed to express Sonny’s pain, and that is why the author emphasized the importance of hearing the music. Therefore, how does the melody and rhythm of “So What” express this pain? I also think you could also be more specific in elaborating Sonny’s feelings. You explain well that Sonny let his music speak his feelings and that his brother doesn’t understand him. However, you can also go more in depth to what those feelings are! Overall, you had a great song choice with clear explanations!
ReplyDeleteKennia - I really enjoyed your analysis of Sonny's Blues and how you linked it to "So What" by Miles Davis. I agree with your interpretation that the music allowed the narrator to see what he was blind to his entire life. The fact that "everything comes pouring out" with the music is an effective representation of how music is the window to the soul of black artists, who use their melodies to represent the struggle of life in Harlem. You touch upon this when you wrote that Sonny transferred his "pain through his melody" and Baldwin demonstrates this through his imagery and the end of the story. Nevertheless, I think you could add a little more about how Miles Davis' song directly relates to it in terms of the instruments or the background of the song. Either way, it was a great analysis of how music is its own character in Sonny's Blues. I especially connected to your point that the highs and lows of the song mirror the highs and lows of life in Harlem for Baldwin. Overall, well-done!
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