Personal Essay: The Sobiech Family

With the idea of being exiled from his family, Sonny felt desolate. Imagine one’s family abandoning them when they are needed the most. The narrator did not make Sonny feel any better, because on page 183, he told Sonny he could not be a jazz musician. The piano was the only thing in the world that kept Sonny happy and made him feel like he belonged,

To the narrator, “music offer[ed] a means of both social and economic survival. ”(Payne 3). After one of his “early [piano] recitals,” his father sent him his own piano to have, the narrators gift of being able to play the piano gives him a way to “support himself during a portion of his adult life. ”(Payne 3), after his mother's death and no help from his father, which makes his decision “to attend Atlanta University. ”(Payne 3).

The narrator also experiences a change at the end of the story, shifting from a brother who was struggling to understand his brother’s passion to a compassionate brother who understands the emotions that music evokes in his brother. The reason for their changes was Sonny’s musical performance. Through the performance Sonny is able to once again connect with music, and the narrator is able to see this connection and forms a new understanding of how his brother is able to express himself through music. The greatest change can be seen in the narrator, as his newfound understanding of his brother’s love for music allows him to bridge the emotional gap he once felt between himself and his brother voicing, “freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last”

While during the short story, the narrator paints a picture using descriptive language to paint the picture in your head and show you what type of suffering his brother Sonny was going through. Both methods of portraying the stories were still able to get the theme across and show the influence that jazz music could have on someone’s life. This is how jazz can affect the lives of the people who hear

Getting into music had a huge impact on Sonny’s life, and that being with the introduction to drugs and his place to get away. All Sonny really wants to do is escape from Harlem, and he does so through music alone. As a young child, Sonny was struck with the horrible tragedy of his mother’s death. Any young child would have an extremely difficult time dealing with the loss of their mother.

At the end of the story, the narrator seems to reveal to us the true power of Sonny and the music that he plays. Sonny was a drug addict. He was addicted with heroin long before his mother died and “wanted to leave Harlem so bad .. to get away from drugs” (272). Sonny saw jazz as a medium for liberation of his sufferings but narrator had a very little respect of jazz musicians and urged his brother to re-think his decision for the sake of his future. While most part of the story only talks about the crazy and wild parts of sonny’s nature as he was trying his best “to get out of Harlem” (264) we wasn’t given any clue about his musical talent prior to the end of the story, “you got a real musician in your family” (272).

By growing up with not just losing his father, but also his mother, Sonny faced many adversaries. By unable to fight off his hardships, he attempted to create a way to escape from his sufferings by using heroin and engaging in criminal activities. Sonny argues that all human beings, including the narrator, must suffer and each has his own ways to survive and Sonny’s thinks his was drugs. In the end he ended up in prison.

In order to get through this spot in life he turned to music, it was his supporter. No matter what Nelson continued to work. “Even though Willie Nelson hit a bump in the road he continued to work, using music to fix his problems” (“Willie Nelson” 1). He used music to heal all of his

Steven recalls when he met a girl named Samantha at the cancer ward in the hospital, and how she told him “Stay with your brother… no matter what”(pg.232). To this thought Steven says to his band teacher, “Mr. W, I have to… I know. Go!”(pg.261) This event shows yet another way Steven sacrificed something for his brother, because he literally let go of the one thing he was working toward the entire

Music was his escape from reality and helped him forget all the bad things that have happened in his life. James was recommended to go to Europe with the band and was sponsored by The Dawson’s. He had to work for The Dawson’s and in return they would pay for him to travel to Europe. Music is what got him into Oberlin College in Ohio because his SAT scores were not that

When the narrator accompanies Sonny to the nightclub to listen to him play his music; Sonny’s music portrays his wisdom as he plays about his brother’s frustrations with the trials and sufferings they both endured. Sonny’s artful playing of the blues opens the narrator’s heart to listen genuinely. If one listens to what lies on the inside that is the key to finding oneself. Joseph Flibbert states in the article “Sonny’s Blues” Overview, “In the music he hears, he sees his mother’s face, and that of his little girl … The powerful incantations of Sonny’s art reaches his soul, and for the first time, he listens to the dark voice within”.

While many pet owners claim that their pets actually do make them feel better, there are still some skeptics. However, research studies show that pets do have a very positive impact on various aspects of our health. In fact, according to “In Their Innocence and Wisdom” by Lilly Calandrello, studies have correlated pet ownership with the following health benefits: lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, better psychological health, lower heart attack rates, higher survival rates following coronary heart disease, enhanced self-esteem and social interaction. So as people take care of their companion animals, the animals are in turn taking care of their

In the story, “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin insists, that music is a universal language that speaks life into a dead soul. Stereotypical notion of music arouses emotions that are disregarded. The story demonstrates the significance of music and the components that communicates needs and wants. Sonny’s character was not very talkative, but his music spoke with volume. This paper will analyze the elements of music told in “Sonny’s Blues” that connects and bonds the characters emotionally, physically and socially.

Guitar Bains was my friend until I found my identity. When I was younger, there was no such thing as murders or riots or hate. I lived in a fantasy world, but it all ended when I met Guitar. We would still play around, but our actions had greater meanings and effects.

“Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything” (Plato). If my childhood was filled with anything: it was imagination. From my earliest memories of my cousin, and I putting on a sold out concert on my papaw’s front porch; to putting my baby dolls to sleep with lullabies. Music has always been a big part of my life: it was the one thing I could always count on, no matter where I went; and that still stands true today.