Jan 2, 2010

Sonny's Blues | Themes

Although Sonny first tries to relieve his pain by submitting to the mind-numbing effects of heroin, he almost simultaneously discovers that playing jazz provides him with a similar kind of escape from his worldly troubles. Baldwin makes a powerful statement about the affirmative and recuperative value of creativity, and "music," therefore, functions thematically on several levels. First, it provides a means by which Sonny can express his rage in a less self-destructive manner; second, because he is not an articulate speaker, music gives Sonny a non-linguistic medium through which to...