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Scott LaHue Prof. Jacobs

ENC 1102

April 15, 2014 Power Struggle Within the Characters and Setting in Sonnys Blues As the setting in Sonnys Blues takes place in Harlem it sets up a good understanding of the background of the characters. The young man is has to go through the struggles of going through jail making him look like hes a bad guy. In reality hes just trying to become a musician. Sonnys brother doesnt want him to go back to his old ways by bringing him back to Harlem. However, the setting helps reveal this being in Harlem where the jazz scene thrives but also does the drug trafficking. Sonnys brother has no faith in him neither his family. However when Sonny takes his brother to one of his shows, he realizes he is in Sonnys world now and understands where his music is coming from. The power of Marxist criticism highlights the power struggle of the main characters and the world in which they live. As Joseph Flibbert has pointed out, you can try and escape where youre raised from or the blues but it can be extremely hard and take a lot of time, but it is possible. Sonny in his younger days roamed the streets on dope and ended up in prison. Them wanting to leave their old ways they both went to the military. Sonnys brother believes with his high college education and job as a teacher it will eliminate these blues. Sonnys escape is him playing music. His true passion is playing jazz music, piano in particular. Sonny wasnt using dope as an escape to leave these blues but was using it as more as a drug to bear the suffering of seeing and hearing reality. Hes feeling hes not being listened to when people tell him he plays the piano and not being

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token serious so he has to resort to the drug. As Sonny and his brother try to escape the Harlem blues together it keeps pulling them back.