RUNNING HEAD: NEGROE’S GRIEF 1

Negroe’s Grief

Student’s Name

Institutional Affiliation
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In the short story Sonny’s Blues, Baldwin explores the heroin epidemic in Harlem and its

root drivers. He narrates a story of systemic oppression for the African Americans and how the

despair manifested as drug addictions. The plot tells a story of suffering and redemption, broken

families and healed relationships, and an ever present apathy to the daily horrors. Given through

the first person narrative, Sonny’s Blues accurately depicts the Negroe’s Grief and its long-term

impacts.

Baldwin portrays the “Negro’s grief” as a life full of suffering and disappointments. From

the narrator's daughter's sudden death to the murder of his uncle and Sonny's drug addiction, the

black community in Harlem is dominated by suffering. As Sonny notes, “there’s no way not to

suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it” (Baldwin, 2013, p.143). The

African American community considers suffering as a constant that must be endured, with the

youth turning to heroin as a coping mechanism. Nevertheless, suffering is an essential

component of art and redemption. Sonny comments on “how much suffering she [a revival

singer] must have had to go through to sing like that” (Baldwin, 2013, p.142).

Many people in the narrator’s community live in a constant state of worry as they

witnesses the continued struggles of loved ones. In the story’s beginning, the narrator describes

feeling “a great block of ice settle in [his] belly that melts there slowly all day long, . . . always . .

. at the moment when [he] remember[s] some specific thing Sonny had once said or done”

(Baldwin, 2013, 132). The narrator also states how he '" care[s] how [Sonny] suffers, ... [and that

he doesn't] want to see him die, trying not to suffer" by using heroin. In the story, Jazz musicians

seem to have found a way to make the best of the suffering through music and dance. However,

they are ostracized even within their communities, as highlighted by the narrator's disapproval of
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Sonny's chosen musical discipline. Even for those that attended school, they quickly "bumped

their heads against the low ceiling of their actual possibilities," leading to widespread depression

and drug addiction (Baldwin, 2013, 123). Consequently, many turned to drugs as a form of

control over their experiences. To this end, Sonny measures being fully alive as the extent to

which he feels “in control” of his bleak existence. He describes heroin usage as making him feel

“warm and cool at the same time. And distant. And – and sure (Baldwin, 2013, 142). He also

acknowledges that many of his peers understand the destructive effects but are apathetic to the

possibility of improvement.

The suffering and redemption present in Sonny’s Blues, is also present in Until the Quiet

Comes by Joseph Khalil. In the film, a dead young man in the Nickerson Gardens suddenly rises

and begins a resurrection dance. However, the community seems oblivious to the brief rebirth.

The young man gets into a low-rider car that drives off after his final dance, taking him from this

life to the other side. This scene is relatively similar to Sonny’s rebirth in Sonny’s Blues. Even

within the African American community where they originated, Jazz musicians are ostracized

due to the heavy drug usage. However, as revealed by Sonny's conversation with his brother,

Harlem's musician community is misunderstood as they use drugs to cope with the harsh realities

of life in a racist society. After his arrest and rehabilitation, Sonny tries to make a career as a jazz

musician without drugs. However, the negative societal stereotypes affect his relationships with

others in his family.

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References

Baldwin, J. (2013). Sonny’s Blues. In Kennedy, X. J., & Gioia (Eds), Literature: An Introduction

to Fiction. 12th ed (pp. 132 - 147). Boston: Longman.