Sonnys Heroic Journey in James Baldwins Sonnys Blues Essay -- Sonny

The theme of Sonnys Blues by James Baldwin focuses on whether a person should be conventional in making decisions for their life, or if they should follow their heart and do what is right for them. A person begins with strengths, many of which they lose along the way. At round point along their heroic journey a person may regain their strengths and develop new ones. Each phase of this journey will piss an effect on them and others around them. According to his brother, who narrates Sonnys Blues, Sonny was a bright-eyed young man full of gentleness and privacy. When he was about as old as the boys in my classes his face had been bright and open, there was a lot of copper in it and hed had wonderfully direct brown eyes, a great gentleness and privacy. I wondered what he looked like now (Baldwin 272). Something happened to Sonny, as it did to most of the young people growing up in Harlem. His physical journey growing up in the streets caused a great deal of inner turmoil about whom h e was and what kind of life he was to have. One thing for sure, by the time his sire died, Sonny was ready to get out of Harlem. I aint learning nothing in school, he said. Even when I go. He turned away from me and opened the window and threw his buttocks out into the narrow alley. I watched his back. At least, I aint learning nothing youd want me to learn. He slammed the window so hard I thought the glass would fly out, and turned back to me. And Im sick of the stink of these garbage cans (Baldwin 285).The garbage cans Sonny referred to seem to symbolize the life he physically lived, his inner or ghostlike life and how he dealt with it. I was sure that the first time Sonny had ever had horse, he couldnt have ... ...Drama. 7th edition. Ed. X.J. Kennedy and Dana Gioia. New York Longman, 1999. 272-295.Reilly, John M. Sonnys Blues James Baldwins word picture of Black Community. James Baldwin A Critical Evaluation. Ed.Therman B. ODaniel. Howard University Press. Washington, D. C. 1977. 163-169. Works ConsultedBaldwin, James. Sonnys Blues. N.p. n.p., n.d. 122-48. Web. 12 May 2015..James Baldwin Biography. Bio. A&E Networks Television, n.d. Web. 11 May 2015.. James Baldwin. PBS. PBS, 29 Nov. 2006. Web. 11 May 2015. . N.d. Poetry Foundation. Web. 11 May 2015. .