Kimos Essay the Second

Kimo Gray
Hamilton Salsich
9th Grade English
9.22.08

Musical Harmony
An Essay on an Essay
Sonny’s Blues is a tale about a guy who did drugs, got into fights with his family and played music. Well, at first glance, that may seem like the entire story possessed, but if you take a look at Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music, by Suzy Goldstein, a highly educated and talented literary interpreter, you will see that this story holds more. It tells a story of regret, a story of substitution, and a story of hope. But most of all, it tells a story of one of the most powerful forces in the world, music.
Delving deeper into Goldstein’s “A message in Music” we see her thoughts on the relationship between the unnamed narrator and Sonny. In Goldstein’s essay she talks about the use of communication in the story, and the difficulties of understanding when two people collide from different worlds. On the one hand, there is the narrator, the ordinary algebra teacher who wishes nothing else than for Sonny to rise up to the occasion and become a commonplace working man, for he “[only wants] to hear that Sonny is safe and [refuses] to accept the fact that he might not be” (Goldstein). On the other hand, there is Sonny-the dreamer, the musician, the recovering addict- he is all of those things, but with all the brothers’ differences, it seems the only common ground they have with each other is there bloodline. But tunneling deeper into the story, the brothers make numerous attempts to make amends, but their bonds seem far too brittle. And just when all hope seems lost, the story “[Rises] to a thundering crescendo…. [and the] narrator finally hears his brother's sorrow in his music” (Goldstein). This touching scene really defines the power of music that Goldstein expresses in “A Message in Music,” and how the most intimate tunes can mend even the cruelest of relationships.
To say that this essay by Goldstein was good would be a horrifying understatement. Not only does she get her point across about the emotional power of music, but she does it in a way that’s not only entertaining to read, it informs and expands on the nature of Sonny’s Blues message. As I mentioned before, Sunny’s Blues seems like a simple concept in theory, but the talented James Baldwin plays of the stereotype of African American drug dealing musicians, into a touching story that explores the human factor. The first time I read Sunny’s Blues, it seemed sort of cool, but then it intrigued me to read it again, and again, so now looking at Goldstein’s interpretation, I agree with her when she writes “The narrator realizes that their music saves them, for it ‘seemed to soothe a poison out of them ‘ ” (Goldstein). Personally, music has always been a great haven for me to channel all my feelings and thoughts. Be it playing piano or (attempting to) play guitar, or just blaring my tunes on my MP3 player, music has always touched me. So if music is able to help an ordinary person like me to cope with the sometimes difficult challenges of reality, it is more than plausible that it would function the same way for Sonny. Goldstein exploits Baldwin’s use of the two brothers’ musical differences, but how together, the sound is stunning.
Coming to the end of my journey with Sonny’s Blues, I find myself asking, what exactly did I learn from this? I learned from Sonny to never give up on your dreams; I learned from the narrator that understanding is sometimes easier said than done; I learned from Baldwin that a simple stereotype can prove anyone wrong; I learned from Goldstein that the expression of music can be a key to finding peace. “A message in music” brings an entire other side to the story, that contemplates how music helps us, guides us, and inspires us. I know this will not be my last encounter with Sonny’s Blues, be it at the hands of Mr. Salsich, or just a curious thought that prompts me to relive the experience, Sonny and his brother will always stand in my eyes as an example of what music can accomplish.











Works Cited
Suzy Bernstein Goldman. "Sonny's Blues: James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues": A Message in Music." Short Stories for Students. Ed. Marie Rose Napierkowski. Vol. 2. Detroit: Gale, 1998. eNotes.com. January 2006. 22 September 2008.