Today as I was preparing for class tomorrow by reading "Sonny's Blues" by James Baldwin, I felt very impacted by the story and truly felt for the characters. This story of the lives of the two brothers who live in Harlem is exceptionally deep. This really made me think a lot about what people go through in life and the measures they take to overcome their troubles. But today for my blog, I'm going to focus on a few quotes/pieces of information the characters give and give my commentary on them.
The first is, "Then I wanted to ask him--to many things. He could not have answered, or if we had, I could not have borne the answers" (page 35). I feel like this is exactly how I am in so many situations. I definitely have the mentality of, "I'd just rather not know" when it comes to certain things. I feel like maybe sometimes I can still think of a person in a favorable light or just really think the world is a good place. But, I guess this is a naive view of the world. I don't know, sometimes this may not be a good thing to have this mentality, however I feel like it keeps my spirits higher or keeps a little mystery in a situation. "What you don't know won't kill you." Yes, no, maybe. Maybe it depends on the information? Maybe the narrator and I have something in common that we simply don't like to acknowledge the truth because as soon as we do we have to take responsibility for it. As soon as he realizes there's something wrong with Sonny, he must begin to help him. And he eventually does. I don't think this guy didn't love his brother, he was just scared that he was going to fail at helping him. He didn't know what he could do therefore he did nothing. But we must be careful of this because if we never know what is going on in the lives of those we love, how can we help, or ever make a difference in their lives?
The next quote is, " . . .you know people can't always do exactly what they want to do.' 'No, I don't know that,' said Sonny, surprising me. 'I think people ought to do what they want to do, what else are they alive for?" (page 44). This piece of dialogue truly hit me hard because I feel like it really speaks to people my age who are trying to figure out exactly what to do with their lives. This kind of conversation could be compared to numerous conversations that teenagers my age have with their parents. Kids who have passion for something that may not be lucrative or "safe" in the future, so the parents try to persuade them into doing something that is more secure and trustworthy. For example, I have always had a passion for theatre. I've never really even thought of going for it though in life because I can just imagine the conversation with my parents. "Where is that going to get you?" "You need something to fall back on if that doesn't work out." In fact, I think it's been drilled into me my entire life that I need to try something safe. Why is it that we do this? Suppress what we actually have a passion for, do something safe, and be miserable our entire lives? I think Sonny's advice was spectacular. We're never going to be truly happy unless we're doing what we love. The question is though, do we have the courage to do it?
The final quote is, "But there's no way to not suffer--is there, Sonny?' 'I believe not,' he said and smiled, 'but that's never stopped anyone from trying.' . . .'why do people suffer? Maybe it's better to do something to give it a reason, any reason." (page 51). If you can't tell already, I really like Sonny and his view on life. I think it's because I wish I could be more like him. He knows that everyone is going to suffer in life, he as had his fair share of suffering, but he refuses to not have an excuse for it. He wants a reason, something to explain it. ANYTHING! Although Sonny is a depressed character and has tried to commit suicide, I feel like he's more alive than the narrator. Atleast more of a risk taker and a feeler. I feel like the two, although they don't get along naturally because of their differences, they compliment each other. They're so different that they can help one another in their opposing ways.
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