A Brother's Perception

In "Sonny's Blues", Sonny is the narrator's brother who has just been released from jail for using and distributing heroin. His brother, the narrator, holds a position as a math teacher at a school near his house where he lives with his wife and children. He is someone who has led an honorable life and "escaped Harlem" (86) in a respectable manner. Later in the story, Sonny's brother looks back a few years earlier. In those …

…change when he went with him to a nightclub to watch him perform. The narrator finally realized Sonny's suffering and anguish. Before, the narrator perceived Sonny an immature boy who wasn't serious about his life and had no sense of direction. He wanted Sonny to listen to his directions and follow command. Sonny was always seen as the little brother who was incapable of making decisions for himself and needed guidance from his big brother.