the changes in the narratots view of sonny

The Changes in the Narrator's View of SonnyCan one know another's
thoughts? Through dialogue, actions, and events, the thoughts and
viewsof a man of whom we know not even a name are shown. The man
is the narrator of "Sonny's Blues" andhis thoughts we are shown are
those directed towards his brother. Over the course of the story, there
arethree major stages or phases that the narrator goes through, in which
his thoughts about his brotherchange. We see that those stages of
thought vary greatly over the narrator's life, from confusion about
hisbrother to understanding. Each phase brings different views of his own
responsibility toward his brother,his brother's manhood, and his brother's
sense of reality.Through out the story, three of the narrator's view are
changed, the first of which is Sonny'smanhood. During the first phase,
early in the story, the narrator showed that he viewed Sonny as a child."I
was beginning to realize that I'd never seen him so upset before [and
decided this was] one of thosethings kids go through and that I shouldn't
make it seem important."(49) This quote is an example of howthe narrator
viewed his brother. He not only thought Sonny acted as a kid, but was
also too young to beplanning a future or career. "He still wasn't a man yet,
he was still a child, and they had to watch out forhim in all kinds of
ways."(51) The narrator decided that he would plan Sonny's future and
when Sonnyrebelled, the narrator saw it as yet another childish
action.Another way in which the narrator's overall view changed was his
view on whether Sonny's ideaof reality was sound. Still in the first phase,
the narrator often presents his view of reality and when Sonnyrejects it,
the narrator feels Sonny is being unreasonable. For instance, "'Well
Sonny,' I said, gently, "youknow people can't always do exactly what they
want to do-' 'No I don't think that,' said Sonny, surprisingme."(49) Actually,
Sonny understood life much more clearly than the narrator, but the
narrator did notrealize that then. He thought that perhaps Sonny was just
too young or too high on drugs to understandwhat life was about.Finally,
the third view changed was the narrator's responsibility towards Sonny.

Before thebrothers' mother died, the narrator promised he would take it
upon himself to take care of Sonny shouldthe mother die. The narrator
viewed Sonny as a responsibility he had. Because of the promise made
to hismother, he felt he owed it to his mother to take care of Sonny.
Therefore, whenever he did something forSonny it was because his
mother had wanted him to, not because he cared about Sonny. As soon
as takingcare of Sonny stopped working with his schedule, he sent him to
his mother-in-law's house.During the story, however, a long separation
brought the narrator into his second stage ofthinking, and changed his
views of Sonny. The narrator recognized that Sonny wasn't just a kid any
more.Sonny had been in the Navy and had been living on his own for
some time. Yet he didn't see him as aman either. "He was a man by then,
of course, but I wasn't willing to see it."(52) He saw Sonny as ateenager
of sorts. Sonny dressed strangely, became family with strange friends,
and listened to stillstranger music." In the narrator's eyes, Sonny foolishly
thought he knew everything.Even though the narrator's views on Sonny's
manhood changed, during the second stage hisfeelings about Sonny's
sense of reality didn't. When he saw Sonny after Sonny's stay in the
Navy, thenarrator still viewed Sonny as if he were on drugs. "He carried
himself, loose and dreamlike all the time, and his music seemed to be
merely an excuse for the life he led. It sounded just that weird
anddisordered."(52) He thought that Sonny had been driven even farther
from reality than before. He thoughtthat Sonny's view of reality was so
distorted that he might as well have been dead.Unlike his views on
Sonny's sanity, when his views on Sonny's manhood changed so he
thought,did his responsibility toward Sonny. He began fighting regularly
with Sonny, "Then [Sonny] stood up andhe told me not to worry about him
anymore in life, that as he was dead as far as I was
concerned."(52)During this time in which the narrator thought Sonny was
acting as a teenager he forsook his promise alltogether. The narrator did

not communicate with his brother at all for some time. During this time of
nocommunication, he felt that he could do nothing more and could not be
held responsible for whathappened to Sonny.As the story nears
completion, a single event brings the narrator out of the second phase
and intohis third phase. It is in this final pahse that the narrator obtains a
true understanding of Sonny. The deathof the narrator's daughter Grace
was so devastating to the narrator that he said, "My trouble made
hisreal"(53). The narrator finally felt the pain and despair that had
plagued his brother for so long. It was atthat moment that the narrator
found himself understanding Sonny's manhood. He was on the same
levelas his brother, and he was finally seeing his brother as he truly was.
When the narrator felt these feelingshe saw that Sonny was just a man
that was steeped in despair and deserved respect.All of the narrator's
views did not change at once. He had already come to accept Sonny as a
manbefore his views of Sonny's sanity changed. As he listened to
Sonny's emotional playing, he came to therealization that Sonny had
always understood what life was about. He listened to the playing
andrecognized it as more than merely music. Through his mentioning the
cup of trembling, the cup that holdthe anger of the Lord, he shows he
understands what Sonny has been through. He finally knew thatSonny's
songs, Sonny's blues weren't weird or disordered but were actually a way
to freedom.Finally, during the third phase, the narrator finally started
caring about Sonny instead of try tocare for Sonny. He no longer saw him
as just something to be taken care of, he finally began to see him asa
brother. He became sensitive to what offended Sonny and took caution to
avoid them. He was willing tobe interested in what Sonny interested in.
Finally, he was willing to sit and listen to Sonny instead oftelling him how
to run his life. All of these were drastic changes from when their mother
had first diedand improved the brothers' relationship.Through out the
story it is as if the narrator is descending a stair well. Each stage that the

narrator goesthrough is another flight of stairs and each flight of stairs he
descends brings him closer to anunderstanding of Sonny. The narrator
descended one flight and it changed his views one way, anotherflight and
his views changed again. During the whole ordeal he can see Sonny, yet
his views of Sonny aredistorted or blurred. After each stage he believes
his new view is the correct one, however it is not until hereaches the
ground that he gets a true idea of what Sonny is like. It is then that he
brings himself down toSonny's level and begins seeing Sonny as an
equal.