Sonny's Blues

In the story "Sonny’s Blues" by James Baldwin, we see many uses of symbolism. Symbolism is the most critical literary technique that Baldwin uses to achieve the intense connection to the characters that the reader feels in "Sonny’s Blues".

"Sonnys Blues" is a story about the relationship of two brothers and how they deal with their two different lives. This story is also about a family member coping with another family member’s addiction. The first metaphor we are exposed to in this story is found in the second paragraph, "A great block of Ice settled in my belly and kept melting there all day long, while I taught my classes algebra. It was a special kind of ice. It kept melting, sending trickles of ice water all up and down my veins, but it never got less. Sometimes it hardened and seemed to expand until I felt my guts were going to come spilling out or that I was going to choke or scream."(47). With this quotation the reader achieves a direct connection with the narrator. Th...