Sonny's Blues (Sentence Analysis)
“Neither did they dare to make a great scene about that piano because even they dimly sensed, as I sensed, from so many thousands of miles away, that Sonny was at that piano playing for his life.” (Baldwin 228) Throughout Sonny’s Blues we see how fearful Sonny is of relapse and how he uses music and piano as an outlet for his issues. This sentence takes place in the beginning of Sonny’s recovery process and shows how fearful he is of relapse and of what could become of his life in the future. To Sonny, music is the only thing that is keeping him alive right now, as it replaces his previous addiction and allows him to work through his trauma and suffering. While in the early stages of living with the narrator Sonny secludes himself, becoming totally enthralled in his music. In doing so, Sonny begins to use music as an escape, an escape from the reality of the situation he is in, from his addiction, and from Harlem. There are various moments in the story in which Sonny tries to ru...