Other conflicts in "Sonny's Blues" exist between Sonny and
his brother, the narrator.
The narrator expects that Sonny
will settle down and get a job, but Sonny has no wish for a regular job. Music is what
touches him. This causes a disagreement between the two. Sonny also wants to join the
army, which makes his brother angry. Sonny is looking for ways to follow his dream and
the army will provide this, but the narrator is worried about Sonny, wanting him to come
home from the army alive and well, and wanting him to settle down—especially as the
narrator had promised their mother to take care of
Sonny.
Sonny spends time living with Isabel and her family
while the narrator is in the army. There is conflict here because Sonny plays the piano
all the time and it disrupts the family's life. This shows how music is so important to
Sonny, but how difficult it is for others to appreciate his
dream.
Sonny's drug use is not just a conflict for Sonny,
but it causes a great deal of concern for his brother, not just in terms of his health,
but ultimately in terms of his stay in prison, and his fear that Sonny will never be
able to kick his heroin addiction. This also reflects the narrator's fear that Sonny's
life will be lost if not literally, then figuratively.
The
narrator experiences inner conflict in worrying about his brother. Sonny is no longer a
child, yet the narrator feels responsible for his brother's welfare. He is also at a
loss to know what to do for Sonny because he can't understand Sonny's passion for music
and dependence on drugs, though toward the end of the story, the brothers seem to make
some headway in communicating their feelings about these two
things.
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