"Sonny's Blues" written by James Baldwin is a story that deals with very real aspects of society and is done so through the use of symbolism and imagery. The story is craftfully written, using lightness and darkness as symbols through out the entire story. Baldwin focuses "Sonny's Blues" on the character of Sonny who is continuously struggling to find what makes him happy. Ultimately, Sonny finds two escapes, one of them being fatal: drug abuse …showed first 75 words of 1261 total…

…showed last 75 words of 1261 total…love of music and love of drugs. When the speaker loses Sonny he remembers various past instances when perhaps he should have seen the signs that Sonny was heading in a bad direction, and maybe should have done something about it. The author uses symbolism and imagery to tell his story and further connect to the reader. Lightness and darkness are significant symbols used in the story showing positive and negative aspects of the story.