Sonny's Blues

Sonny's Blues had the theme of suffering set in the ghetto of New York city. It tells of two African-American brothers who come to understand each other. Throughout the story, Sonny's brother is the narrator. It is interesting to see what convinces another person of one's case. The narrator step by step grows closer to empathy of his brother's conditions. It seems as if suffering and sadness are always the greater crowd charmers. Many literary texts revolve around adversity. Is it perhaps because the tale of life is mainly composed of tribulations? Maybe that is what the text means when it says, "For while the tale of how we suffer and how we are delighted, and how we may triumph is never new, it always must be heard. There isn't any other tale to tell." I noticed, however, that in this passage the word triumph was included as if a continuation of how we suffer. So there is the process: There is no triumph without tribulation.

In class, Professor Corrigan taught us the art of lectio divina, which is a four step meditation of selected passages. Originally used by the monks, it bears great effectiveness for understanding and applying a text. As we pondered on some of the texts from Sonny's Blues, I focused on the one where he says, "All I know about music is that not many people ever really hear it.." My reflection of it was that through the blues, the musician was expressing his suffering, but for others it was a beautiful sound. They did not know where the passion came from or the history behind the notes. Sonny was able to find refuge behind the beautiful melodies and turn his suffering into something magnificent.

The last step was to find a prayer. Mine was this:
God,
Help me come to the understand that my suffering and past can be turned into something beautiful. That where I come from only makes where I am all the more astounding. That is why I can and should give thanks in all things. Amen.