For this paper, I decided to compare and contrast, "Sonny's Blues,"" by James Baldwin and "A Good Man is Hard to Find,"" by Flannery O'Connor. Both stories deal with men learning to deal with their definition of their values and identities. In "Sonny's Blues ", the theme of lightness and darkness are used as symbols to represent the positive and negative events in the protagonist's struggle to find a balance in his life. While in "A Good Man is Hard to Find"," the story revolves around trying to identify and define what a "good man"" as the grandmother in the story uses the term loosely on Red Sammy, a restaurant owner, to the Misfit, who is a criminal murderer. "Sonny's Blues"" tells the tale of the narrator's younger brother, Sonny, who has had a rough past that ranges from selling heroin, spending time in jail, and had difficulty living in his wife's family household. The two brothers turned out so differently as the narrator had become an educated algebra teacher with a family and Sonny had struggled to have a stable life. In the end, the narrator grows to respect and acknowledge Sonny into establishing himself as a musician at a local jazz club, as it had always been Sonny's dream and passion to express himself through music. .
"Well, I needed a fix, I needed to find a place to lean, I needed to clear a space to listen- and I couldn't' find it, and I - went crazy, I did terrible things to me, I was terrible to me"" (P.101 Sonny's Blues). In this quote, Sonny is explaining why he turned to the short-term ailments of drinking and drugs at times to deal with his troubled mind. Sonny spent some portions of his life in the navy and in jail, both environments that may have left Sonny feeling unsupported and weak. For Sonny, he learned that music was his power, performing music brought him the escape he needed to conquer his fears. It is through watching his brother perform as a live musician; the narrator is able to hear his brother's struggles and recognize his artistic talent.