In "Sonny's Blues," by James Baldwin, Sonny and his brother, the narrator, are separated by their lifestyles. The oldest went to college while the youngest became a drug addict. It takes two simultaneous tragedies to reunite the brothers, which leads to their reconciliation. Although they had not talked in a while, they still seek each other in their time of need. Sonny and his brother take different paths in life: Sonny falls into a drug addiction while the narrator becomes an algebra teacher. Sonny moved in with his brother's family after their mother's death. While living there, Sonny is hurt when he finds out that "his presence, that musichad been torture for them and that they had endured it, not at all for his sake, but only for [the narrator's]." After the one thing he loved, music, was taken from him, he turned to an alternative. Heroin was the only thing that gave him the same feeling music did: in control. The narrator disagrees with Sonny's lifestyle. Sonny tells the narrator "You're just hung up on the way some people try - it's not your way!" Sonny knows there is more than one way of living, although his brother prefers a more professional choice. Sonny leans towards doing what makes him happy while the narrator prefers stability. Their different outlooks lead the brothers to part ways.
The brothers are doing fine on their own until hardships disrupt their lives. Sonny's downfall comes when he is "picked upfor peddling and using heroin." The only one that he can think of reaching out to at this time is his brother. Sonny is reluctant to write to his brother because he knows his brother is hurt and disappointed. The narrator learns about Sonny's arrest through the newspaper. The narrator does not contact Sonny until the narrator's daughter dies. The narrator mentions "my pain made his real" because the narrator can finally relate to Sonny.
