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His Brother’s Keeper His Brother’s Keeper: An explication of a passage in James Baldwin “Sonny Blues”. In this story, the narrator’s name is never revealed, he has a strong sense of obligation to protect his brother (Sonny) whom he does not understand and has little in common. He laments, “The seven years difference in our ages lay between us like a chasm. I wondered if these years would ever operate between us as a bridge” (par. 54). The burdensome task of the narrator proves to be riddled with guilt, and saved by redemption culminating in the epiphany of acceptance. The narrator characterizes his inner turmoil as, “A great block of ice settling in my belly and continuing to melt there slowly all day long…” (par. 2). Perhaps these are pangs of guilt for abandoning Sonny or his failure to keep his promise to Mama that he would always look after Sonny. The difference in the ages, views and education of the brothers hangs heftily between the two of them. Baldwin does a great job describing the setting of their childhood as he expertly writes; “These boys, now, were living as we’d been living then, they were growing up with a rush and their heads bumped abruptly against the low ceiling of their actual possibilities. They were filled with rage” (par.
Approximate Word count = 858
Approximate Pages = 3.4
(250 words per page double spaced)
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