James Baldwin wants to know if you truly understand his story. Please put together a detailed and meaningful response to your assigned prompt. Post it in the comments here. Make sure that it is 200 words or so in length, and is devoid of filler. I'm looking for load-bearing words.
After you have posted, I would like for you to respond to two posts. Your responses needn't be as long as your post, but should be no less detailed. You may also respond to a response, as long as it is a prompt other than your own. In discussions of this variety, students tend to lean on comments like "I agree" or "I haven't thought about it that way." Stay away from statements like this. James and I want to hear about validity, logic, and alternative analysis.
Partners and Prompts:
Liz and Kilby
1. Analyze the narrator of “Sonny’s Blues.” Why do you think he goes unnamed throughout the story? What is the significance of his profession? What kind of person is he, and how does this impact his relationship with his brother?
Millie and Tucker
2. Early in the story the narrator says that perhaps heroin did “more” for his students than algebra could. Do you think the narrator means this statement to be taken literally? Can it be seen as a valid idea? Can heroin be seen as an alternative way (along with music and religion) to escape from ghetto life?
Addison and Ashlyn
3. The narrator says that the death of his own daughter made Sonny’s suffering “real” to him. Analyze the emotional equation at work here. How does the narrator’s suffering re-connect him to his brother? In what other ways does suffering serve to connect and reconnect people in the story? Trace the theme of suffering throughout the story and comment on its impact.
Kaitlyn and Jocelyn
4. The image of the hunted or trapped animal is prominent in the story, and at the end of the story there is the image of this world “as hungry as a tiger.” Do you find other naturalistic elements at work in “Sonny’s Blues”? Can it be accurately described as “naturalistic”? How is it similar to or different from other naturalistic stories we’ve read?
Rollins and Aneri
5. With respect to the imagery of hunted or trapped animals, who, finally, is trapped and who escapes in the story? At what cost?
Tyson and Sean
6. Consider the chronology of the story. Plot out the events on a true, chronological timeline, with the first event being the death of the uncle, through to the end of the story. Why do you think Baldwin tells this story “out of time,” i.e. non-chronologically? What, ultimately, is the story really about, and how does the structure of the story reveal this to us?
Erin and TZ
7. Readers and critics have suggested that “Sonny’s Blues” is a story that can be read, and understood, entirely through its use of imagery. In fact, it has been described as a story told more through images than plot. Trace the imagery of darkness and light through this story (beginning with the early images of the darkened bar and the darkness of the subway, and ending with the final image of the “cup of trembling”). How do these images, taken together, tell a story?
Maggie and Abigail
8. What is the “cup of trembling”? How does it work to resolve the motifs of religious faith and music presented throughout the story? Does it resonate beyond those motifs?
Amber and Chris
9. The story keeps coming back to the condition of childhood; the narrator frequently references things that children supposedly do. What’s the narrator’s perspective on childhood? Why might childhood be a recurring point of consideration for “Sonny’s Blues”?
The narrator’s suffering reconnects him to his brother, because he knows his brother has experienced pain and suffering before and can now relate to him or try to find some type of real relationship through a reconnection in their lives now. People do not like to deal with suffering on their own. The narrator had not really suffered until his daughter dies, but Sonny clearly had experienced suffering and that is why Sonny’s suffering becomes “real” to his brother. People cannot understand suffering until they have experienced it themselves. After Sonny gets arrested, it makes the narrator and Sonny’s old friend reconnect. This is not really an exciting reconnection, but Sonny’s suffering is the cause. The death of the narrator’s and Sonny’s mother also brings Sonny and the narrator back together again. Death often brings people together because of funerals, but it is really because people need to grieve together. People need other people to be there for them in times of suffering because dealing with pain alone is difficult. Suffering plays an important role in this story. Even the title, “Sonny’s Blues” incorporates the idea of suffering because the genre of music, blues, is about work songs and spirituals (aka times of suffering). The end of the story also ends with a symbol of suffering, the “cup of trembling.” Suffering has an impact because it is inevitable and James Baldwin makes that clear by having a theme of suffering throughout the entire story.
ReplyDeleteWhile I find your analysis valid in context, your assertion that "People do not like to deal with suffering on their own" is far from universal truth. Suppressing feelings of suffering and internalizing failure, is a dangerous yet common response to agony. In the story, the narrator definitely expresses his suffering and uses it to grow closer to his brother. This exemplifies a health trauma response, but is not natural for all persons. Becoming emotionally detached and removing oneself from social interaction is a debilitating response to trauma. In extreme cases, suffering or other traumatic triggers can result in persons becoming nonverbal or attempting suicide, both highly antisocial responses. Overall, I believe that your interpretation of the narrator's suffering is valid, but your assertion that reaching out to others is a universal response to suffering shortsighted.
DeleteWhile I do agree with you Rollins about how Addison may have overlooked how people deal with pain, I don't think she was trying to make a universal statement. Furthermore, I think the actions of the narrator writing to his brother to deal with pain may reveal an underlying theme of not relying on one's self. If the narrator or Sonny did not confide in each other when they were in pain, they might of seen the area they are in, which is essentially a trap, and realize this world has nothing to offer, possibly leading to suicidal tendencies as you mentioned. Therefore, while it is clear that some people do unfortunately deal with pain theirselves, Baldwin may be trying to make a case for reaching out to others in pain, instead of hiding all kinds of emotions inside. -Tyson
DeleteThe cup of trembling not only represents the reminder of Sonny’s hardships and suffering, but reveals that there is room for peace and comfort in his life. In religious terms, this reference is similar drinking the blood of Christ in communion. This cup signifies redemption and highlights the moment when God took suffering away. In terms of Sonny and his brother, music took a significant amount of their pain away, similar to the cup of trembling. In religious context, the reference to the cup of trembling in this short story is also alluded to the bible. In this verse, “Thus saith thy Lord the Lord, and thy God that pleadeth the cause of his people, behold, I have taken out of thy hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of my fury, thou salt no more drink it again,” (51:22) God is giving mankind the option to redeem themselves by doing what any logical mother or father would do. Removing the temptation. Yet, in this particular glass that Sonny is partaking in involves both his temptations and suffering. He is indulging himself in this drink. With music, he can also find redemption. In order for his music to be heard and understood, he must remember and face his suffering.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis! In particular, I find the idea that removing the cup of trembling is a parental duty. Because the narrator give Sonny the cup, this biblical allusion could further characterize the narrator as a paternal figure to Sonny. Presumably, Sonny will finish the cup out of his own volition, much like Jesus takes the cup, which represents suffering, in Matthew 20. In that chapter, the mother of James and John ask Jesus if their sons can sit beside Jesus in his kingdom. Jesus give a typically cryptic response by asking if they can drink the cup that he is going to drink. Likewise, Sonny's cup could be viewed as suffering which enables him to produce truly emotive blues.
DeleteThe narrator in Sonny’s Blues remains nameless throughout the story, and this is to focus on the feelings of the narrator and his connection to Sonny, rather than his identity. The identity of the narrator isn’t more detailed than just an algebra teacher, which is significant because most teachers take on an almost parental role in their students’ lives, and one could easily describe the narrator’s relationship to Sonny as parental. The narrator in this story is certainly a more caring individual, especially for his brother Sonny. When he says “I didn’t want to believe that I’d ever see my brother going down, coming to nothing, all that light in his face gone out, in the condition I’d already seen so many others”, this shows that the narrator had better hopes for his brother Sonny, and is showing disappointment and denial that a parent would also feel in the same situation. The narrator’s relationship with Sonny is definitely similar to the relationship between a caring father and his son, as this is shown through the letter Sonny writes back when he says “I wanted to write you many a time but I dug how much I must have hurt you and so I didn’t write.” Sonny understands that he hurt and betrayed the narrator, such as a son worries about hurting or letting his father down.
ReplyDeleteGreat analysis. I like how you pointed out the lack of identity revolving around the narrator and its significance. It's an interesting thought connecting his teacher role to his relationship with his brother. I never thought about it that way. It is almost like he sees Sonny more as a son than brother. I wonder if it is more of a negative or positive effect on their relationship..
DeleteThroughout this story, we see suffering as a way for the narrator to connect with Sonny and his family. After his daughter dies, it brings our narrator and his brother closer. I feel like they reconnect over suffering in this part of the story, because that's most of what Sonny himself has known his entire life. Sonny suffers through mental and emotional things that we as readers pick up on. To cope with this, he doesn't talk with anyone, rather, he uses drugs and music. After his daughter dies, this is how the narrator perceives Sonny's life to have been. This sense of grief and loss brings him closer to Sonny, because he now knows how his brother has been feeling this entire time. The narrator tells us the story of when his mother died and everyone was called home for her funeral, once again the suffering of everyone brought them together again. The most prevalent event I saw in the short story was when their mother tells our narrator the story about how their uncle was run over by a car in front of their father. This story of suffering brings the mother to tell the narrator that he needs to watch over Sonny, especially after she dies. After hearing this, our narrator becomes closer to Sonny because of the loss and suffering he learns about. I think that it’s very important to see the theme of suffering as a way of connecting to other characters. This really shapes the characters, and our perception of the plot in the short story. It shows us how in real life the suffering brings us together, and that the hard times are when we need our family and friends the most. Most of the scenarios in the novel prove this theme, and show us the impact of suffering as an effective emotional appeal in the short story itself.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that suffering brought the narrator and Sonny together. I like how you said how the experiences the narrator and Sonny have been through and the stories they were told reflect suffering. If the narrator had never experienced the death of his daughter, he may not have been reconnected with Sonny as quickly. In addition, it is clear that the narrator accepts suffering and feels it's necessary to an extent to shape a great artist. He says ",it struck me all of a sudden how much suffering she must have had to go through- to sing like that. It's repulsive to think you have to suffer that much"(13).
DeleteI do agree with you that suffering provides us with a glimpse of reconnection between the narrator and Sonny. Sonny is constantly allowing himself to suffer because he believes that humans, as being reckless, should all have to suffer, and some sacrifices should be made. He says “No there’s no way not to suffer. But you try all kinds of ways to keep from drowning in it, to keep on top of it, and to make it seem--well, like you.” He is telling us that everyone one must suffer, including the narrator, because it is our way of life. Before, he begins to talk about how drugs are controlling him, but are comforting him in a way that nobody else can. He is trying to stop suffering but feels like it is an everlasting pain, that is uncontrollable. This relates to the narrators daughter dying because he was also hurt. Since both characters are in pain, they can both connect over their similar sufferings.
DeleteThe narrator’s perspective on childhood is that it is painful, dangerous, and lonely. He tends to lean towards the painful reality of childhood. For example, when they drive by the “vivid, killing streets” comparing them to the ones he and sonny used to live in as children. This leads us to think that the housing projects which they lived in were miserable and they treated people poorly, with no gentleness. The imagery of the housing projects make them sound vile and shows how these housing projects were also dangerous from the drugs, and it becomes more harmful to kids. This is used to show the danger Sonny was around and how his children were now facing this problem. Children cannot make wise decisions and the place where they live just happens to corrupt the minds of every child in this town, which can cause trouble for parents. He also uses symbolism to reflect light and darkness upon childhood when he refers to the child that hopes “the hand which strokes his forehead will never stop”, to show how he was a child scared that he would be forgotten. From this certain viewpoint, how a child reacts is based on how they are treated when they are younger, and if they are ignored and revealed to the darkness, they become filled with that darkness as they grow up. This relates to his brother Sonny and he blames himself for Sonny’s addiction because he was not as protective of him, as he was supposed to be, when he was younger. The narrator’s darkness, his mother dying, caused him to diminish Sonny’s light and made Sonny the rebellious kid in school. If a child feels lonely and they do not have anyone to talk to them about the consequences, they are confused on what to do. Childhood is a recurring point of consideration because it improves the study of their culture. Poor black kids stayed in run-downed buildings and were often the most influenced by drugs and more easily open to deception, because they were young and did not know any better. It is used overall as an inspiration to fix what being a child has done for Sonny.
ReplyDeleteI think you've made some interesting and logical points here, Amber. Sonny's addiction and suffering is mainly due to the events that happened to him as a child. As readers, we are so quick to judge Sonny from the beginning because he goes to jail, but we forget to consider his harsh past experiences that shape him as a person. Furthermore,I agree with you that perhaps Sonny's lack of parental support causes him to use drugs as a way to escape his past, since children are incapable of making wise decisions.
DeleteVery true! Sonny does suffer because of his upbringing and I feel like if he grew up in even just a slightly different environment he would be completely different. Also, I think you hit the nail on the head with how Baldwin perceives childhood.
DeleteAnd it's very interesting when you brought up the deception aspect because I had never thought of that while reading! I feel often that we ignore how easily children can be manipulated because of their inexperience.
I completely agree with your viewpoint on this. Sonny's childhood shaped most of his decisions later on. Even the slightest changes could have shifted the story a lot. This really does show us how Baldwin saw childhood.
DeleteSonny is portrayed as a trapped animal. Because he goes to prison for using and selling heroin, this metaphor adds a layer of meaning to the concept that Sonny is a good person trapped by unwholesome entanglements. At one point in the story, the narrator remarks “...the baby brother I’d never known looked out from the depths of his private life, like an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light.” This selection characterizes Sonny as an animal trapped within a system he cannot escape on his own. Functionally, heroin and prison serve as Sonny’s jailors and are the entities which ensnare him. Yet, despite his suffering as a trapped animal, one artifact offers him respite from the cruel trap of heroin: music. When Sonny plays the blues, he is unencumbered and liberated in a passionate display of artistic expression. In a way, Sonny becomes trapped by the blues, but because of the emotive nature of music, this new addiction is best viewed as freedom. Regretfully, music does not simply liberate Sonny from his heroin-marred past but serves as a new addiction. Sonny becomes shackled to his piano, giving up educational opportunities and familial relationships in order to climb the musical hierarchy. In short, Sonny, an animal trapped to heroin and a resultant prison sentence, is freed by the blues and simultaneously addicted to the piano.
ReplyDeleteI think these are really solid claims. I had thought about the drugs being jailors, but the thought that the piano being simultaneously an escape and a drug is a really interesting idea. It is sad to think that the only way to escape the rough Harlem society for Sonny also hinders him with his schoolwork and family life, making him live in an never ending trap. -Tyson
DeleteInteresting thoughts. I also hadn't thought of the piano also becoming an addiction and drug. I had only seen it as a healthy escape, but now reading that it makes a lot more sense. I like the idea of looking at the music and piano from both of those angles at the same time. They being something that helps, but also hurts. It makes me think about what we may replace obvious unhealthy addictions with, which may just be another addiction to something that doesn't seem to be bad for us.
Delete^^ -Jocelyn
DeleteIt is a very interesting idea to be freed from one addiction by being addicted to another. I had never thought about the piano being a destructive force in Sonny's life but it is a very interesting and valid argument. I would say this really shows human nature and our natural instinct to gravitate towards worldly objects as coping mechanisms when we are thrown into difficult environments.Very interesting thoughts! -Maggie
DeleteComparing Sonny to an animal is an interesting thought. He is trapped in his own mind with his addictions as an animal would be, physically, in a cage. I would disagree that music is more of a positive component and the only key for him to escape his "cage". What a challenge it is that he can't escape it on his own. I believe that with the blues, he is able to face his emotions with full force and conquer his internal struggles. I agree that music becomes his new addiction, but it also serves as a new opportunity to overcome.
DeleteIn chronological order, first, the father’s brother is killed by the drunk drivers. Next, we flash forward to when Sonny’s parents have both died, and he is forced to move in with Isabel and her family when the narrator leaves for the army. Sonny then leaves for the army unexpectedly after family stress has built up. Sonny then returns and talks with the narrator again. He reveals that the he has been hanging around musicians and partaking in drugs. Sonny and his brother have a huge argument and don’t talk for a long time. The narrator doesn’t talk to Sonny until his daughter dies. The narrator then finds out Sonny has been arrested for doing drugs. Once he is out of jail, Sonny moves in with the narrator in his family. After years of tension is broken, Sonny invites the narrator to watch him play at a club, where he performs very well.
ReplyDeleteI believe the story was told this way because otherwise the story would be very simple to read and process. You would see the story about how a young boy is affected by the area he lives in, and you would move on with life. However, when the story begins by showing you the result of life, when Sonny goes to jail, you as the reader are already skeptical of Sonny. However, as time goes on we see how Sonny finds himself in this position. I feel that wit the story being told this way, the purpose of the story is to challenge the reader about how he or she looks at the life a person. In doing so, this could prevent prejudice even. If everyone were to look at Sonny’s story and the story of others like him at face value, a stereotype that all black people go to jail because they do drugs. However, if we were all to dig deeper than the surface of a story, we will find out that everyone has their own complex story.
This is Tyson's comment.
DeleteWith respect to the imagery of hunted or trapped animals, the narrator finally escapes in the end while Sonny remains trapped. Sonny’s music evokes emotions within everyone who listens and while the narrator listens to his brother, he remembers his daughter who died and his mother. By listening, the narrator is freed at the cost of the pain in remembering his sorrows. “Freedom lurked around us and I understood, at last, that he could help us to be free if we would listen, that he would never be free until we did”(16). While Sonny temporarily finds his salvation during his performance, the narrator is freed on a long term basis. Seeing Sonny happy and doing what he loves also overall allows the narrator to escape from his struggles of worrying and providing for Sonny, since the narrator was more of a parental figure. As discovered in the beginning of the story, Sonny continues to abuse drugs and he falls back into the darkness that Harlem exposed him to. In conclusion, both characters agree that suffering is inescapable and that it is necessary to some extent, however, the narrator escapes suffering and Sonny continues to suffer as seen by his continuation of drug abuse.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree! I can't believe how well you analyzed this. However, I think Sonny escaped just as much as the narrator. I say this because on page 46 the narrator contemplates on how hard the relationship is between the musician and instrument is because the musician has to fill the instrument "with the breath of life,his own" then later when Sonny begins to play, he says that Sonny found "a damn brand-new piano." This symbolically showing that Sonny has started a new life even if he got addicted to drugs again.
DeleteI somewhat agree with your statement that the narrator is freed from his sorrows, and find it interesting that you make this assumption. He definitely escapes from his previous pain, but I also think that Sonny escapes from his past life through his music. Music is the only way for Sonny to redeem his past actions and makes him seem like a new person because he starts playing the piano with his “soul”. The narrator says “Then he begin to make it his. It was very beautiful because it wasn’t hurried and it was no longer a lament.” This could describe how his soul became whole and playing this music allowed him to escape from his harmful self, no matter how much he had suffered from his addiction. He was not considered free until everyone could see it that way, but I think he had prevented himself from suffering more through this. Plus, this shows his freedom from being an animal, having no soul at all, to a human who is containing more life.
DeleteI definitely agree with this. We mainly see this viewpoint of suffering align when the narrators daughter dies. I completely agree with the statement you mentioned where music is an escape for Sonny, and watching Sonny is the narrator's escape and one of the only times where the suffering ceases. I think this viewpoint of the work is incredibly interesting and thought provoking, but I completely agree with it because of what we read about them.
DeleteQuestion #2 - Heroin
ReplyDeleteI don’t think it is meant to be taken literally in the sense that heroin is better than education. I think he’s just trying to convey that distractions from the harshness of the real world, especially in the ‘ghetto’, can be more beneficial to those boys “filled with rage” than the educational system. As for it being a valid idea, I mean potentially depending on the case. Of course, getting addicted to heroin is never a good thing, but it’s definitely better than taking out their rage on others. To be honest, I think it can be seen as an escape but at the same time (personal opinion) it's an escape that’ll leave you worse off than when you began in most circumstances. And this can be seen in Sonny’s case, for example when the narrator says Sonny was a “good boy” but he began to see his brother “coming to nothing, all that light in his face gone out.” However, to expand this beyond heroin, studies show that listening to music and praying can lower blood pressure and make you naturally happier by reducing stress so these methods would definitely be an escape for students and adults in the ‘ghetto’ (https://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20060518/spirituality-may-help-blood-pressure#1 & https://www.creativesoulmusic.com/news/how-can-music-reduce-stress).
I think the narrator made this comment because he was having a moment of doubt in himself. I think the narrator felt responsible for what was happening to Sonny and possibly felt like his teaching job wasn't having as much of an impact in the students lives as he had hoped it would. So no, I do not think he meant it literally but instead was just questioning himself and how well he knows the people around him. -Maggie
DeleteI kind of agree with Maggie, but I do see where you are coming from Tucker. I personally do not think he meant literally do heroin, but the narrator has experienced life in the "ghetto" basically his whole life. Obviously his brother has even been impacted by drugs. I think he means it in a literary sense for sure. There are many ways it can be taken. I personally believe he meant it in a way that is almost filled with anger. He is a teacher and tries to educate students. He has tried to be a parent to Sonny. And yet both his students and brother have turned to drugs. It is almost like he has failed as a "teacher" or "parent" and is acknowledging that by saying this. - Addison
DeleteI think he said this sarcastically. Maybe, he is saying that the education system is failing these kids so much that they feel the need to turn to drugs because they have no where else to turn to.
DeleteIn “Sonny’s Blues”, there are many other naturalistic elements other than the simile of the world being “as hungry as a tiger” said at the end of the story. A naturalistic element is a reference to something derived from or of nature or something closely related to it. One example of this is the reference to Sonny being in the water while playing the piano. This story can accurately be described as naturalistic because the story uses the environment and life story of Sonny to show how they affected how he turned out. The author portrays music and jazz as an escape for Sonny’s life problems. It is vividly described to make the reader feel more strongly and understand the magnitude of the importance of music to him, as well as why it is. His dad had a drinking problem, so it makes sense for it to carry over into Sonny having a drug problem. Wise Blood could be considered a naturalistic story as well because it shows the background of how Hazel Motes got to be how he is. We find out everyone he knows is gone and he’s lost almost everything. Through finding out these things, we can better understand him and his reasoning.
ReplyDelete- Jocelyn's comment
DeleteI completely agree with this comment, it's interesting to think of Sonn'y Blues in a naturistic way, especially with music being one of the biggest symbols in this piece. It's super duper cool to connect music to nature, great analysis!
DeleteThe cup of trembling is used in the story to highlight the stressful position Sonny is in but also shares a biblical allusion. In the book of Isaiah the cup of trembling symbolizes the moment when God took all the suffering away from the people who were being held captive in Babylon but still continued to seek him. This is how music is for Sonny and the narrator. Through music they're both able to relieve themselves from the struggle of the world. It also says the cup is shaking above Sonny’s head which shows what a delicate situation he was in. Its as if the cup were to collapse on him God would bring the suffering back which would mean a relapse for Sonny. Sonny's music shows the suffering of him and the people around him and the cup with the biblical allusion helps remind Sonny to main grounded and walk the straight line and God will keep the suffering away.
ReplyDeleteI almost feel like music is Sonny's religion. As long as he is playing music, he is happy. However, I feel like perhaps music taxes him. Maybe he got into drugs because the thing he loved most was hard for him because he was so passionate about it. For example, some people are so passionate about their faith that they do the wrong things for the right reasons. Maybe this applies to Sonny as well. I do agree that this biblical allusion is prominent here.
Delete-Kat
I almost completely agree with this analysis. I researched the "cup of trembling" when we first read this and found it very interesting he ended this story with this symbol. It is a very heavy symbol to end a short story with, but I think the author did that on purpose. This story is not a very happy one. I am not really sure if I agree that the symbol is there to "help remind Sonny to main grounded and walk the straight line." I do not think it is a religious symbol geared toward his personal faith in that way. I think it is more of a symbol of the fact that Sonny will mess up again, but in that moment, he was not suffering. Obviously it is a biblical allusion, so I do understand where you are coming from! - Addison
ReplyDeleteThere are many naturalistic elements in this story. More specifically, there are many animalistic elements in this story. On page four, the narrator describes his meeting Sonny again after he went to prison. He says that Sonny's inner child is "like an animal waiting to be coaxed into the light". This quote almost suggests that Sonny's natural innocence wants to show once more like it did when he was a child. Sonny is later described as an alien when he is living with Isabell's family. This persona of Sonny contrasts but making him seem unnatural. These conflicting ideas that Sonny is an animal and an alien gives Sonny internal confliction. Invisible man also had some naturalistic elements. During the battle royal, the black men were being treated as savage animals. They had to fight each other for the pleasure of the white men. This animalistic idea is similar to Sonny's Blues because Sonny is also portrayed as a wild animal on the inside, not the outside as in Invisible Man.
ReplyDeleteQuestion 2-
ReplyDeleteI think that by saying this, he says that for most of the kids that he is teaching, this is their escape from the ghetto. The narrator seems to think that for most of the kids that he is teaching, they won't ever make it out of Harlem. Heroin was a type of immediate distraction from life in Harlem. I don't believe that the narrator believes that heroin is actually better for young people than education, but he does believe that no matter how bad the consequences may be, whether it legal or health related, the drugs immediately set in, almost like a pain killer for the harsh reality of living in the ghetto. The narrator also speaks of other distractions, such as music and religion, and a type of revival outside of his window, where a woman played her tambourine, while another who was described as almost beaten (that's how I took it at least)takes place, and the narrator says though they seem somewhat different, they are very similar. I also noticed that in this quote, he is specifically talking about a group of boys. Perhaps, for boys, the heroin was the superior choice of distraction, while for women, their choice of distraction was in the bible and music. Boys are typically shown as the "bigger and badder" sex, so to speak,so it makes sense for them to have the "harsher" distraction, while women are typically the more "timid" type, so things such as music and religion were more of a suitable distraction.