The length of this story did not bother me at all. The action keeps it moving, James Baldwin's writing style is appealing, and the story itself is interesting.
The author tends to create mental pictures to help explain various things that he writes about. I liked his description of the "great block of ice." I see this huge ice cube resting within his body. It is there because of the news he has just learned. It is uncomfortable. Its effect lasts beyond its existence; "it never got less." It melting causes it to affect his entire body. And it is, obviously, not a positive affect. It's overwhelming, unshakable, gnawing, and numbing. Three pages over this ice is mentioned again. It's identified as dread here. He knows he has to accept this news, but he doesn't want to. He knows Sonny may make the same mistakes again, but he doesn't want to admit it. Dread has a way of bothering us so entirely that it helps keep us from acknowledging the truth. It leads us to consciously numb ourselves to reality. And this is what he, the narrator, has done for so long.
Two very similar phrases are used in this story: "I watched him through the smoke," and, "watching me through the smoke." In both cases I saw this, the smoking and the smoke it produces, as forming some sort of a barrier between the two men who are talking. It gives the something to do, something they both maybe enjoy or do habitually. Maybe it makes them feel more comfortable.
"It was what I was thinking and so it seemed to me he had no right to say it."
I think this goes back to the ice. This man doesn't want to believe, to accept, that he can't really do much to help his brother. He won't say--admit--it, so why should someone else be able to?
"He was smiling all over his face."
I could not help but smile when I read this! I just love the line. So much goes into a smile, a genuine one. Eyes, eyebrows, cheeks, nose, teeth, lips, mouth, muscles, thoughts.
"The big windows fool no one, they aren't big enough to make space out of no space."
This helps me imagine how small this home is in the "housing project" where Sonny's brother's family lives. It comes across as a reality that almost wants to be softened by its simplicity. Facing realities like this adds to the fact that is must be hard to live in places like this, where even a sunny, open window can't make the mood better, can't create the illusion of space, can't make one feel better about the room in which he sits. I can't help but think that "he" probably wishes he could afford a bigger space in a different community.
One theme that seems to run throughout this story is the conflict between older and younger brothers. Sonny wants his brother to understand him, but he can't. His brother wants to protect him, but he can't. They have a hard time seeing how the other sees. They want to, but there are chasms that keep them from relating to each other. Sonny has dreams of being a musician that his brother cannot see as practical because of his own view of reality.
However, nearer the end, he comes to better understand where Sonny is coming from. He sees how much his life is linked to the piano, his ability to play it and bring it to life itself. Hearing him bring out the songs, the blues, and truly listening helped him to realize this was Sonny's avenue to freedom. Here we come to see that the title has a double meaning. Sonny really does play blues music, but he also plays music about the blues, the sad and difficult times in life that we have to get through. His way of getting through them is through the blues.
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