In “Sonny’s Blues” by James Baldwin, there is a recurring theme of darkness where the characters find themselves trapped in a society where they’re in poverty and discriminated against for the color of their skin. The characters feel that the usage of drugs helps them escape and cope with the pain they’ve endured from society. Based on the story,  Baldwin’s critique on society is that Black people have been trapped in a dark place for generations, but that doesn’t mean they have to resort to drugs to deal with the darkness surrounding them. For instance,  Sonny was able to leave behind the darkness that has been passed on for generations in his family. He was no longer dependent on drugs and he didn’t want to experience a fate that would result in him being killed the same way as his uncle. Instead, Sonny embraced his passion for playing jazz through the piano, processing an “artistic gift” according to Freudian terminology. 

Sigmund Freud states, “If a person who is at loggerheads with reality possesses an artistic gift ( a thing that is still a psychological mystery to us ), he can transform his phantasies into artistic creations instead of into symptoms. In this manner, he can escape the doom of neurosis and by this roundabout path regain his contact with reality” (Freud, 2235). This proves Baldwin’s critique of society as Sonny was able to escape the drug lifestyle and focus on music that put him on a righteous path. In addition, by escaping the darkness around him, Sonny achieved his goal of wanting to play jazz on the piano, which is an example of the Freudian concept:wish fulfillment. Sonny’s method of manipulating his talents helped create a better lifestyle for himself despite still being surrounded by darkness.

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