Minor Characters are Important Too

In the story, "Sonny's Blues", by the short story author James Baldwin, the main characters would have to be Sonny and the narrator. In order for the story to effectively be developed, the story includes several minor characters. There are others that also contribute to the story effectively, but the ones that catch my eye are characters, such as one particular boy at school that the narrator observes outside in the courtyard who has looks similar to Sonny, and also the parents of Sonny and his brother, who is the narrator of the story. The minor characters of the story help develop the story by interacting with the characters directly. The narrator includes the dialog and conversations between himself and the minor characters in the text to allow the reader to descriptively read word by word exactly to the last detail what the conversation entails. The conversation with the little boy included Sonny in its context basically describing the relationship between himself and Sonny. In the conversation, they include valuable information such as how responsible the little boy feels for Sonny's situation. In a way, the narrator needs to hear this kind of information to feel at peace with the news about his brother's situation. The conversation with the narrator's mother goes just about the same way. She describes the boys' father and his own personal experience that relates to the family's current situation with Sonny. The reason why the narrator brings this flashback up is to allow the reader to understand a glimpse of the past and how it correlates with the events in the present time.