ce of enveloping smoke seems to remind Sonny of the inescapable street, "black and funky and cold," that he is resigned to (92).Later, the narrator witnesses the depravity of the street firsthand while watching a tambourine revival meeting that takes place below the window of Sonny's room. As the revivalists dance and sing praise, he notices the contrasting element of "street" people who are unable to be moved by the joyful noise. Again, the appearance and mannerisms of cigarette smoking are used to describe some of the more detached, unmoved spectators: "The barbecue cook, wearing a dirty white apron, ... and a cigarette between his lips, stood in the doorway, watching them" (89). Baldwin's narrator continues to observe the cold reaction from some of the street members-- "Neither did they especially believe in the holiness of the three sisters and the brother"-- and the seemingly small degree of enlightenment that separates the revivalists from them: "The woman with the tambourine, whose voice dominated the air, whose face was bright with joy, was divided by very little from the woman who stood watching her, a cigarette between her heavy, chapped lips..." (90). The narrator observes the changing effect that the music has on one particular bystander: "The barbecue cook half shook his head and smiled, and dropped his cigarette and disappeared into his joint" (90). Ironically, he spots Sonny among the crowd "very faintly smiling, standing very still" without the habitual cigarette (90). The remarkable air of peace that he gets from the music is even further portrayed as he appears in the house to invite his older brother to accompany him that evening. In the absence of smoke, in the soothing atmosphere of the revival's musical redemption, there is a comfortable understanding between the two.It is in this figuratively "smoke free" environment that the two final scenes of revelation take place. Somehow finally able to communicate, Sonny exp...
