sibility toward Sonny. He began fighting regularly with Sonny, "Then[Sonny] stood up and he told me not to worry about him anymore in life, that ashe was dead as far as I was concerned."(52) During this time in which thenarrator thought Sonny was acting as a teenager he forsook his promise alltogether. The narrator did not communicate with his brother at all for some time.During this time of no communication, he felt that he could do nothing more andcould not be held responsible for what happened to Sonny.As the story nears completion, a single event brings the narrator out of thesecond phase and into his third phase. It is in this final pahse that thenarrator obtains a true understanding of Sonny. The death of the narrator'sdaughter Grace was so devastating to the narrator that he said, "My trouble madehis real"(53). The narrator finally felt the pain and despair that had plaguedhis brother for so long. It was at that moment that the narrator found himselfunderstanding Sonny's manhood. He was on the same level as his brother, and hewas finally seeing his brother as he truly was. When the narrator felt thesefeelings he saw that Sonny was just a man that was steeped in despair anddeserved respect. All of the narrator's views did not change at once. He hadalready come to accept Sonny as a man before his views of Sonny's sanity changed.As he listened to Sonny's emotional playing, he came to the realization thatSonny had always understood what life was about. He listened to the playing andrecognized it as more than merely music. Through his mentioning the cup oftrembling, the cup that hold the anger of the Lord, he shows he understands whatSonny has been through. He finally knew that Sonny's songs, Sonny's bluesweren't weird or disordered but were actually a way to freedom. Finally, duringthe third phase, the narrator finally started caring about Sonny instead of tryto care for Sonny. He no longer saw him as just something to be taken care...
