In the short story “Sonny's Blues” by James Baldwin the narrator explains the difficulties that mainly his brother had to face, but also the rest of his family when he was a child. They demonstrate this by telling a continuous stream of stories that indirectly reflect the racism and segregation they faced in the place they grew up. Furthermore, through this the narrator shows the lack of human rights afforded to the people around him due to the circumstances. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Racism is the dark undercurrent that runs through “Sonny’s Blues.” It is rarely mentioned directly, but its attraction can be felt continuously. For example, Baldwin mentions the housing projects rising out of Harlem as “rocks in the midst of the boiling sea” (Baldwin 80). The result of local and federal segregationist housing policies, the projects depict the impact of racism on a community. However, despite racism being slightly more evident in some areas such as the projects, it is acknowledged that racism is still a threat everywhere when the narrator talks about how when his mother suggests the family move to a safer area, the father says always: “Safe” “Safe, devil! There is no safe place for children, or for anyone." (Baldwin 81). Likewise, much of Sonny's brother's dismay at his students can be attributed to the fact that they are very much like Sonny and live in a system that mercilessly and relentlessly discriminates against them. Throughout the story it is evident that many factors have led to the difficulties Sonny faces during his life. However, it would seem that the main responsibility for his eventual fall into prison lies with society racist he lived in. However, the responsibility ends up weighing on Sonny's brother not only because of the inherent relational responsibilities between a younger and older brother, but because of his mother's request to take care of Sonny in his absence request brings to the fore the constant and vague influence of racism throughout the story, as, when the narrator's mother explains how drunken white men killed her, her brother-in-law and warns his brother that something similar could happen to Sonny, showing much of the suffering in the history referenced can be attributed to the effects of racism. The mother's actions are explained when the brother speaks of suffering as something passed down from generation to generation in the African-American community, making racism the culprit for Sonny and his brother's current state of misfortune. All the subliminal insertion of the ever prominent theme of racism also addresses human rights in the story. Human rights are addressed in the sense that many members of the narrator's family and those in the community around them have been deprived of them due to racism. For example, the way the brother describes the projects as new at first, but then becoming dilapidated despite the residents' efforts to keep them as spotless as the house in a wealthier neighborhood. This somewhat implies that the houses were not of good quality, as despite efforts they could not be maintained to standard. Receiving these homes demonstrates a lack of human rights since one of the most basic human rights is shelter, and if the "shelter" you live in is inferior to others it may prevent you from achieving goals other than acquiring a more permanent shelter. Furthermore, Sonny's problems are due to the fact that he has been engaged in activities that would help him escape the projects. The narrator recognizes.