Love and Hate: Examining Human Behavior Through Sonny's Blues - Essay Sample

Introduction

The perception of love and hate highly influences human emotions, feelings, and thoughts towards others. Underhill is convinced that love and hate are both important in modeling human behavior. He also holds that although the two have been perceived to be true opposites, hate can define love and, at times, hides behind love (Underhill 216). However, the question as to what triggers love or hatred lacks a precise answer. This analysis examines love and hate, in light of the stories in Sonny's Blue by James Baldwin and The Cast of Amontillado by Edgar Allan Poe. As it will be evident in the final analysis, people do not love or hate primarily due to intrinsic values. The stories in Sonny's Blue and The Cast of Amontillado show that the concept of love and hate, which have primarily defined human's response to God's call, not only depend on intrinsic attributes but are largely defined by personal understanding about them, which is influenced by various extrinsic factors.

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Love and Hate as Intrinsic Values

Love, hate, and suffering are intrinsic values inherited from the Love of God and the sinful nature of Adam and Eve. There is a theological agreement that God created all people in his own image and likeness to look and love as he does. However, Adam and Eve betrayed this love when they sinned and fell short of God's perfect standards, planting perpetual hatred. Paulson (269) believes that the sins of the initial ancestors are inherited by each human being making people sin even if they do not wish to do so. Perhaps, this is why Paul says, "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate to do." (Rom 7:15-16). Some psychologists also adopt the belief of humans as naturally sinful. Miller and Delaney (79) hold that all people are born broken and selfish and that it is only through Devine intervention that they are saved. The occurrences in Sonny's Blue and The Cast of Amontillado further confirm these arguments.

The inability of the narrator in Sonny's Blue to be his brother's (Sonny) keeper signifies the failure of Cain to be responsible for his brother Abel. The biblical Cain seems to love his brother Abel on the surface, but deep inside hates him and ends up killing him. Despite being brothers and contrary to his mothers' command to care for his brother in whichever circumstances, the narrator reads about Sonny's arrest in a newspaper and is not even bothered to go and see him until his release.

Despite having assisted him at times, the narrator states, "I'd never liked him..., but now, abruptly, I hated him" (p. 105). This signifies the secret hatred of Cain towards Abel (Tackash 112). When Sonny's friend asks the narrator about Sonny, he responds, "Look, I have never seen Sonny for years... I'm not sure I'm going to do anything. Anyway, what the hell can I do?" (109). Tackach (114) believed that this response is akin to Cain's response when God made an inquiry about his whereabouts, "I don't know, am I my brother's keeper?" (Genesis 4:9). Tackash (114) argued that the narrator had failed to keep his younger brother from falling without cause. The narrator believed that suffering is an innate nature of a human being and that saving his brother could be against this doctrine (Tackash 115).

Contrary to the saying that 'time heals all wounds,' Montresor, in The Cask of Amontillado, kills Fortunato for a deed committed some fifty years ago yet sees him as a respectable man confirming the argument that humans are naturally sinful and hatred in inborn. Baraban is intrigued by these actions and is concerned why a person would kill another for a sin done 50 years ago. Although other scholars assume that Montresor was simply insane, Baraban still asks a fundamental question, "why did he do it?" (Baraban 47).

The only response from the novel that can answer Baraban's concern is, "The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge" (Poe 848). However, Poe does not mention what the "injuries" or "insults" were, depriving the reader of the ability to evaluate whether Montressor's revenge was justified. Even Fortunato cannot accurately figure why Montressor kills him but exclaims upon his death, "For the Love of God" (Poe 848).

However, Montresor mentions, "no one insults me with impunity" (Poe 851). Baraban (52) believes that for Montresor, punishment, and revenge grants honor and is a noble duty. From this perception, it can be deduced that hatred and love are Montresor's intrinsic values. After killing him, he finally forgives Fortunato and claims, "He (Fortunato) was a man to be respected and even feared..., May his soul rest in peace." (Poe 858). Montresor's actions confirm Baraban's argument that his hatred was inbuilt gained from his ancestral line (59).

Love and Hate as Extrinsic Values

Love, hate, and revenge are extrinsic values triggered by various social and environmental aspects such as culture, religion, and politics, which influence personal perspectives. Underhill, in her book, Ethnolinguistics and Cultural Concepts, argued that truth, love, hate, and war are aspects modeled by human experiences and interactions with their immediate environment (Underhill 67). He holds that people who grow up in environments that promote love over hate and forgiveness over revenge are likely to more loving and forgiving as they mature.

Underhill is convinced that the four concepts are typically defined by social, etymological, typological, and cognitive views. As such, he showed, there is nothing like a universal approach to defining human behavior or attitudes. Instead, behavioral aspects are best understood if examined from the lens of language and cultures. Some psychologists have also proved that human behavior is a function of his or her interaction with the immediate environment (Carter 45). Children brought up in violent families are likely to be violent as they grow up while though brought up in religious families are highly likely to lead a faithful life. There are various instances in Sonny's Blue and The Cast of Amontillado which confirm these arguments.

The narrator's hatred and secret love for his brother in Sonny's Blue are informed by the life he led and the society around them. His perceptions were informed by a number of factors. The narrator is a person who has been living a straightforward life escaping the dangers of Harlem Street and has a solid family. He is a mathematics teacher at Harlem secondary school. The hash life he led has taught him to embrace success amidst hardship and be intolerant to ignorance and laziness. Contrary to this perception, Sonny, his brother, has lived a riotous life and is addicted to heroin despite being a jazz/blues musician. Tackash (112) is convinced that the clear difference between the narrator and his brother Sonny is a sufficient factor to generate a rift between them.

By integrating the story of the prodigal son and Cain and Abel from the bible, Tackash (112) shows that hatred cannot thrive in an environment where personality and behavior are seamless. The lives led by the two brothers are the extreme opposites. Since the righteous hates evil might be tempted to hate the evildoer. This argument is reflected in the narrator's words, "I didn't like the way he carried himself, loose and dreamlike all the times..., I didn't like his friends, and his music seemed to be merely an excuse for the life he led," (p. 126).

The narrator hates Sonny due to the life he led, the life of carelessness and ignorance. On the same note, his secret love for the brother might have been instigated by the will of the mother, "you got to hold to your brother and don't let him fall no matter what it looks like..., no matter how evil you get with him" (p. 118). Such can explain why the narrator later changed his mind and began taking care of his brother. From these arguments, it can be deduced that the narrator's hatred towards his brother was instigated by the life that his brother led while his sacred love for him was a component of the mother's will, which are both extrinsic factors.

In the Cast of Amontillado, the actions of Fortunato always reminded Montresor of the revenge that he had promised himself and reignited his desire to accomplish the mission. It can be assumed that just like any other human being, Montresor war bound to forget the "thousand injuries" that Fortunato had caused him fifty years ago.

However, the actions of Fortunato kept reigniting the bad memories for revenge. Montressor claims that Fortunato kept "insulting" him. There are numerous accounts in the story where the two characters are at odds and exhibit incongruent social standings (Baraban 52). Although they might be perceived as insignificant and given the beliefs of Montresor's noble ancestry in which insult is perceived as impunity, Fortunato's actions make him the wrongdoer who should be punished.

Perhaps, seeing Fortunato from the lens of a sinner explains why Montresor applies phrases commonly used by priests in forgiving the sins of a dying man during the Last Rights or Requiem Mass, "Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century, no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat! (May he rest in peace)" (Poe 858). Therefore, Montresor's hatred was instigated by various extrinsic factors, including Fortunato's unceasing insults, an ancestry norm that views insult as the impunity that should be punished, and a powerful family.

Conclusion

The analysis aimed at addressing an interesting topic, 'what causes the emotions of love and hate, and how do people develop them?' From the analysis, it is crystal clear that the concepts of love and hate are complex and cannot be understood through surface knowledge. The discussions brought forth by Underhill that love and hate can co-exist and, in fact, they need each other to thrive even makes the concept more complex to understand. Stories in Sonny's Blue and The Cast of Amontillado confirms this complexity. The underlying reasons behind hate and love between the narrator and Sonny in Sonny's Blue and the hatred of Montresor against Fortunato are difficult to comprehend.

Nonetheless, the analysis shows that in both cases, there are intrinsic and extrinsic instigators. Both stories confirm that by nature, human beings are sinful and, if not controlled, would strive to create environments where hatred thrives. While Montresor has a soul that never forgives wrongdoing, Fortunato is always insulting. The same way, Sonny is unconventional, and his brother is not even concerned about him. Eminent extrinsic instigators include behaviors of others, the need to uphold to command, rule, or norm and power. As such, considering both intrinsic and extrinsic values is critical in building love and limiting hatred.

Works Cited

Baldwin, James. Sonny's Blues. Ernst Klett Sprachen, 2009.

Baraban, Elena V. "The Motive for Murder in 'The Cask of Amontillado' by Edgar Allan Poe." Rocky Mountain Review of Language and Literature, vol. 58, no. 2, 2004, pp. 47-62., doi:10.2307/1566552. Accessed 14, 2020.

Carter, Irl. Human Behavior in the Social Environment. 6th ed., AldineTransaction, 2013.

Miller, William R., and Harold D. Delaney. Judeo-Christian perspectives on psychology: Human nature, motivation, and change. American Psychological Association, 2005.

Paulson, Ronald. "The Original Evil and the Original Sin." Sin and Evil, 2007, pp. 253-300.

Poe, Edgar A. The Cask of Amontillado. The Creative Company, 2008.

Tackach, James. "The Biblical Foundation of James Baldwin's 'Sonny's Blues.'" Renascence: Essays on Values in Literature, vol. 59, no. 2, Jan. 2007, p. 109. EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edsglr&AN=edsgcl.161502025&site=eds-l...