Page references refer to this online edition of “Sonny’s Blues”

Reading Check

1. Sonny is the narrator’s brother (Page 1)

2. Algebra (Page 1)

3. The narrator’s wife (Page 9)

4. Complications with polio (Page 17)

5. Heroin (Page 1)

Short Answer

1. He is reading about how his brother, Sonny, has been picked up for peddling heroin. (Page 1)

2. Sonny’s friend asks the narrator for a dollar. (Page 4)

3. The narrator’s mother asks him to look after his brother, Sonny after she dies. (Page 9)

4. The narrator is concerned that a person cannot make a living as a musician. (Pages 11-12)

5. The narrator finally understands the importance of music in Sonny’s life. Playing music is how Sonny expresses himself. (Page 28)