"The Very Cup of Trembling"

In Sonny's Blues the author displays a great amount of conflict between Sonny and his brother. Initially they were close at childhood, but the story starts off with his brother mourning Sonny's outcome in the beginning of the story. This is significant because the author uses symbolism to show the gradual and roller coaster like change in Sonny and his brother's relationship. The symbol is extremely unusual being a cup.
This piece of symbolism is of such great significance because it is used in the closing statement and excels in summing up everything that happened in one last short statement. The cup of trembling symbolizes not only the holy aspect of Sonny renewing himself, but also when looked at with its surroundings, can be viewed with something else. This something else is displayed altogether as Sonny's relationship with his brother and how it has changed in the end. In the beginning their relationship was rough and rugged, hence the "shakey" cup. However at the end, even though the cup is still shaking because the brother may not be completely adjusted, it is right above Sonny's head and the cup (symbolizing his brother) shows that they finally have the same view and they both are seeing on the same level now because the cup is so close to Sonny's eye level, and that they even have a real bond besides typical brotherly bonds.