Rough Draft

It’s OK to be Crazy

    I remember being a crazy teenager. Coming home late, hanging with various groups of people, going to parties, and making some of the biggest mistakes. It almost seems like it was yesterday, but in my case it was last week. I think making mistakes, and just being some what out of control of being a teenager is a good way of growing up. Learning from your previous actions and mistakes can teach us more of our lives. Dagoberto Gilb’s The Flowers portrays a boy’s growth as a teenager from his actions. Not all of actions are the smartest, but the craziest decisions he makes can benefit him more than he can realize.
    In the novel, the character Sonny, experiences many factors of life during his teenage years. For most of us, we all can relate to most of Sonny’s life and all the aspects portrayed. Take for instance Sonny and Clod’s relationship. We see from the beginning that Sonny doesn’t take too well with his Stepfather when Sonny says “…this Cloyd wasn’t right for both of us” (19). Sonny already comes off that Cloyd isn’t ideal for him and his mother and expresses it oh so bluntly and already feels to shut Cloyd out.
    I think fortunately for me I never had to bond with a stepfather at Sonny’s age. I’m happy that my birth father was able to see me grow and raise me. But I think those who had a stepfather and connect with during their teen years can relate with this character relationship. But I think that anyone in Sonny’s scenario should the opportunity to connect with their newly found father figure, sometimes you learn that they are the father you always needed and wanted.
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    Every teenage has tremendous amount of temptations. Whether it’s for worldly possession, or to satisfy an untamable urge, we are always have linger in front of us. Sonny is not exception from the mundane desires of human nature.
    One of Sonny’s temptations is his habit of stealing. Through out the novel, Sonny has stolen worldly possessions such as magazines, or his biggest temptations, money. He justifies his looting by say saying “…to save this money, to use it right” (49). Every one of our temptations, we can justify it on why we do. Some reasons are better, while the rest can just seem ridiculous.
    What Sonny can possible learn from his stealing, well maybe nothing, but he it does affect him emotionally. Sonny justifies why he steals money, but he also tells us “[stealing] makes me feel shitty…” (49). Overall, he does steal, but it doesn’t mean Sonny enjoys it. I will admit this, I did steal something, and honestly, I didn’t get the whole point of it. Yes it was “free”, but it just seemed unsatisfying, not in the sense of doing it again to get satisfaction, but of a more a “that was stupid.”
    To me, stealing doesn’t seem to be fun or anyway necessary; it’s pointless, plus it tells me I’m broke and I hate being in Financial Instability. I think with this stealing, it can motivate anyone into pushing themselves into Financial Stability. I don’t steal because I have Financial Stability and can provide for myself without having to stoop to a low level.  I think that if Sonny can learn to find his own Financial Stability, he won’t need to steal and can have a better understanding of the value of money.
   

Cruz III-3
    On from money, comes the second most important thing to a young boy; girls and what they are able to do to us. Sonny encounters two different women that strikes up his interest. He meets the seducing Cindy and the sweet Nica, both of whom entice his feelings towards woman.
    Cindy is the character of lust and desire, where I titled her as the “Femme Fatale” or “The Deadly Woman.” Cindy character has taken the innocence out of Sonny and introduced him to the sexual awakening of adulthood. Cindy has aroused Sonny and he feel that “[he] couldn’t stop if she didn’t stop” (86). Like most boys introduced to sexual awakening, they get a taste, and they want more.
    What I really like about this particular scene is, in a way able to relate to it. It follows the same idea of an older girl and naïve boy, but not exactly as a level as Sonny and Cindy. My friend got into the provocative and sexual state I’m in today and of coarse I like it every time.  Fortunate for me I was to be a little bit calmer, and be not so much of an out of control sex hound.
    Our Femme Fatale has seduced our Sonny and he has stepped into the sexual awakening. However, we have the opposite character Nica, the more sweet and innocent relationship built up with our protagonist.
    Nica is another neighbor girl that causes an interest in Sonny.  Their relationship isn’t based on sexual desires, but rather a more intimate bond. Sonny feels that he and Nica can be more than just friends; he says the “[he] wanted to say, with you” (203). The significance of this character emphasizes the idea that, as we grow older and bond with other people, we develop feelings for the other person.
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    I don’t what woman do, but they overall have some sort of effect on us. I remembered all the small school boy crushes I got when I was friends with a girl. The weird butterflies in my stomach and acting different around her, funny thing are I still do that today. Sonny is able to learn what intimacy can be like with a woman, even if it does sound crazy a bit.
    A woman’s influence is the most powerful persuader in human existence.  Cindy portrays the lust and seduction a naïve boy can fall for and not truly embrace. She awakens his sexual activity and indulges his carnal desires. Nica is the sweet heart that awakens Sonny’s heart and teaches him how to have feelings for another woman. I personally love the idea of a putting these two woman into one and have both their personalities in one woman.
    Sonny is teenager experiencing life a novel goes on. He deals wit his habit of stealing, starting a new life with his stepfather, and experiencing the influences of women. Able to connect with our protagonist, most of us can say that Dagoberto Gilb’s The Flowers effectively and accurately portrays a teenage male. Sonny is acting crazy, but it allows him to learn and bee able to grow more than he realizes.