Juan C. Cruz III
Professor Stacy Knapp
English 108
25 March, 2011
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 of a bad decision making teenager is a good way of growing up. Learning from your previous actions and mistakes can teach us more about our lives. Dagoberto Gilb’s The Flowers portrays a boy’s growth into his adulthood from the actions he makes throughout the novel. I think by using Reader Response method, a more personal insight will be able to explain how not all of Sonny’s 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 Cloyd’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 he expresses it oh so bluntly and already feels to shut Cloyd out.
I think this shows how the idea of an outsider in Sonny’s mind is trying to invade this relationship Sonny has with Sylvia. I think Sonny shouldn’t be so defensive with Cloyd because having a closed relationship with a stepfather can be unhealthy for the whole family.
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. Anyone in Sonny’s scenario should take the opportunity to connect with their newly found father figure because sometimes you learn that they are the father you always needed and wanted.
Every teenage has tremendous amount of temptations. Whether it’s for worldly possession, or to satisfy an untamable urge, teenagers are always faced with temptations they can succumb or fall for. Sonny is not an 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 temptation, money. He justifies his looting by say saying “…to save this money, to use it right” (49). Everyone, including me, has a share of our own temptations and some are able to justify why they succumb to our their decisions. Some reasons are better, while the rest can just seem ridiculous.
Sonny has the possibility of learning from his stealing, well maybe nothing, but it does affect him emotionally. Sonny justifies why he steals money, but he also tells us “[stealing] makes me feel shitty…” (49). Overall, Sonny does steal, but it doesn’t mean he 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.” Like how Sonny is feeling, stealing would make me feel bad, because I know I’m better than that.
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 to get out of the hole they can burry themselves in. I don’t steal because I can provide for myself without having to stoop to a low level. I think that if Sonny can learn to find his own prosperity, he won’t need to steal and can have a better understanding of the value of money.
Other than money, comes the second most important thing to a young boy; girls and what they are able to do to them. Sonny encounters two different women that strike 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 feels 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, I’m able to relate to the scene to an extent. It follows the same idea of an older girl and naïve boy, but not exactly at a level as Sonny and Cindy. My friend got me into the provocative and sexual state I’m in today and of coarse I like it every time, but fortunate for me I was to be a little bit calmer, and be not so much of an out of control sex hound. But the whole idea is that, older woman who have more sexual knowledge can bring a lot out in a young man’s life.
The Femme Fatale has seduced Sonny and he has stepped into the sexual
awakening. However, we have the opposite character Nica, who has the more sweet and innocent relationship built up with the protagonist.
Nica is another neighbor girl that sparks 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 that “Te amo Sonny, [Nica] told me” (249). 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.
I don’t know what woman do, but overall, they have some sort of effect on men. 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, the funny thing is, I still do that today. Sonny is able to learn what intimacy can be like with a woman, even if it does sound a bit crazy. 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 takes away Sonny‘s virginity, causing him to be less innocent. 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 together.
Sonny is a teenager experiencing life as the novel goes on. He deals wit his habit of stealing, starting a new life with his stepfather, and experiencing the influences of women. Being able to connect with the protagonist, most 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 be able to grow more than he realizes.
Work Cited
Gilb, Dagoberto. The Flowers. New York: Grove, 2008. Print.
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