Seeing Green

In this weeks reading I noticed a few different traits in Sonny. His attitude was starting to change a bit and it seemed like instead of letting people bother him he was being smart with them back. One major part was he started doing his studying of his French textbook from the twins. Almost each page mentioned how he wanted to say something in French to get a reaction out of others, or to see if they would laugh. The root of his change I believe would have to be his theft of the money from the cabinet in Cloyd’s office. Once he had taken it and it was already too late to go back it set him in this mood where he was always on his toes and thinking about the consequences looming over his head which in turn had an impact on his attitude on those around him. One of the first encounters that stood out to me was when Bud was pulling up in to his parking spot and Sonny was on his way upstairs. This scene was right before Sonny took the envelope but it had been on his mind. Bud as usual tries to push Sonny’s buttons and says to him “Your dad around? (156)” which usually angers Sonny on the inside but this time he had a response of “Not in years,” I said. “Maybe he’s with your mama. (156)” This comment had Bud all flustered and he kept telling Sonny to tell him what he said. As time progressed after Sonny stole the money he treated another normal situation differently. This time was when on any normal day walking home with the twins, that creepy guy who follows them is back, but this time Sonny had an idea. He picked up a rock which he described as “baseball size and heavier. It was a good rock. (167)” Without the twins noticing that he had a rock in his hands he approached the curb which had the guy pull over towards him to get closer giving him his window of opportunity. From that point he said “I stepped out on the street and threw the rock as hard as I could at his face. It cracked against the windshield. (168)” These actions that were taken in this chapter surprised me just because up until this point Sonny would just let things slide and have a sort of “screw it” mentality. There was one last quote that I wish I could remember the page on but Sonny had mentioned at one point before making a decision about how rich he was feeling which determined his actions.

Little Brother

I think that Pink is going to have quite a lot to do with the end of the story due to what he just did for sonny towards the end of the reading section. Once sonny actually gets driving that car I think its going to finally get him what he wishes, a way for him to get out of Los Flores preferably with Nica. Back to Pink, it seems like he is beginning to really show interest in Sonny and wants him to get in to some fishy business. I was suspicious of Pink from the start when he would have all kinds of new cars on the block to sell. Also it seems a little odd that he would always try to sell out these new cars to the African Americans. The last encounter Sonny had with him was very strange, and he seemed like he wanted to know something really big about Cloyd. I know Sonny knows about the hidden money stash and that could play a big role in what pink is interested but it’s hard to think of what else. Most of the residents have been talking about the blacks moving in to their neighborhood and are just appalled at the thought. I have a feeling pink might play a part in the movement since it seems he has ties with them. Pink doesn’t seem like a normal run of the mill white guy either. He just doesn’t talk like Cloyd or Bud and when he spoke to Sonny about breaking a deal with him he said “We just be working this out.” He said. “I just need you to be working with me, little brother. You see. (138)” His tone and slang have really thrown me off when I imagine his appearance. The last thing he said to Sonny that really caught my eye and had me guessing at what he could mean was “all I need is you to listen for me is all. Be some wide-open ears. I’m speaking of your stepdad…What I want is that. I got a question, you got an answer. (139)” Something about him just doesn’t seem right and I feel like he might have a negative impact on Cloyd’s business at Los Flores by bringing in more of the blacks in to their neighborhood.

Character Description

Sonny's mother Sylvia has a few characteristics that appear quite often whenever Sonny has an encounter with her. She is described as a very pretty Hispanic woman who is always wearing a new dress of some kind and all dolled up like she was going out. It seems like as a mother she is not very responsible and acts as if she is trying to live her life as still a single woman without a child and not being very involved in Sonny's life. Sonny comes home late constantly and is out doing his own thing and it seems like it doesn't matter a whole lot to her. She is not very close with Sonny and its obvious by how their conversations are very limited in substance and duration with only a few words exchanged between the two at any time. Another point that comes up in the second section of reading is when she is making the salsita for Cloyd, leaving him the impression she made it from scratch and telling Sonny not to say a word about it to him. She does not appear extremely happy with their living conditions at Los Flores as well and seems to become very bored not having to work.

"I was out," I told her, surprised that she talked. i was feeling too much mota, and way strange. I wanted to go to that room where I slept. "I wish I were too," she said (Gilb 72)."

-          This shows how Sylvia becomes very bored of just being around the home all day since Cloyd insists she does not work

"There was a beer bottle next to her. That was crazy. My mom didn’t drink beer, I think especially because it was fattening (Gilb 72)."

-          This quote shoes how it was weird to see something that could make her fat by her considering she cares so much about her figure

"It seemed to me she was wearing another new dress, and she was smelling washed and bath-oiled and lotioned and misted, and the high heels were glossier and redder than her lipstick (Gilb 76)."

-          This quote shows how Sylvia would always try to look her best and go all out with her makeup, scent, and clothing.

"He doesn’t even know I buy este chile at the grocery store," she told me. "He thinks I make it. He even tells everybody I do (Gilb 76)."

-          This quote shows how Sylvia is trying to keep Cloyd impressed and make him happier by keeping the thought in his head that she is the one making the food.

"She reached into her purse and handed me a five. "Maybe just go get your self dinner tonight (Gilb 80)."

-          This quote reveals how much about Sonny life and routine she really knows, which can’t be much considering he usually gets dinner himself every night at the bowling alley diner.

“Yeah, she is one pretty Mexican gal,” he said. “I am one lucky man, all right (Gilb 89).”

-          From Cloyd’s perspective, he also believes she is a very pretty woman by her appearance and what she is capable of.

Sonny Progression

After reading the first fifty pages of "The Flowers" I was able to get a sense of Sonny’s life and what he has already gone through in his previous years which have made him who he currently was. It seems that he is totally aware of his mother’s tendencies with men and feels everything that is happening in his new environment is a sham due to what he has already seen. I feel that Sonny is taking to his new surroundings better than I had predicted he would, once him and his mother first moved in to their new place with Cloyd. As the story progresses further, it’s hard to say but I think that he might begin to have a thing going on with Cindy due to all of her flirtatious behavior to him. I choose Cindy over Nica just for the fact that he has only came in to contact with her just once and it didn’t look like they would be seeing each other much after that since she doesnt go out. Besides that I think he is going to change drastically soon in the book and that he is going to find something out about Cloyd. It seems like just about everyone that he has spoken to in the apartment complex has something to say about him. Just like most teenagers I think he is going to want to break free and rebel against his mother and Cloyd. At this point in the story he doesn’t spend a whole lot of time out of the house unless he is with the two twins and talking about girls, but I think he will start going out late, ditching school and disobeying the house authority. It seems he already really dislikes the thought of school so it sounds about right that he would jump ship and stop showing up completely. I think at this point he might be hitting a rough patch in his life trying to become more responsible. Sonny will eventually snap out of it and continue doing his chores and remaining there for his mother out of love just as he has been attempting to tolerate this new life from the beginning for. I also think Sonny will find a girl that he is interested in and will finally start to socialize a lot more rather than watching the occasional television and listening to the radio in a majority of his free time when not in school. Also, something significant about him that I think might happen is all of that money that he saved up he is not just going to blow on something stupid like he had mentioned and that he is going to find something very nice and worthwhile to spend it on. I was thinking maybe the man’s car that he was trying to sell off in front of the apartments, something for his mother, or maybe even a gun to go hunting if his relationship becomes better with Cloyd. Either way I think that Sonny is going to man up and be a responsible young man like he has been doing so at the apartment and keeping up with his work.

I AM

I am Chris B.
I now reside in Gilroy, but up until starting at Gavilan I was staying in San Jose most of the time. I went to Oak Grove High School and graduated in 2008. Looking back on those years I must say I enjoyed my time in high school, contrary to what I had thought while attending . A few things about myself is that I am pretty laid back and I enjoy drawing and doing other forms of art. Also I love hanging out with my friends and just having a good time.
This is my fifth semester at Gavilan and I should be finishing up and being able to transfer to SJSU in the Spring of 2012. I would like to Major in the digital arts field in graphic design and possibly game design which has always been a dream of mine, although right now I am focusing on my general ed. I am a picky reader and I feel its hard to find a book i can enjoy and get deep in to the story of. Writing I do enjoy doing a bit of and have become much more accustomed to it thanks to a history class I took last semester which had more writing than I ever could have imagined.
Through this class I hope to read some interesting stories and further improve my writing skills