Flowers Final Draft

Jessica Rigby

English 1B MW 1250-210

Paper #1

Loss of Innocence

            Everyone loses their innocence at one point in their life. For most folks it comes at the appropriate time and in the right place for the specific progression. For Sonny, the main character in the novel The Flowers, by Dagoberto Gilb, times were hard from day one, forcing him to understand the dark side of adulthood at an early age. Sonny is a teenage boy, growing up in East Los Angeles, in a not so nice part of town. He started off living in an apartment complex with his mother and sister. His experiences at the complex were a large part with whom he became later. He was raised by a mother who was never home, and neighbors who brought a lot of negative attraction to him. His mother, Sylvia loses her job and meets a man, Cloyd Longpre, who she attaches herself to in order to be able to be stable financially. Cloyd presents himself as a classy business man in a suit and slicked back hair when he first comes into play, but later surprises them with a racist, sexist, selfish influence on both Sonny and his mother.

            The novel starts off with Sonny describing how he breaks into houses just to hang out in another family’s environment. He lounges on the couch, looks at family photos, and will occasionally pocket a dollar or two if he sees it just lying around. When he would relax, he’d go into his own form of meditation, “What would finally come were colors and lines busting through, flying out and off and cutting in, crazy fires and sparks, and it’d come out speeding, and I’d be like a doggie about the window, those lane dividers whiffing by on the freeway straight below an open car window (2).” He enjoys distracting himself with the idea of the way other people live their life.  His life is full of chaos and stress. At one point, a man comes banging on the door of his house looking for his mother when she isn’t home and Sonny prepares himself with a knife. The man busted in, attempted to grab the knife from Sonny, slicing his stomach by accident, and then runs out in fear of legal punishments. This neglect that Sonny deals with is a very huge influence as to why he had to grow up on his own. His mother was always out going to bars and spending evenings with whichever man would help her out for the evening. It is why she always dresses the way she does, like a good house wife from the 50’s.

            The character, Cloyd in the novel was a good example of a male figure that was attempting to get Sonny to grow up fast. The first thing he does when he has Sonny and Sylvia move in with him is make them get rid of their dog, Goofy. Sonny felt as though his mother wasn’t thinking of him at all when he said to himself, “If she didn’t care how I felt, didn’t she care any about Goof? Didn’t she even miss Goofy a little? Didn’t she think I would (37)? Cloyd pretty much came in, took over and tried to show Sonny what it is to be a man. Cloyd’s hobbies include hunting, collecting large trucks, and owning property that he collects money from tenants in. He attempts to keep Sonny busy. He gives him menial jobs like cleaning the laundry room just to fill time. He also talks down to Sylvia in front of Sonny to show him where a woman’s place is and is open about his sexual and cultural stereotypes by calling her his “pretty little Mexican gal.” Cloyd’s ideas of women start to have an impact on Sonny during these crucial changing points in his life.

            Sonny’s ideas of women have been based around a mother who was never home, and when she was home, it was apparent that she cared more about the way she looked and how she seemed to possible men she might be attracting then she did about her children. If this is an example for a child, they might find it difficult to see girls in a good light once hitting puberty. Sonny finally gets his first experience with a girl when he meets Cindy, a 19 year old married housewife who is lonely and wants attention. Her husband, Tino is always out selling drugs and she likes how easy and innocent Sonny is. She takes his virginity and whenever she wants to get her way she “looked her dirty way at me and was going how she was really lonely…”(170) This is a girl who doesn’t mean anything to Sonny. He describes her as being insignificant and just someone who takes up space on this planet. He kind of feels sorry for her in the way that “It was as though I was the only one who ever saw her standing there, because nobody else looked at her, and she didn’t look at or say anything to anybody either (171).” She doesn’t respect her body, mind or soul. Here she is married to a drug dealer, feeding her own body with all kinds of poison, and sharing her soul with complete strangers who are just using her “because I was mad. I knew where to look and I was right (173).” His first experience with a girl is one just like the rest of the acts he pulls through these years: they are something to masque what he is going through. Then he meets Nica, the sweet, innocent young Mexican girl who he falls in love with. He had feelings for her different than he did, Cindy when he says “I didn’t want her like that, as much as I did… (249). This was his beginning to see a different side of women and finally being where he should be instead of rushing into sin or “lusty” adventures with a married woman at such a young, innocent age.

            All in all, Sonny has been through many experiences from having a mother who was never home, to having to figure out what to do or how to feel for a girl that have made him grow up at a very rapid rate. Men who have attempted to toughen him up and change who he is as a person have done nothing but push him further away from who he actually is. His crisis with his identity and maturity get so jumbled and overwhelming that when he finally gets a chance to attack a “sickie dude” that has been following him around for a while, he throws a rock at him, kills him, and gets arrested right there on the street.  This man represents guilt following him. This guilt is his need and want to preserve his innocence. Although life has made some very high hurtles for him to jump in order to keep it, he has done nothing but just push them down and attempt to be mature and move on with it. 

The Story of An Hour- Gender Criticism

"The Story of An Hour" by Kate Chopin fits perfectly in the category of female stereotypes. The protagonist in the story is Louise, the wife of Brently Mallard who was supposedly killed in a train accident. When Loise first hears news that her husband was dead she reacts dramatically by sobbing instead of acting numb in a "storm of grief". She is pretending to act what was expected of women in the late 1800's: emotional, needy and dependent on a man to keep her afloat and together. She is actually crying tears of joy in reality that she had her epiphany of what freedom she newly possessed with this death. When she is alone in her room she continues to cry but it is more just from an automatic reaction because that is everything she is used to in her marriage, and less of a natural genuine reaction. She then has the fantasy of what she would feel like after the funeral of Brantly and her tears stop, and she gets happy thinking about her freedom outside of the metaphorical "window." This doesn't stop her from continuing to act out the woman she needs to fit the mold of to not blow her cover, though so she even goes to the extent of having to hold on to her sister, Josephine's arm down the stairs acting out the weak needy woman. Although she has a bad heart condition, it is mostly from her bad relationship with Brently who is actually keeping Louise from being free. She cries because she can finally be a free, independent woman and not have to answer to any man who doesn't treat her with the respect that a complicated mind such as herself possesses. The crisis is when Brently walks through the door at the end of the story, completely unaware of the fact that there even was an accident, much less that he was supposedly in the accident, and Louise dies on the spot due to a "heart attack of joy." Of course the doctors would announce her death as such because that is what was socially acceptable at the time. A woman would die in honor if she is dying over the joy in the resurrection of her husband. It would not, however be respectable for her to be unhappy finding him to be alive in that she would have to give up her newfound freedom.  It is very interesting how Chopin is very suggestive of the idea in marriages being forced and fony in this story. At the time it was still very common for marriages to be arranged for reasons like money or status. Once a woman was paired with a man, it was then her duty to not only be there, subserviently but to also never speak poorly of her husband. Louise in this story only speaks positively about Brently when she says he was very "joyful and loving" when really he made her cry and feel trapped. This has been happening to women throughout history and still continues to happen today in many households. One would not even guess that a woman is going through complete misery and madness inside her heart and mind if she could just be a good actress like Louise. Acting can only get one so far, though. You might end up dead in your holding back of emotions and opinions for such a long time.

What even IS Feminism?

I was raised by a mother who labeled herself a feminist. She would go on and on about how women don't get enough credit for everything they do, and still today don't get the equal treatment that men do in workplaces or home environments. She always hated on males too. My brother and I grew up hearing about how "men are only good for sex and money" and I'm pretty sure it had a very damaging impact on my brother. She would tell him, "Sugar and spice and everything nice, that's what little girls are made of. Snips and snails and puppy dogs tails, that's what little boys are made of." If any male tried challenging my mother in any sort of conversation she would  immediately take it as a sexist act, as if it were not at all possible that this is just one human being challenging another human being's perspective. No, this was war of the sexes to her. She always told me not to trust any men, because they are all liars and cheaters with no agenda other than to make you their house wife and sex slave. This was very interesting considering that my father was the most gentle, kind affectionate husband to her. As I grew older, and met some "real" feminists I realized that a feminist is not a person who hates on males, but someone who just stand up for equal rights and nothing more. A true feminist is someone who wants to be treated with respect, and also gives the same respect they expect to be treated with. Looking at the character, Sylvia from this perspective, I would say she does not give herself that same expectation as the respect that she gives Cloyd. She allows him to yell at her over stupid things, and try to control her lifestyle even to the extent of lying to him about where she goes because she can't be herself. There is nothing feminist about her. She dresses to impress him, and only him. She buys food that she claims as her own because she wants his idea of her to stay as that pretty Mexican house wife who lives only for him and has no respect for herself. This is a sad reality for many females all over the world. Cloyd takes advantage of this because Sylvia is Mexican by tradition and has lost her job. Cloyd knows that he can step in, and be what she relies on and in this way, can tell her exactly what to do, and where to go. She can't even stand up for herself because she wouldn't be able to support her kids or herself if she did not fake a smile and go along with it. Although, some feminists would argue that if she just worked hard enough and went out to try to get another job, she'd be able to in a country like America where it is fairly easy to go out and get a job if you put enough effort into it.

Reading Reflection

When I am reading something that I am not choosing to read such as a book required for school, it is very difficult for me to soak up what is going on. I will have read 20 pages and then realize that I have no idea what just happened because the whole time my eyes were scanning the words, my mind was somewhere else, thinking about what I need to do later that day, or the next day, or how my head hurts and what I should do about it. It has always been a problem of mine that I hoped to grow out of, but now going on 22 realize this problem probably won't be going anywhere. What helps me is if I'm in a well lit area, and in a comfortable, but not too comfortable seated position. I need copious amounts of caffeine, as well as a small snack next to me, as to not hurt my stomach with all of this caffeine. It helps if I am making notes whilst reading, so I don't forget some of these ideas that aren't important or interesting enough to me, but are important to the grade I am getting in the class. It also helps me to reflect after I have read my bit for the night if I think about why the reading material was chosen for a class. It helps me to better understand why we are all spending our time reading and analyzing the novel. I like to relate certain happenings in the readings to other novels I have read, or movies I have seen. This way, I can remember parts of the story easier when connecting them to other works that stand out to me and held a place in my heart and mind. It is wonderful when a whole class is reading the same book, this way we can all chat about the book together and see what we gain from it and with all of the perspectives, have a better understanding of the overall picture. I like to break up my time, reading also. It is good to read for an hour or so, and then get up to use the restroom, splash your face, walk outside to get a breath of fresh air. Maybe it would be nice to have a short conversation with your roommate or significant other before returning to your reading, just to get your eyes focused on different distances and sights. Sometimes I like to go on Facebook or check my e-mail, but this isn't always a good idea because I tend to get distracted this way, and will not want to get back to reading. Also this isn't good because you are not exercising the technique of switching up your viewing point, as I stated earlier. All in all, I have gradually worked on making it an easier feat for me to read required pieces from school because I have realized how important it is to force myself into understanding and soaking up the meaning behind it, for it will get me further in education and the rest of my career life.

Cloyd

Cloyd is a perfect example of why so many other countries hate America. He is the stereotype of a dim-witted, closed minded, judgmental redneck who tries to put on a fake appearance at first with a fancy tie, suit and slicked back hair. He kind of reminds me of George W. Bush. Our ex-president has made America look so bad that everywhere I have traveled people glare at our group as soon as they hear our accents. He tries to put on the fake appearance of being experienced and intelligent, when really he is ignorant and judgmental. That typical Texas male is what Cloyd is. He tries to get Sonny to be just like him too and makes it hard on him to see his mom get treated and looked at the way she is. He has completely sexist and racist views on life, which I'm sure he got from his upbringings, but has no right to be pushing them on Sonny. He has made many comments on black people in the book and seems to even be a little judgmental of Mexican people when he says things like "My pretty Mexican gal" when talking to Sonny's mom. He is taking advantage of the fact that it is an old Mexican tradition for the wife of the family to be a great cook, stay at home with the kids and be subservient to their husband. Cloyd randomly will yell at his wife for the most mundane reasons too like when Sylvia complained to Sonny about "He cares about the toilet paper. How much is used...I don't think I knew anything like this" (50). It also seems like Sylvia wants to fit Cloyd's idea of this perfect Mexican house wife when she goes out and buys store bought Mexican food and he doesn't even notice. He is so oblivious and uneducated. He can't even tell the difference between store bought and home made food. He just expects Sylvia to sit at home and not be stimulated by everything. So much so, that she has to try to learn how to enjoy television to entertain herself and she has to lie about "going shopping" when she is actually going out to bars and getting some real human interaction. Cloyd seems like he tries to focus on looking manly and fulfilling all of these manly accomplishments like hunting and such because he doesn't have any individual, unique qualities that he could be proud of all on his own. Sonny describes him when he says "Cloyd parked his work truck, as grey and stiff as his starched uniform" (27). He tries to get Sonny to be more manly like him, filling his time with things like "One of the jobs Cloyd had made mine was to make sure the laundry room was cleaned up" (27). He wants Sonny to be this robot for him until he learns how to be a stereotypical manly man just like him. This way, he won't have any troubles with the way that Cloyd treats Sylvia.

My Mother Never...

My mother never showed me the normal way of loving a daughter, at least not what I saw in other mothers. I haven't seen her show any emotion other than anger up until two years ago when she let tears fall out of her eyes for the first time in my conscious life. She loved me, I'm sure. I think she just saw children as material possessions more than human beings who will eventually grow to be something separate from her one day. My brother and I weren't allowed to do our hair certain ways or dress certain ways because it was a reflection of her in her eyes and she didn't want people to "think lowly" of her because of course, anything that wasn't her idea of beautiful and right, was immediately ugly and wrong. Her insecurities ate her alive every day and were the reason for her multiple friend losses, and family cut offs. She always thought people were plotting and planning against her, trying to trick her into believing something that wasn't true. Her friends were always jealous of my father's love for her. They would say things like "I wish my husband looked at me the way your husband looks at you." She would just roll her eyes and change the subject, always blinded by the truth that was right in front of her. These insecurities that she carried blinded her so much that after 23 years of marriage with my father, she blew up the most mundane problems in their relationship, was unfaithful to him, and then left him to rot in a big house where his daughter wasn't present because she was away at college, and his son was always out, distracting himself with drugs and girls to try to forget how his mother neglected him. My mother was so possessive that she cut off all of my father's friends, so he didn't even have anyone to turn to. Not  being able to be alone, he instantly found another woman to fill the void, and married her. My mother collapsed and admitted to me she had made a big mistake and was in an emotional wreck even with her Sancho. I left college to move down to Gilroy with her and her Sancho. Sancho kicked me out, and she said nothing. Now I live on my own and still have lunch with her every Tuesday. Forgiveness is the key to life, right?