Idea Paper: Reader Response Theory Draft on Sonny

    Throughout our lives we all experience trials and tribulations. Good and bad times shape us into the individuals we become. We all may take different paths, but we all strive towards one goal; and that is to be happy. Even in the darkest of times we find the smallest things can change a situation into an experience. In The Flowers by Dagoberto Gilb, Sonny is a young man living in a very tough neighborhood and living a tough life. Sonny has always been on his own, taking care of himself and trying to be a tough guy. Though Sonny lives in a neighborhood full of violence, racism, drugs, alcohol, and surrounded by bad influence; Sonny manages to keep out of trouble and though he struggles with right and wrong, he always manages to take the right path.

    Sonny seems very passive about his mom marrying Cloyd at first, and he never really expresses his feelings openly with his mother even though her decisions dramatically affect him.    
    “I was so mad at her for letting him get away with it. I mean, I could understand why a dog shouldn’t live inside an apartment with no yard, but couldn’t she at least fight this dude a little about it? If she didn’t care how I felt, didn’t she care any about Goof? Didn’t she miss Goofy a little? Didn’t she think I would?” (37).
    Sonny is clearly devastated that Cloyd got rid of Goofy. Goofy was the one constant thing he had in his life; the one thing that could make him happy. Sylvia; Sonny’s mother passively explains the situation to Sonny and for the first time in the novel we see Sonny open up about how he feels not only about Goofy being gone but also Cloyd and his mother. Sonny has always seem to have a passive relationship with his mother even though he feels a lot of anger and resentment towards her, he never wants to express his true feelings maybe because he doesn’t want his relationship with his mother to end up like the relationship his mother and sister have. I can understand why Sonny feels the way he feels. He tries to make his relationship simple with his mom but he finds himself constantly frustrated with her, but makes it seem so ritual. He knows that his mom is the way she is, and she is not going to change. It is a difficult situation to be in but I can relate to Sonny’s dilemma. Some parents and their rules and beliefs will never change as much as you may disagree with them. Sometimes you know the best way to avoid conflict is to just avoid the confrontation entirely. Sonny seems to keep that same idea about his mom and her decisions.

Week Four: Prediction of what Sonny will do with the money.

  What I think Sonny is going to do with the money is maybe use it to runaway from Cloyd. He knows his mom isn’t happy so he may just get fed up and let her know they can leave Cloyd and get away. Sylvia is strange though because she goes out all the time and supposedly spending all this money shopping, but we always hear her complain about Cloyd is such a tight person. So maybe Sonny will use the money to get away from both of them. Sonny is obviously a good kid, but he tends to do things on a whim, so maybe when he is finally fed up with the whole situation he will runaway himself.
    If I were in Sonny’s position, I would probably confront my mom and ask her what she does when she goes out all the time, maybe try to build a closer relationship with her and try to convince her to leave Cloyd and live on our own once again. I would use the money to help us leave Cloyd and get our own place. I really feel sorry for Sonny, because as much as he is unhappy living the way he is, he seems to have no plans of escaping and has just accepted that life was just going to be the way it is. I wouldn’t be able to live in a situation like Sonny, and I would probably do everything I could to change my situation. I just could not stand to live in such a negative environment like Sonny’s. I hate negativity, and Sonny is surrounded by not only negativity but racism, anger, abuse, and violence. It in no way is suitable for him to live and be exposed too. I guess we can look at some sort of positivity in Sonny’s situation, and though he is surrounded by all that negative energy, he is definitely going to learn and realize it is a life changing experience, and shaping the man that he will one day become. That something I would do if I were In Sonny’s position as well. Though it may not be a realization right away, Sonny will realize it sooner or later. Though his experiences and challenging childhood will hurt him in some ways, they will make him a better person in the end.