I believe Sonny’s decision to help his Nica escape the confinement of her cell in apartment #4 was truly a selfless act. The first time I read through the ending of the book, I felt angry with Dagoberto Gilb for not ending The Flowers the way I would of liked. I couldn’t believe that Sonny had let Nica go to Mexico all by herself and didn’t want to accompany her on the trip. My feelings of betrayal soon subsided, and I was able to consider whether or not his decision had been warranted. I came to the conclusion that it indeed was, and felt like it was a selfless act of love and the perfect ending to the novel. If Sonny had boarded on the noisy bus with Nica, and ridden off into the sunset, it would have been too cheesy and not selfless. Sonny’s character has grown throughout the course of the novel, and has lived up to my expectations of how a young gentleman should be. I have decided to use the reader's response theory in my response to the novel.
Sonny’s intentions of helping Nica had solely been to help her escape whatever Margarito was going to do to her. The thought of leaving with her hadn’t even gone into his mind. As Sonny explains to Nica what she has to do she asks if he is going with her and sonny replies, “Me? With you?”(247) This is the first time that Sonny thinks about leaving, and I believe shows that Sonny hadn’t been thinking of himself until this point. Sonny’s mind had been too occupied before with the struggle he went through to get the money and get Nica to the bus terminal. Sonny kisses Nica for the first time while helping her escape, which is something he’d longed to do ever since he’d first set his eyes on her. “She wanted me to touch her everywhere and in every way. I didn’t want her like that, as much as I did.” (249) Sonny didn’t let his emotions get the better of him, and decided to make their goodbyes as quick and painless as possible. Sonny’s maturity in this last scene is commendable.
Sonny decides to take all of the money he’s been saving up and give it to Nina. He didn’t have to do this. He could of just driven her to the bus terminal, and paid for her ticket home. This is a selfless act, and shows maturity. All throughout the novel money has been a recurring influence. Sonny spends a lot of his time stealing, and figuring out how he is going to accumulate more money, and even stresses when he begins to run low. It’s noble of him to give this girl his savings, and not ask for anything in return.
For Sonny’s act to be a selfless one, he was required to stay behind and face the wake of his actions. By taking off to Mexico Sonny would have been escaping the reaction of Cloyd upon the moment he realizes his money is gone. This would have been an escape route for Sonny. He would no longer have to tiptoe around Cloyd. However I believe it would of put Silvia in a horrible position. She would have had to deal with Cloyd all by herself, instead Sonny has decided to stay back and man up. In escaping, he would have been the only person who’d benefit, thus creating a selfless act. Him leaving would have been bad news for the rest of the tenants in Los Flores as well. Sonny is a sort of buffer between Cloyd and the rest of the tenants. Without the presence of Sonny the rest of the tenants have to deal with Cloyd directly, which I could imagine would be a very bad situation after the chaos of the riots had subsided. Who knows, maybe Sonny will eventually be able to get along with Cloyd. I believe their relationship has made some progress towards the end of the book.
All things considered, it would have been a cheesy ending if he just boarded the bus and left the United States, for good old Mexico. I thought it was ironic that Nica was trying to escape from the United States and seek a better life in Mexico, or any other part of the world; which is sort of the contrary to what most of us Americans are raised to believe. I can relate with Nica, when it comes to the need for freedom and the hopes of a better life. It’s like they say, “The grass is always greener on the other side.”
You make some interesting points here, Kevin. For example, you point out how money is a big deal to Sonny and so this makes his action at the end even more poignant. I want you to develop the money section more because it is so important to your paper. In fact, I think the reason your controlling idea is incomplete, is because you are not sure what the controlling idea of the paper is exactly. I like how you are focused on the end of the novel as an example of Sonny's change and I think your point about the Irony regarding Nica's decision is equally powerful, but how do you connect these ideas in a more organized, academic essay type way? This is the challenge. Staying focused on this decision at the end of the book is a fine way of maintaining coherence in your analysis. And if you decide to do this, then all you need to do is to better develop the parts you already have: 1) Sonny's relationship to money (but make sure this stays connected to your topic) 2)The fact that Sonny isn't even thinking about himself at the end (what a great point and great evidence) and 3)the cultural connection that both of these characters have with Mexico. You might want to read the interview with Dagoberto Gilb on the Short Stories page to give you some insight into what it feels like to be Mexican-American with no real ties to Mexico, which is so unlike Nica's character. We discussed Pocho in class and this aspect of your essay would be a great place to discuss the relevance of this term.
ReplyDeleteGreat start here, but keep writing!
I have decided to use the reader's response theory in my response to the novel [to explain] how...
a selfless [should be selfish] act. (paragraph 4)