Glass Menagerie Script

KC Larson

Andrew Mack

Faith Lucero

Pedro Ulloa

Glass Menagerie Script

[The scene begins with Amanda and Tom arguing]

Tom: What in Christ’s name am I?

Amanda: Don’t be using that tone of voice in my house. Have you lost your mind?

Tom: I have.

Amanda: What is the matter with you, you big, big idiot!

Tom: You’ve taken everything from me and now I’m left with nothing.

Amanda: Calm down! Stop yelling!

Tom: You took my books! They meant the world to me!

Amanda: Yes I returned that book back to the library.

[Tom laugh wildly]

                I cannot control those diseased minds who create such books.

[Tom laugh more wildly]

             I will not continue to allow these kinds of books to stay in my home! Not a chance!

Tom: Your house? Who pays rent here? And breaks his back doing so?

Amanda: Stop it with all of your nonsense!

Tom: I guess I must not say anything mother. Besides your always right, so I should not ever question you.

Amanda: Hear me out!

Tom: I’ve hears enough!

Amanda: I demand you to hear what I have to say!

Tom: I’m out of here

Amanda: Come back here damnit! I’m not finished talking to you!

Tom: But I am. [Tom looks away]

Amanda: Listen up and listen good Tom. I’m losing my patience!

[Tom comes back toward Amanda]

Tom: Where do you think I’m at? Aren’t I supposed to have patience to reach the end of mother? 

            I know what I’m doing is unimportant to you.

Amanda: I think you are ashamed of yourself. That’s why you are making such a fool of yourself. I also don’t believe that you are going to the movies all the times you say you are. No one goes to the midnight shows that get out at two in the morning. And they sure do not go to sleep for three hours and then expect to go to work the next day. You have no business showing up to work in that kind of shape!

Tom: No I don’t show up in the best of shape.

Amanda: What the heck are you thinking trying to jeopardize your job like that?

Tom: Look do you think I want to work at the warehouse? Do you think I’m in love with the Continental shoemakers? You think I want to spend fifty-five years down there in that celotex interior! I’d rather get wacked in the head with a crowbar than to get up every morning to your rise and shine rise and shine bull crap for job that pays me sixty-five dollars a month.

[Tom walks past Amanda and she grabs his arm]

      Don’t touch me mother!

Amanda: Where are you going?

Tom: To the movies.

Amanda: I don’t believe you.

Tom: Ok I’m going to Opium dens! I’ve joined the Hogan Gang as a hired assassin who carries a tommy gun in a violin case. They call me killer, killer Wingfield. I’m living a double life. One as a simple warehouse worker and the other as a dynamic czar of the underworld. I go to gambling casinos and wear a fake mustache and a patch over my eye. There they call me El Diablo. My enemies plan to blow this house up. I’ll be glad and so will you. You’ll fly on a broomstick, over Blue Mountain with Seventeen gentleman callers! You ugly-babbling old-witch!

Amanda: I’m not speaking to you until you apologize!

Glass Menagerie

            The Glass Menagerie was an interesting play with interesting characters. Throughout the play I found the most unique character to be Laura, who was very shy and the sister of Tom.  In scene six when her brother Tom brings home a friend named Jim,  Laura’s mother Amanda asks her to get the door for her, but she did not want to at first because she was nervous. As Tom and Jim were at the door in the pouring rain Amanda asked Laura, “Will You let them in, darling?” (56).

            Laura responds, “Mother- you go to the door! Please, Please! (56)

            Amanda yells, “What is the matter with you silly thing?” (57)

I found it kind of funny as to why Laura was acting this way and being afraid to let her brother and some man into their home. In a way I can relate to her though because I get nervous sometimes when I have company over that I have not seen in a long time or am meeting for the first time. As soon as I hear that door bell ring my heart beats and the tension builds up as I approach them and answer the door.  In Laura’s case I think that she is either very shy or not very social or she likes this man that is with her brother. Whatever the reasons were I found Laura’s behaviors and excuses given to her mother about not opening the door for him was a bit strange. I mean it was pouring rain and they must have been freezing standing outside waiting for her to let them in.

            I was surprised in scene five when Jim convinced Laura to dance with her when she at first was hesitant because she was not confident that she could dance. I was also a little shocked that they were dancing because they barley met and Laura is a shy girl. However, I was impressed that Jim knew so much about dancing. He would tell her, “Let yourself go, now, Laura, just let yourself go…. Loosen th’ backbone! There now, that’s a lot better” (85). Jim showed that he was a trustworthy and gentle guy and I thought that was nice of him to show her how to dance.  There are not many guys that are that sweet and spend the kind of time that he did working with someone and teaching them how to dance for free. Most would charge for lessons.

            After they danced I found it funny that they crashed into the table that had a glass unicorn. It seems like whenever people start having a lot of fun things can get out of hand or something shocking could happen. In their case it was dancing until they crashed into the table with the glass unicorn on it.

Annotated Bibliography

Annotated Bibliography

Bell, Millicient. Hawthorne’s View of the Artist. New York: State U of New York P. 1962.

The Obliquity of Signs: The Scarlet Letter

            Bell focuses on the symbolism of the Scarlet Letter A and what it really means. The letter A is considered a badge, a sign, and emblem. He also explains how the letter A changes its meaning throughout the novel. At times it is positively represented and other times it is negatively.

Colacurcio, Michael J. “Footsteps of Ann Hutchinson: The Context of The Scarlet Letter.” ELH         

39. 1972. Print. 459-94.  

Footsteps of Ann Hutchinson: The Context of the Scarlet Letter

This literary criticism describes and compares the famous Ann Hutchinson to Hester Prynne. They both lived in a Puritan and male-dominating society where their crimes that they committed resulted in harsh punishments and for the most part were ridiculous. Both of them also caused crimes that involved a pastor. They both reflected the idea of antinomianism and were considered “the woman”.

“The narrator seems convinced that Hester has indeed sinned deeply, and in the most sacred quality of known life (42).

Newberry, Frederick. Hawthorne’s Divided Loyalties: England and America in His Works.     

Rutherford, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson UP, 1987.

A Red-Hot A and a Lusting Divine: Sources for The Scarlet Letter

Frederick Newberry criticizes Hester Prynne’s adulterous act and goes into detail of the consequences that she faces for doing so. He explains the law in 1694, which stated that women who committed adultery had to wear a letter A stitched on to their clothes. He also compares Hester Prynne to Marry Batchellor’s case who also committed adultery.

Rough Draft

The Scarlet Letter A

            In the novel the Scarlet Letter the author Nathanial Hawthorn used many symbols. The most important symbol the letter A was the most significant given that that is the title of the book. According to the townspeople or puritans that lived in Salem, Massachusetts the Scarlet Letter was viewed as a bad thing. They originally used the A to stand for adulterer, which was someone committing adultery. This was considered one of the worst sins that could be made as a citizen. Anyone who committed this sin and was forced to wear this letter A over their chest was intended to be punished and feel ashamed for what they had done. It was also used as a physical reminder of her sin and affair and used to penance or remind her of this terrible act. However, Hester Prynne who was a women who committed adultery and was forced to wear this letter viewed it a completely different way. She was proud of wearing the letter A on her breast. Throughout the novel the symbolism for the letter A changed. It was first thought to stand for adultery, able, angel, antinomian, and Arthur. Not only did the Scarlet Letter change and impact Hester’s life, it also did so for Dimmesdale, Pearl, and the townspeople.

            In the beginning of the novel, the townspeople were upset with Hester for committing the crime that she did. It was completely against the Puritan’s culture and beliefs. When Hester walked out onto the stage in front of the townspeople wearing a gown with the A for the first time some citizens voiced out their opinions and said, “This women has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die. Is there no law for it? Truly there is, both in scripture and the statue-book” (Hawthorne, 39). The townspeople are so mad at Hester that they want her dead. According to the bible and the seventh commandment, we are forbidden to commit adultery and if we do it is a sin. Since adultery is one of the worst things that someone can do at least in the puritan’s eye, deserve to die and go to hell. As Hester continues to wear the letter A she reflects on it and says, “It had the effect of a spell, taking her out of the ordinary relations with humanity, and enclosing her in a sphere by herself” (Hawthorne 41). She is taking pride in being an adulterous by wearing the letter A that is embedded on her breast. Hester begins to learn how to accept her crime, but does not take it as a bad thing.

            Hester Prynne changes as she serves her punishment. Colacurio explains, “Hester Prynne moves in this direction as a result of her punishment. And most significantly if most problematically both make positive pronouncements about the implacability of what the majority of their contemporaries take to be inviolable moral law” (Colacurio, 306). Overall, Hester is becoming a better person and proving to everyone that she is not as bad as everyone claims her to be. Even though Hester was supposed to wear the letter A on her chest was meant to be a punishment, Hester viewed it as a good, positive aspect. Hester believed, “It might have been a mode of expressing, and therefore soothing, the passion of her life. Like all other joys, she rejected it as sin” (Hawthorne, 58). Hester was proud to wear this letter. She is able to express what she did and rebel against the Puritan way of life. This rebelliousness was also known as being an antinomian during this time period. Instead of being a good Christian and having children with her husband, she chooses to go off and have a child out of wedlock with another man. It seems like Hester enjoys being an outcast and thinks that it is good to be different from everyone else.

            The Scarlet Letter has had an enormous impact on Reverend Dimmesdale. Although he was not punished for the affair that he had with Hester, he still felt guilty and wanted everyone to know, but could not say so himself. He tries to convince Hester to tell the townspeople by saying,

I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow-sinner and fellow sufferer! Be not silent        from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me, Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life what can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him-yea, compel him, as it were-to add hypocrisy to sin? Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee, and the sorrow without. Take heed how thou deniest  to him-who, perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for himself-the bitter, but wholesome, cup that is now presented to thy lips (Hawthorn, 49)

Dimmesdale is a coward for not telling the townspeople himself. In addition, this lie he is holding in is killing him and is making himself suffer. He got crazy and tortured himself by carving the letter A into his chest. Later on this caused him health problems and chest pains. He would constantly put his hand over his heart like he was in a lot of pain. The Scarlet letter A has displayed a powerful symbol not only to Hester, but now Dimmesdale as well.

            Pearl became another character that was affected by the symbolism of the letter A. She felt curious as to why her mother wore this A. Pearl always looked up to her mom and wanted to be just like her when she grew up. One day when Pearl was outside playing she spread some eel grass all over her chest. She formed it into the letter A like the one on her mother’s chest. After she did this she commented, “I wander if mother will ask what it means?” (Hawthorne, 115). Even though Pearl is only a young girl and does not necessarily have the complete understanding of the significance of the letter, she is still encouraged to find out what it means. The symbolism of the letter A is so strong that it has drawn attention to a three-year-old like Pearl.

            Later on in the novel, another meaning began to represent the Scarlet Letter A. Hester’s ex husband Roger Chillingsworth stated, “The letter A, which we interpret to stand for Angel. For, as our good governor Winthrop was made an angel this past night, it was doubtless held fit that there should be some notice thereof!” (Hawthorne, 104). It seems like the Scarlet Letter A can mean anything depending who the person is and how they look at it. It could mean good, bad, helpful, or hurtful.

            From Hester’s point of view she made the best of her situation and tried to look at the good aspects of wearing the letter. To her, “The letter was a symbol of her calling. Such helpfulness was found in her- so much power to do, and power to sympathize,-that many people refused to interpret the Scarlet A by its original signification. They said that it meant Able; so strong was Hester Prynne, with a women’s strength” (Hawthorne, 106). Hester becomes a stronger person from the letter A. She became more helpful and overall bettered herself. The townspeople also began to change the way they portrayed the Scarlet A and respected Hester more because of it. The townspeople that had forgiven Hester for her sin would say, “Do you see that women with the embroidered badge?.... It is our Hester, the town’s own Hester, who is so kind to the poor, so helpful to the sick, so comfortable to the afflicted!” (Hawthorne, 106). They really like how Hester has become such a good citizen by helping the less fortunate and those in need. They completely overlook her crime and change how they look at the symbol that they originally used her to wear as a punishment.

            Even though Hester has changed significantly after wearing the Scarlet A, she still did not learn from her mistake. By wearing the letter, she was supposed to learn that committing adultery was a bad thing. Instead of going back to her ex husband Chillingsworth, which would have been the right thing to do according to the Puritans decides to run off with Dimmesdale instead. Hawthorn explains this by saying, “Thus, we seem to see that, as regarded Hester Prynne, the whole seven years of outlaw and ignominy had been little other than a preparation for this very hour. But Arthur Dimmesdale! Were such a man once more to fall, what plea could be extenuation of his crime?” (Hawthorne, 129). Hester feels that staying with him is not such a bad thing, but the Puritans think otherwise. It is amazing how serious they took minor crimes such as adultery back then. In this day and age adultery seems to happen all the time and no one who commits it is treated nearly as bad. These crimes may be ending several marriages, but they are not physically harming people or making them feel ashamed by wearing a letter A on their chest.

            Although Hester did not learn from her sin, which was committing adultery, she still managed to influence a lot of people by them thinking differently towards her. She was able to do this by changing the meaning of the letter A. she was able to move it from Adulterer, which represented shame and sin. Then it represented angel and able by her charity work and care for other people. In addition to the symbol changing its meaning, it also changed the way certain characters thought about their lives and how they interpreted the symbol. Pearl became more curious from the letter and it made her want to be more like her mother. Dimmesdale became ashamed of himself and felt guilty for not being punished. Ironically this was how Hester was meant to feel, but instead it was Dimmesdale. He thought the best way to solve his problems was by using the A and putting it on his own chest. He did this by cutting his chest in the shape of an A causing enormous amounts of pain. As for the townspeople, they first stuck with their Puritan belief that committing adultery was a bad thing, but they realized that the good deeds that Hester has done since she started to wear the letter A. The symbol of the Scarlet Letter is very impacting and can have many different meanings depending on who we are and how we look at it.

           

Works Cited

Colacurcio, Michael J. “Footsteps of Ann Hutchinson: The Context of The Scarlet Letter.” ELH         

39. 1972. Print. 459-94.   

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. W.W. Norton and Company, Inc. New York, NY.

2005. Print.

The Scarlet Letter Symbolism, Imagery, and Allegory. The Scarlet Letter. Web. 28. April. 2011.

Annotated Bibliography

Throughout my reading experience of the Scarlet Letter I found the text to be very difficult to understand. I tried rereading the sections that I found confusing, read them slowly, highlighted, and thought about the possible meanings of them that Hawthorn was trying to get across. However, I still caught myself dosing off and losing focus of the novel several times

 In XIV. Hester and the Physician I was confused by the conversation of Hester and Roger Chillingsworth regarding Dimmesdale. Chillingsworth says, “Thou hadst great elements. Preadventure, hadst thou met earlier with a better love than mine, this evil had not been. I pity thee, for the good that has been wasted in thy nature!” (113). Hester responds by saying, “And I thee, for the hatred that has transformed a wise and just man to a fiend! Wilt thou yet purge it out of thee, and be once more human? If not for his sake, then doubly for thine own! Forgive, and leave his further retribution to the Power that claims it! I said, but now, that there could be no good event for him, or thee, or me, who are here wandering together in this gloomy maze of evil, and stumbling, at every step, over the guilt wherewith we have strewn our path” (113). It seems to me that Chillingsworth is trying to tell Hester that she has made a mistake falling in love with another man, which is Dimmesdale and that he hopes that she becomes miserable with him and goes to hell. I believe Hester is saying that Chillingsworth used to be a great husband and a great man, but has changed ever since he left her and went to Europe. Now that Hester has moved on and found Dimmesdale, she does not want Chillingsworth to cause harm to him because it would affect all three of their lives. I thought that this was a weird conversation for both Hester and Chillingsworth to have in the first place. I also cannot understand Chillingsworth’s character throughout this novel and why he says and does some of the things he does. I want to know why he does not want anyone to know who he is and why he does not want Dimmesdale to know who he is. Since it seems like Chillingsworth and Dimmesdale have been around eachother a lot because Chillingsworth plans on killing him because he wants to kill the father of Pearl. Why doesn’t Chillingsworth just kill him right away if he knows that he is the father of Pearl?

I could be way off on interpreting this passage because I have found it very difficult to understand. All of the fancy language has really thrown me off and caused me to lose focus and engagement in this reading. Not only is this book difficult to read it is also very boring. Unlike The Flowers by Dagoberto Gilb, The Scarlet Letter does not contain the typical modern everyday language the we are accustomed to, or the slang and bathroom humor that a lot of kids like to read.

Annotated Bibliography

            For my first difficulty paper in the Scarlet Letter, I found a few parts difficult to understand. The first was when the author Nathaniel Hawthorn praised the women Hester Prynne of being very pretty and beautiful, but then started to criticize her on her conviction of adultery. Hawthorn stated, “The young woman was tall, with a figure of perfect elegance on a large scale. She had dark and abundant hair, so glossy that it threw off the sunshine with a gleam, and a face, which besides being beautiful from regularity of feature and richness of complexion, had the impressiveness belonging to a market brow and deep black eyes. She was lady-like too, after the manner of the feminine gentility of those days; characterized by a certain state and dignity, rather than by the delicate, evanescent, and indescribable grace, which is now recognized as its indication” (40). After Hester Prynne got up in front of the crowd for the first time in her gown with the big letter A embodied on her chest I am a bit surprised that Hawthorn said all of these things about her. After rereading and highlighting the passage on this page I realized that even though she made a mistake, maybe it does not mean that she should necessarily be thought of as less as a person. I also realized that that was the first time he mentioned Hester, so he needed to introduce her. I suppose it would not be right if he just trash talked her and said she was ugly or a bad person when she might not necessarily be so.

            Another aspect of the Scarlett Letter I found difficult to understand was in the Recognition chapter. In this chapter Reverend Mr. Dimmesdale said a prayer for Hester that I found quite confusing. He prayed, “Thou hearest what this good man says, and seest the accountability under which I labor. If thou feelest it to be for thy soul’s peace, and that thy earthly punishment will thereby be made more effectual to salvation, I charge thee to speak out the name of thy fellow sinner and fellow sufferer! Be not silent from any mistaken pity and tenderness for him; for, believe me Hester, though he were to step down from a high place, and stand there beside thee, on thy pedestal of shame, yet better were it so, than to hide a guilty heart through life. What can thy silence do for him, except it tempt him- yea, compel him, as it were- to add hypocrisy to sin? Heaven hath granted thee an open ignominy, that thereby thou mayest work out an open triumph over the evil within thee, and the sorrow without. Take heed how thou deniest to him- who perchance, hath not the courage to grasp it for itself- the bitter wholesome, cup that is now presented to thy lips!” (49). It seems like the Reverend is saying a lot here in this prayer and is mainly confusing because of the tone and the style of language used. He uses words such as thee, thou, thy, thine, and shall, which is difficult for me to understand because it is not used in the everyday English language. The only time that I have seen this style of writing was when I read works by Shakespeare in high school. After reading this prayer over and over again the best conclusion that I could come up with was that the prayer says that whatever happens to Hester will happen for the right reasons. If she deserves to be punished for her crime she will and if God decides she should be forgiven then she will.

           

            Duyckinck, Evert A. “From Literary World” Nineteenth- Century Reviews of the Scarlett Letter.

            This criticism introduces Hawthorn’s Scarlett Letter as romantic novel and discusses some of his other works being from a puritan perspective and dark, evil stories like the Ministers Black Veil. His style of the Scarlett Letter is simple and flowing. It focuses on the women Hester who wears a gown with a capital letter A stitched on it standing for adultery, which she committed.

Girl Revision

In the story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, is about a girl and that follows orders from her mother. Her mother believes that by doing these things like laundry, properly dressing, being polite, sewing, ironing, cooking, practicing proper hygiene, and overall, learning how to survive, women will be successful in everyday life that is expected of them. The mother played as the narrator and gave her daughter orders, so she could prepare herself when she is a grown woman and exceed the expectations that men, especially their husband will accept. I believe that this story criticizes or informs us about the feminist population. It seems like women are being treated as inferior to men because they are basically the ones expected to do all of the work around the house and are supposed to do everything a certain way.

                Some of terms for literary analysis that I thought would be important to talk about in this story was theme tone, and verbal irony. I thought that the theme of the story was patriarchy. In patriarchy the women are inferior to men and are controlled by them. Women are basically less important and have less power than men. In this story women are basically treated like slaves. They have to do all of the cooking, cleaning, ironing, farming, maintain perfect behavior and hygiene, act differently around different people, and doing things a certain way. The author makes it clear that it is tough to be a woman. The tone of this story is control. The mother gives her daughter a long list of commands of what to do, what not to do, how to do it, and how not to do it. At the end of the story when the mother told her daughter to ask the baker to feel the bread before she bought it, there was verbal irony. It was ironic because throughout the story the mother was lecturing her and teaching her how to be a woman,  to be assertive, and responsible for all household duties and not let anyone tell you what you can and cannot do.  It was funny that after hearing everything her mother told her she still asked the baker if she could feel the bread before she bought it.

                Another literary term used was repetition. This was used when her mother constantly commanded her daughter to do things such as “this is how you sweep a corner; this is how you sweep a whole house; this is how you sweep a yard; this is how you set a table for tea; and this is how you set a table for dinner.” I feel that the repetition made the story flow quite nicely. It also allowed me to follow along and understand the personality of the author.

               

                Even though women are most likely to be miserable and hating their lives living up to these kinds of expectations, they are benefiting a lot as human beings. They are building character, learning discipline, mentally and physically becoming stronger. If they can live up to these expectations, then maybe they can eventually be treated equally as men. If they can do everything a man can, then I do not see why they should not be treated the same.

Girl Imitation

     Wake up.
      Make Your bed.
     Take a shower.
     Get dressed.
     Eat You breakfast.
    Go to School.
    Get good grades and study.
    Do your homework.
    Take out the trash.
    Pick up the dog poop.
    Clean your Room.
    Go to work
    Clean the house.
    Put away your clothes.
    Wind up the vacumn and put away.
    Empty the dishwasher.
    Eat your dinner as a family.
    Go to bed.

Girl

            In the story Girl by Jamaica Kincaid, is about a girl and that follows orders from her mother. Her mother believes that by doing these things like laundry, properly dressing, being polite, sewing, ironing, cooking, practicing proper hygiene, and overall, learning how to survive,   women will be successful in everyday life. The mother played as the narrator and gave her daughter orders, so she could prepare herself when she is a grown women and exceed the expectations that men, especially their husband will accept. I believe that this story criticizes or informs us about the feminist population. It seems like women are being treated as inferior to men because they are basically the ones expected to do all of the work around the house and are supposed to do everything a certain way.

            Growing up as a girl, I think that it would be brutal to have to learn how to farm. Farming has usually been a man’s job because of the heavy lifting and back breaking work that is usually involved. I also thought that it would have been tough for a girl who wanted to play a boy’s game such as and not be able to. When most girls are younger they like to have the freedom to do what they please and play games that interest them. Not being able to play marbles is taking away their freedom and rights to enjoy being a kid. Finally, teaching a girl how to fight and approach a bully may be beneficial, but probably not necessary. Since a man is the one usually in charge of the house, they should probably be the ones fighting and protecting their families rather than the women. I think women should not have to worry about fighting because they have enough to do as it is.

            Some of terms for literary analysis that I thought would be important to talk about in this story was theme and tone. I thought that the theme of the story was patriarchy. In patriarchy the women are inferior to men and are controlled by them. Women are basically less important and have less power than men. In this story women are basically treated like slaves. They have to do all of the cooking, cleaning, ironing, farming, maintain perfect behavior and hygiene, act differently around different people, and doing things a certain way. The author makes it clear that it is tough to be a woman. The tone of this story is control. The mother gives her daughter a long list of commands of what to do, what not to do, how to do it, and how not to do it.

            Even though women are most likely to be miserable and hating their lives living up to these kinds of expectations, they are benefiting a lot as human beings. They are building character, learning discipline, mentally and physically becoming stronger. If they can live up to these expectations, then maybe they can eventually be treated equally as men. If they can do everything a man can, then I do not see why they should not be treated the same.

Rough Draft Edit

KC Larson

English 1B

Instructor Knapp

10 March 2011

The Cloyd

In the novel The Flowers, the author Dagoberto Gilb, wrote about a Mexican-American teen named Sonny, who lives with his mother Silvia and stepfather Cloyd, a contractor and owner of The Flowers apartment complex.  After reading this novel, I found Cloyd to have many interesting characteristics and personality traits, which reflected his unusual relationship with Sonny. By using the Reader Response Theory, I analyzed and explained how Cloyd affected Sonny's life. Although Cloyd believed he helped and provided Sonny with an improved lifestyle compared to what he had growing up, Cloyd’s display of alcoholism and prejudice behaviors caused him to be very rude, selfish, and manipulative. Therefore, Cloyd became a bad influence by trying to make Sonny’s life miserable.

            In the beginning of the relationship, Cloyd was very warm to Sonny.  Sonny was pleased to have his own room in his new apartment. Cloyd was generous when he went into Sonny’s and said, ‘“I can get you a studying desk, too…. looking at an empty space.  I got the one that was in here out back in the storage unit”’ (16). Sonny believed that Cloyd is acting nice because he wanted his mother to believe they would get along.  Cloyd believed that by pretending to like Sonny and being nice to him, Silvia would be happy. I think Sonny is right about Cloyd pretending to be nice to him only to impress his mother. Now that his mother Silvia is not at home as much, Cloyd is able to take advantage of Sonny and treat him however he wants.

            Cloyd’s apartment was a lot different compared to Sonny’s and Silvia’s old one. Cloyd’s apartment represented a conservative lifestyle. Sonny learned that most American families eat dinner as a family and on a big dinner table like Cloyd has. He also became exposed to the fancy furniture in the house. When Sonny looked around Cloyd’s apartment and thought about eating dinner at the supper table, he said, “We never ate dinner at no table before, unless it was at a restaurant.  [His] mom told [him] the furniture was maple, the same wood found all around the house” (19).  After reading this, I understood where Sonny was coming from.  It seemed like Sonny was overwhelmed with his new surroundings and does not like a lot of change going on at once.  I feel the same way at times. It is hard to get comfortable around new places and surroundings.

            Throughout the novel, Cloyd stressed the importance of being a hard worker and taking responsibility for his actions. Cloyd believed that he did Sonny a favor by offering him jobs around the apartment complex. Some of the jobs included sweeping floors, washing windows, and cleaning the laundry room.  Even though Sonny did not get paid for these chores, he did not care. Cloyd explained to Sonny that his chores were required and that he needed to contribute around the house.  Sonny was in agreement, claiming, “This was to keep my end of deal. To learn responsibility…. I did not mind working. I wanted something to do” (28).  I thought that was a great attitude for Sonny to have.  If he stayed occupied working, then he would stay out of trouble. In some ways, Cloyd is teaching him discipline, however, he has high expectations of him. By doing all the chores for no pay, Sonny is building character and becoming a man.

            As Cloyd continued to mold Sonny into a man, he taught him the importance of respecting another man. Cloyd did this by showing masculinity and etiquette when he introduced Sonny to Mr. Womack. When they were about to shake hands, Cloyd stated, ‘“You shake his hand like a man…. give it a good grip!”’ (89).  Cloyd is once again teaching Sonny how to become a man and shows him how to interact with certain people like Mr. Womack. I was about Sonny’s age when I was introduced to proper handshaking. My uncle made a point to mention how important a firm handshake was to a man you meet for the first time. I do believe that is important and my father reaffirmed it when I asked him about the importance of a simple handshake. 

            Even though Cloyd believes he was the perfect father figure for Sonny, he was not.  Cloyd sets a very negative example for Sonny by constantly being drunk and yelling at him all the time. When Cloyd asked Sonny where his mother was, he said he did not know. Cloyd became frustrated and yelled, ‘“Don’t talk to me like that!.... You talk to me with respect, you understand?.... He was drunk, the red in the bulbs of his eyes at the bottom like it sank down there, or they were the roots growing off the blue above”’ (126). I believe Cloyd’s drinking problems were a  huge threat to Sonny. Some people are good at handling their liquor, but Cloyd is one who is not. He abused alcohol to the point where he became very mean and vulgar, especially towards Sonny. If I were Sonny, I would not have put up with this lifestyle. I would have run away and never looked back. If Sonny continued to live with Cloyd, he would have a better chance of getting killed or severely abused from Cloyd’s drinking behaviors. I could not trust living with a parent that had a drinking problem. I would always anticipate or expect them doing something crazy depending on how drunk they got. I could not stand to watch my back every second of every day worrying about them.

Ever since Cloyd married Silvia, he treated Sonny like a slave. He has taken advantage of him, by expecting a lot of manual labor without reward, and does not show him the respect that a step son deserves.  The one job that finally set Sonny off was when he was assigned to chop down weeds around the complex.  Sonny overheard Cloyd talking to his mother about this job. Cloyd told her, that I needed to learn responsibility and earn the right to stay here.  He continued on the subject by telling her I needed to learn to be a man (63). Sonny did everything in his power to convince his mother to make Cloyd pay him. Sonny argued, ‘“I want it, and he said he’ll pay me right? He said he would. I believed him”’ (81). In this situation the amount of money was not the issue for Sonny. It was more about getting paid period. Cloyd did not keep is end of the bargain and that was not right. People like Cloyd who do not follow through and do what they promise make me sick. Moreover, it’s ironic of Cloyd to treat Sonny this way because he was teaching him how to be a man. I’m pretty sure a man keeps his word and does not break a promise.  The only reason I thought of for why Cloyd did this was to control and take advantage of Sonny, so he could flex his power and authority.  He wanted to torture him by assigning brutal chores because he could get Sonny to do them rather than doing them himself.  He tried to convince Sonny that by struggling with chores that were hard, he was learning responsibility, how to be a man, and earning his keep.  In reality, he was just using Sonny by keeping him busy to keep him out of his way.

            Cloyd demonstrates rude and selfish behavior when Sonny overhears him on the phone.  Cloyd said, “I love to eat them tacos, and now I even got myself married to a pretty little Mexican gal” (51).  I found this to be very insulting for Cloyd to say about his wife.  This shows he does not care for her, but instead mainly cares about the food she fixes him and her charming looks. I do not believe that Cloyd married Silvia for the right reasons and that is selfish of him. I thought it was even worse when he said he liked the salsa she made, when it was from a jar.  Cloyd is either ignorant or simply disrespectful.  Either way that was not right for Cloyd to treat Sonny’s mother like that. I know I would never allow anyone to treat my mother like that.

            The most noticeable personality trait of Cloyd is that he was a racist.  When Cloyd, Silvia, Bud, and Mary were eating dinner together, Bud and Cloyd talked about black people and the the idea of them living at the apartment complex.  When Bud asked Cloyd about how it would be possible to keep them from moving in, Cloyd argued, ‘“I own this apartment building…you think I can’t let who I want live here? That I can’t figure out how to not let who I don’t want to live here?  We take care of each other by taking care of our own interests”’ (53).  Cloyd is demonstrating racism because of the way he talks about black people and believing they do not belong in his apartment complex.  He feels that all black people are bad and dangerous, so everyone at the Los Flores would be threatened. Cloyd also demonstrates racism by not doing anything when Bud shoved and verbally harassed Sonny. All he said was, ‘“I heard what happened. I heard and it wasn’t right…. shouldn’t of happened, shouldn’t of”’ (225). This being shows that Cloyd does not care about Sonny or his wife Silvia because he did not do anything to defend them. If Sonny was white, I think the situation would have been handled differently. No one gets away with hitting another man’s child. However, since Sonny is Mexican and not related to Cloyd, he does not care about him.

            Cloyd shows many interesting characteristics and personality traits and therefore, has an unusual relationship with Sonny.  Cloyd believed he gave Sonny a better life, did him favors, such as teaching him how to be a man, taught him responsibility, and how to work hard. However, Cloyd was manipulative, treated him badly, a racist, careless and not a loving step-father.  He thought he was doing a good job, but his approach made Sonny resentful.

Rough Draft

KC Larson

3/6/11

English 1B

The Cloyd

            In the novel The Flowers, by Dagoberto Gilb, writes about a Mexican-American teen.  His name is Sonny, who lives with his mother Silvia who decides to marry Cloyd Longpre, a contractor and owner of The Flowers apartment complex.  After reading this novel, I have found Cloyd to have very interesting characteristics and personality traits.  He also has an unusual relationship with Sonny.  Cloyd has provided Sonny with an improved lifestyle compared to what he had growing up with his mother in the old neighborhood.  Cloyd is an alcoholic, and displays prejudice behaviors along with rudeness, selfishness, and manipulation to Sonny, and is also a bad influence.

            In the beginning of the relationship, Cloyd was very warm to Sonny.  Sonny was pleased to have his own room in their new place.  Cloyd went into Sonny’s new room, and said, “I can get you a studying desk, too….looking at an empty space.  I got the one that was in here out back in the storage unit.” (16)  Sonny believes that Cloyd is acting nice because he wants his mother to believe they will get along.  Cloyd believes this will make her feel happier.  I think Sonny is right about Cloyd pretending to be nice to him only to impress his mother.  Now that his mother Silvia is not at home as much, Cloyd is able to take advantage of Sonny.

            Sonny has now been introduced to a conservative lifestyle.  He has learned to eat dinner as a family and has become exposed to fancy furniture made from maple.  When Sonny looked around Cloyd’s apartment and thought about eating dinner at the supper table, he said, “We never ate dinner at no table before, unless it was at a restaurant.  My mom told me the furniture was maple, the same wood found all around the house.”  (19)  While reading this, I understood where Sonny was coming from.  It seemed like Sonny is overwhelmed with his new surroundings and does not like a lot of change going on at once.  I feel the same way at times.  It is hard to get comfortable in places and in relationships that are new. 

            Cloyd has also done Sonny a favor by offering him jobs around the apartment complex that he owns.  Some of the jobs included sweeping floors, washing windows, and cleaning the laundry room.  Even though Sonny did not get paid for these chores, he did not care. Cloyd explained to Sonny that his chores were required and that he needed to contribute around the house.  Sonny was in agreement, claiming, “This was to keep my end of deal. To learn responsibility…I did not mind working. I wanted something to do.” (28)  I thought that was a great attitude for Sonny to have.  If he stayed occupied working, he will stay out of trouble. In some ways, Cloyd is teaching him discipline, however, he has high expectations of him.    By doing all the chores for no pay, Sonny is building character and becoming a man.

            Cloyd showed a sign of masculinity and etiquette when he introduced Sonny to Mr. Womack.  When they were about to shake hands, Cloyd stated, “You shake his hand like a man…give it a good grip.”  (89)  Cloyd is once again teaching Sonny how to become a man and shows him how to interact with certain people like Mr. Womack.  I was about Sonny’s age when I was introduced to proper handshaking.  My uncle made a point to mention how important a firm handshake was to a man you meet for the first time.  I do believe that is important and my father reaffirmed it when I asked him about the importance of a simple handshake. 

            Even though Cloyd believes he is the perfect father figure for Sonny, he really is not.  Cloyd sets a very negative example in his drunkenness.  When Sonny was minding his own business, reading his French homework, Cloyd came in yelling at him, “What’r you doing?  He said like I was doing something wrong…he didn’t have on the stupid grin, but the eyes were drooling the whisky.”  (?) Cloyd’s drunken behaviors are a bad influence on Sonny, as he does not respect him when he sees him behaving with drunken stupor. 

            Ever since Cloyd married Silvia, he has treated Sonny poorly. He has taken advantage of him, by expecting lots of manual labor without reward, and does not show him respect that a step son deserves.  The one job that set him off was when he was assigned to chop down weeds around the complex.  Sonny overheard Cloyd talking to his mother about this job. Cloyd told her, that I needed to learn responsibility and earn the right to stay here.  He continued on the subject by telling her I needed to learn to be a man. (63)  It seems like Cloyd is just controlling and taking advantage of Sonny by flexing his power and authority.  He wants to torture him by assigning brutal chores because he can get the boy to do it rather than doing them himself.  He tried to convince Sonny to earn his keep and turn him into a man through tough labor and responsibility.  In reality, he is just using Sonny by keeping him busy to keep him out of his way.

            Cloyd demonstrates rude and selfish behavior when Sonny overhears him on the phone.  Cloyd said, “I love to eat them tacos, and now I even got myself married to a pretty little Mexican gal.” (51)  I found this to be very insulting for Cloyd to say about his new wife.  This shows he does not care for her, but instead mainly cares about the food she fixes him and her charming looks.  I thought it was even worse when he said he liked the salsa she made, when it was from a jar.  Cloyd is either ignorant or simply disrespectful. 

            The most noticeable personality trait of Cloyd is that he is a racist.  When Cloyd, Silvia, Bud, and Mary were eating dinner together, Bud and Cloyd talked about black people, their work ethics and the fact that they lived in the apartment complex.  When Bud asked Cloyd about how it would be possible to keep them from moving in, Cloyd argued, “I own this apartment building…you think I can’t let who I want live here? That I can’t figure out how to not let who I don’t want to live here?  We take care of each other by taking care of our own interests.”  (53)  Cloyd is demonstrating racism because of the way he talks about black people and believing they do not belong in his apartment complex.  He feels that all black people are bad and dangerous, so everyone at the Los Flores would be threatened.  Another example of Cloyd demonstrating racism is when Silvia asked him why it would be such a bad thing for a black man to live at the apartment complex. He replied, “Damn it. Silvia. You know there would be hell to pay!  You know it!  What are you saying?  You see one up there?” (180)  Cloyd obviously has a serious problem with racism.  By his tone of voice, he shows that he is a coward and is afraid of black people.  I think one of the reasons that he is a racist and does not want any black people living there is because he has a bad history filled with hurtful, unforgettable memories with them.  I would not be surprised if he built up all of this hatred when he was a child.  He could have been bullied as a child, or his family could have taught him this behavior. 

            Cloyd Longpre shows many interesting characteristics and personality traits and therefore, has an unusual relationship with Sonny.  Cloyd pretends to be nice to Sonny and claims he is doing him favors such as teaching him to be a man, by teaching how to earn his keep, and work hard, however, Cloyd is manipulative, treats him badly and is not a loving step-father.  He thinks he is doing a good job, however his approach makes Sonny resentful. It is questionable as to the reason he married Silvia, I think he did it for selfish reasons instead of love.

Idea Paper

For my first paper, I want to write about Sonny’s stepfather Cloyd and share his character descriptions and personality traits. I also want to talk about his relationship with Sonny and how his life has changed since moving in with him. I plan on writing this paper using the Reader Response theory, which is reader’s experience from reading the text. Since I have become so engaged in reading this novel, I feel that I will have no problem picturing what is going on in the between Cloyd and Sonny. I get so excited when Cloyd and Sonny get into arguments, when Cloyd uses profanity to show his anger while using it, and ht this racial slurs toward no whites. I am not a racist or anything I just feel that the book is that much more interesting partly because I cannot believe how much of a bigot that Cloyd is. Besides being a racist some other personality traits about him are positive including masculinity (being tough and hunting, hanging things on the walls of his home), being a gentleman when he  tells Sonny to shake that guys hand with a firm grip, or living conservatively (eating at the fancy dinner table). However, there are also negative characteristics about Cloyd that go along with his racism. He is rude, selfish, and very controlling of Sonny. We begin to witness Cloyd’s rudeness when Sonny overhears him on the phone saying,” I love to eat them tacos, and now I even got myself married to a pretty little Mexican gal.” (51) I found this very rude and selfish for Cloyd to say about his wife Silvia. This act shows that he does not care about her and thinks that it’s ok to use her for her pretty looks and cooking. Women do not deserve to be treated this way. Ever since Cloyd has been married to Silvia, he has treated Sonny like crap. He has taken advantage of him by not paying him for all the work that he does for him. He also does not show him the respect that he deserves. I understand that Sonny didn’t mind not getting paid for the chores that he was assigned at first, but realized how much of a jerk Cloyd was when he did not pay him for one of the jobs that he said he would pay him for. Another job that Sonny got frustrated over because it was pure torture was chopping down a bunch of weeds around the complex. Sonny overheard Cloyd talking to his mother about the job and stated, “I had to learn responsibility, how I had to earn my right to stay here. That he was teaching me to be a man.” (63) It seems like Cloyd is just controlling and taking advantage of Sonny to flex his power and authority. He wants to torture him by doing brutal chores because he knows that he can get away with it and will not have to do them himself. He tries to convince Sonny that by doing these tough chores and not getting paid he is earning his keep and becoming a man. In reality, he is just using Sonny and this gives him an excuse to get rid of him for a while since Cloyd not liking him very much.

Character Description

My original character description of Cloyd was professional and masculine, but at the same time rude, selfish, racist, and controlling over Sonny. I think the only characteristic that has changed here is that no longer a professional, hard working man that is a good step-father to Sonny. At first he pretended to like him and be nice to him only to impress his mom, but now that she is not home as much he drinks more and takes his anger out on Sonny mainly because he is a racist. After reading this part of the book, I noticed that the one thing that obviously has not changed is that Cloyd is a racist. When Silvia asked him why it would be such a bad thing for a black man to live at the Los Flores apartment complex he said, ‘“Damn it, Silvia. You know there’d be hell to pay! You know it! What are you saying? You see one up there?’” (180). Cloyd obviously has a problem with black people living at his apartment complex. By his tone of voice he demonstrates that he is a coward and is scared of black people. I think one of the reasons that Cloyd is a racist and does not want any blacks living at his apartment complex because he has a bad history filled with hurtful, unforgettable memories with them. I would not be surprised that he built up hate for them when he was a child. He could have been bullied by them as a kid and got so fed up with them that he would hate them forever. I believe that this side of Cloyd hating blacks is coming out more and is becoming more clear.

Prediction

One day Sonny decided to go through his step-father Cloyd’s office to steal an envelope full of money. At first Sonny was hesitant to take the money, so he thought he might just count the envelope full of money for fun. However, he felt that he could not do that because he could not resist putting it back in the drawer. Once Sonny committed to stealing the money he said, “I went into the kitchen and grabbed a dish towel and came back and I opened the drawer like an oven and took the envelope” (158). This was very clever and bold of Sonny to do. By covering his hands with a dish towel, Sonny hides the evidence of stealing the envelope because he is not putting his fingerprints on the drawer for Cloyd to be able to do any CSI investigation on him. Now that Sonny has all of this money I think that he is going to stash some of it and use for emergencies. I think that he will use the rest by investing it by giving it to Pink to buy more used cars and sell to customers. After doing that Pink and Sonny will split the profits and leave Sonny with more money than he started out with. If I were Sonny I would keep some of it and use the rest to buy Nica food like pizza and maybe some gifts. I think that she would appreciate that.

Reader Response

After Sonny and Cindy had intercourse Sonny was put in a very uncomfortable situation. He was worried that Cindy’s husband Tino was going to come home from work and catch them in bed. As Sonny rushed to get dressed Cindy kept begging him to stay and keep her company. She said, “I don’t want to be alone,…You don’t know how much I hate being myself, I can’t.” (125) Sonny is feeling pressured to stay because Cindy is lonely, does not have any friends, and her husband is at work most of the time. I could not imagine being in Sonny’s shoes here. I do not think that I could just do it with a woman that I barely knew let alone a married woman. Just the thought of sleeping with a married woman while her husband is off to work makes me feel sick. If only Tino was there to catch them in the act would have made things interesting. When I read this part of the book I could not help but picture their intimate moment; touching, kissing, and possibly Cindy talking dirty to Sonny. This scene really shows how Cindy is a desperate, lonely, insecure, and sad young lady. She has nothing going for her in her life except for when Sonny pays her an occasional visit. I think that she wants to divorce Tino and marry and be with Sonny. It seems like she would be a lot happier.  

Car Salesman

The relationship between Pink the car salesman and Sonny plays a large role in this novel.  As Pink deals used cars, Sonny’s stepfather Cloyd gets more and more suspicious of him. Pink has a reputation for selling cars to black people, which agitates Cloyd because he is a racist. In order to keep Cloyd of his back, Pink convinces Sonny to make a deal with him and become “Partners.”  Since Sonny does not like his stepfather, he agrees to do Pink a favor when he says, “Talk to me when I need you to. Understand’?…  I got a question, you got an answer. We be partnered up, see? You inside knowing what’s going on is all. Understand?’” (139) If Sonny keeps his end of the bargain, then Pink is offering him a Bel Aire  as his first car. I think that Sonny and Pink are going to get along really well. They both do not care for Cloyd and will do whatever it takes to work as a team to keep Cloyd out of their business and lives. Their partnership will really benefit each other. When they need one another’s help they can provide it. Sonny can help Pink by listening in on Cloyd’s conversations about Pink and be able to inform him about what he is saying. Pink on the other hand is giving Sonny a car and I believe that he can protect Sonny when Cloyd continues to verbally harass Sonny when he is drunk. I think that Sonny and Pink are going to become really good friends.  

Free Writing

My Father always... has been there for me. He has also always made me happy by buying me whatever I wanted, which usually is not always a lot, and always has been someone I could talk to. He has always given me good advice throughout my life. He has helped me succeed as an individual and has been a part of my life during the good and bad times. I am so fortunate to have the father that I do.

Character Development

So far throughout the novel, The Flowers Cloyd has developed many interesting characteristics. I have noticed that he tries to act professional and masculine, but at the same time he is rude, selfish, a racist, and very controlling over Sonny. When Sonny witnessed Cloyd talking on the phone he said, “I love to eat them tacos, and now I even got myself married to a pretty little Mexican gal.” (51) I found this to be very insulting and selfish of Cloyd to say. This shows that he does not care for his wife Silvia and instead only cares about the food she makes him and her charming looks. I thought that it was even worse when he said that he liked the salsa that he thought she made, when in reality she bought from the store. When Cloyd, Silvia, Bud, and Mary are all having dinner together, Bud and Cloyd talk about black people and what they think of their work ethics and just the idea of them living at the apartment complex. When Bud asked Cloyd about how it would be possible to keep them out Cloyd argued, “I own this apartment building… You think I can’t let who I want to live here? That I can’t figure out how to not let who I don’t want to live here? We take care of each other by taking care of our own interests.” (53) Cloyd is demonstrating racism because of the way he talks about black people and believing that they don’t belong at his apartment complex. He feels that all black people are bad and dangerous, so everyone at the Los Flores would be threatened. Ever since Cloyd has been married to Silvia, he has treated Sonny like crap. He has taken advantage of him by not paying him for all the work he does and does not show him the respect that he deserves. One job that Cloyd assigned Sonny was to chop down a bunch of weeds around the complex. Sonny overheard him talking to his mom about this job and stated, “I had to learn responsibility, how I had to earn my right to stay here. That he was teaching me to be a man.” (63) It seems like Cloyd is just controlling and taking advantage of Sonny to flex his power and authority. He wants to torture him by doing brutal chores because he knows that he can get away with it and, so he will not have to do them. He tries to convince Sonny that he is earning his keep and turning him into a man through tough labor. In reality, he is just using Sonny and this gives himself a way to get rid of Sonny for a while because he obviously does not like him very much. Cloyd shows a sign of masculinity and etiquette when he introduced Sonny to Mr. Womack. When they were about to shake hands Cloyd said, “You shake his hand like a man… Give it a good grip.” (89) Cloyd is once again trying to teach Sonny how to become a man and teaches him how he should interact with certain people like Mr. Womack.

I am

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

I am

I am KC Larson and I am 20 years old and currently go to Gavilan College. My favorite sport is baseball and I enjoy hanging out with my friends and family. I am not the greatest reader and writer, but I hope to improve after taking this course. I also hope to become more engaged in popular literature.