Every human being born in this world must travel through life, learning as they go along, striving toward a well-formed adulthood. We all know what we want to be when we grow up, who our friends should be, where we want to live. Some do well at reaching their goals, while there are many whose dreams are shut down by losing their innocence early in life. The world can seem bright and welcoming, but it is all too easy for our youth to become distracted from their future by a number of life-shattering factors. These factors can range from losing a beloved pet, to witnessing a violent crime, and although they do not always occur at the fault of the beholder, these events can take hold of a child’s life and drag it in a steady downward spiral. Such is the case for Sonny in the novel The Flowers, by Dagoberto Gilb. From the minute the reader opens the book, Sonny never seems to have a fighting chance at life. As a kid, he is left at home while his mother dressed provocatively and went out to meet men. He is attacked by one of his mother’s suitors, arrested on the street and sent to Juvenile Court, and made to live with a gun toting racist. Sonny certainly suffers many events that all contribute to his loss of innocence, and this is due to the careless people around him and his dismal surroundings.
When the story begins, Sonny is telling the story of his own life. He tells us in the first few pages about his little habit of breaking and entering. He talks about how he used to climb into empty houses through a window, relax on their couch and look at their family photos. He mentions that he likes to take a couple of dollars if he sees any lying around. Although Sonny isn’t stealing anything expensive or vandalizing the property, what he’s doing is obviously abnormal. Most children at that age wouldn’t ever consider breaking into a house, empty or not. Sonny does this because he is left alone so often, and wants to know what it feels like to be a part of a regular family. It’s apparent that his mother either doesn’t know about his unusual habit or doesn’t care. Either way, no one helps Sonny to understand that he doesn’t need to break into houses to feel safe and happy.
The next life-altering incident for Sonny is when the raging drunk man comes banging on the door. Sonny is home alone with his dog, Goofy, when a man shows up demanding to see his mother. Sonny’s mother isn’t home and tells this to the enraged man. The man doesn’t believe Sonny and proceeds to beating the door down. Sonny panics and frantically runs into the kitchen to grab a butcher knife. The man barges in, and lunges at Sonny with the intent of snatching the knife. The blade slices Sonny in the stomach and the man runs off in fear of legal consequences. “I didn’t say nothing. I stepped back once more, keeping the same distance between us. He stepped toward me again and I backed up once more, thinking where a knife should go…” (8) Sonny is a kid, he doesn’t understand how to fight off a full-grown man. This certainly contributes to Sonny’s loss of innocence; fighting off a man twice his size for fear of his life. This wouldn’t have happened if not for Sonny’s mother dealing with such individuals when she goes “out.” She exposed her son to this horrible man; it’s her fault Sonny was forced into making a decision no boy his age should ever have to make.
Not long into the book, Sonny’s mother marries Cloyd Longpre, a large, redneck hunter. From the start, Sonny neither likes nor trusts Cloyd. As soon as they move, Cloyd forces Sonny to give up his dog, Goofy. This is a very significant part in the novel, as it symbolizes Sonny having his comfort and safety ripped away from him. After this, Sonny loses what little connection he felt to his family. Out of all the events that happen to Sonny, this may be the one that changes him the most.
During his stay in the apartment complex, Los Flores, Sonny meets many other colorful characters in the book. One in particular is a promiscuous young stay-at-home wife named Cindy. Cindy takes a liking to Sonny right away, and it’s almost too obvious what’s going to happen. Cindy lures Sonny into her apartment and offers him drugs and alcohol, which he accepts. She has sex with him, despite her status as a married woman. Sonny leaves quickly afterwards, but returns reluctantly on numerous occasions, no matter how wrong he thinks it feels. Losing one’s innocence is very commonly categorized as losing one’s virginity. This example is very blunt in this way, but effective just the same. Sonny once again finds himself growing up too fast.
Because Sonny walks the streets often, he is bound to come across some questionable people. One in particular is a suspicious looking older man who tends to cruise slowly down the road, following Sonny. Sonny deals with him on a number of occasions, eventually picking up an immense rock and hurling it at the man’s windshield. The man backs off for a while, and Sonny finds the man’s car, parked in a lot. Sonny sneaks out at night and comes very close to wrecking the car further, then decides he doesn’t want to let go of his rock. His rock is a replacement of Goofy, it is Sonny’s provider of safety and comfort. Towards the end of the book, however, the “sickie dude” finds Sonny at the railroad tracks. Sonny is out clearing his head before helping Nina escape to Mexico. The man rolls down the window to speak to Sonny, and after a bit of tense conversation, Sonny chucks the rock straight into the man’s head. Sonny narrates about the explosion of red and the car crashing into another. Sonny has been shown violence most of his life, and so, he reacted in such a way. Sonny kills a man, and loses that last shred of innocence.
The world in which Sonny lives is wrought with violence, hate, and racism. Living there exposed him to all of these things, at such an impressionable age. His mother doesn’t help the situation, in that she never explains adult concepts to Sonny or comforts him when he needs it. From the beginning, Sonny is maturing too quickly. Sonny’s childhood innocence is swallowed up, and there is nothing he can do to get it back.
