Transitions

Addition: again, also, and , and then, besides, equally important, finally, first, further, furthermore, in addition, in the first place, last, moreover, next, second, still, too.
Comparison: also, in the same way, likewise, simalarily
Concession: granted, naturally, of course
Contrast:  although, and yet, at the same time, but at the same time, despite that, even so, even though, for all that, however, in contrast, in spite of, instead, nevertheless, notwithstanding, on the contrary, on the other hand, otherwise, regardless, still, though, yet.
Emphasis:  certainly, indeed, in fact, of course.
Example or illustration: after all, as an illustration, even, for example, for instance, in conclusion, indeed, in fact, in other words, in short, it is true, of course, namely, specifically, that is, to illustrate, thus, truly.
Summary: all in all, altogether, as has been said, finally, in brief, in conclusion, in other words, in particular, in short, in simpler terms, in summary, on the whole, that is, theresore, to put it differently, to summarize.
Time sequence: after a while, afterward, again, also, and then, as long as, at last, at length, at the time, before, besides, earlier, eventually, finally, formerly, further, futhermore, in addition, in the first place, in the past, last, lately, meanwhile, moreover, next, now, presently, second, shortly, simultaneously, since, so far, soon, still, subsequently, then, thereafter, too, until, until now, when.
Combining: for instance

Rough Draft

It's not finished but this is what I have so far...

In the novel Los Flores by Dagoberto Gilb, we are introduced to one main female character named Silvia. Silvia is portrayed as your typical housewife. Her roles in the home are mainly to cook, clean, and watch after her son, Sonny. This “stay at home” housewife is what is expected from Silvia, while her husband Cloyd is gone all day at work making money. Silvia is made out to look like one of the weaker characters in the novel who has to depend on her husband for everything. Silvia is anything but independent, at least that is how we perceive her. She isn’t as helpless as everyone seems to think. Silvia is good at using what she’s got, such as, her looks and sex appeal to get exactly what she wants, even if it means living in the shadow of her husband. Silvia is far from perfect but does her best to survive in a man’s world. This paper will follow the feminist critical theory.

Silvia plays a significant role in Sonny’s life. She is Sonny’s mother and the first woman he will ever love. Silvia and Sonny’s relationship is crucial, yet it turns out to be a weak and dysfunctional relationship. She is very distant from Sonny. At the beginning of the novel, it seems as if she pays no attention to Sonny. Silvia comes off as self-centered and cares for nothing but herself and her well-being. Sonny talks about her saying she is never home, always going out with her friends and when she is home it’s only for a short time. Sonny said “It was that my mom, if she wasn’t at her job, was out on dates and whatever. And sometimes she’d get in so late I wouldn’t be awake. That was better for me than when she was home, because when she was home, though I lived there and slept there, it was better to be inside a neighbor’s house than pissing her off” (5). When Sonny talks about Silvia it seems that she takes no interest in her son’s life. Silvia is too caught up in her own world, whether it is because of dating or her job. When Silvia brings Cloyd home to meet Sonny for the first time, Cloyd starts asking Sonny questions about himself and his interests. Silvia joins in on the conversation and says “’Maybe he likes baseball… Don’t you mijo?’ She had no idea. We never talked nothing about me” (12). This quote goes to show how disconnected Silvia is from Sonny, and it’s obvious knowing that Silvia is not around to take care of Sonny. By being absent she fails to do her motherly tasks of nuturing him, giving him advice, and teaching him right from wrong.

Silvia isn’t your average mother figure. Sonny describes his mother to be somewhat of a sexual object, “I was always seeing how men looked at her… How pretty she was in the way men are flipping through pages of dirty magazines” (10). It is obvious that Silvia is desirable to men, for example, Cloyd. When Silvia sits next to Cloyd he can’t help but to admire her, “He looked up at her like he was the luckiest man because her warm body was next to him, thank you, thank you Lord. She made her eyes go like she’s so flattered, and you’re welcome” (13). Through out the novel people such as, Bud and his wife show some sort of admiration for Silvia. They both speak about how beautiful and good looking she is. No matter how distant Silvia and Sonny were, it was easy to see that Sonny loved his mother very much and thought very highly of her. Even Sonny took notice of how his mother always kept herself up and looking good no matter the occasion when he says, “It seemed to me she was wearing another new dress, and she was smelling washed and bath-oiled and lotioned and misted, and the high heels were glossier and redder than her lipstick" (76). Once Cloyd and Silvia got married, it seemed as if Silvia tried to make a change in her relationship with Sonny. Now that she’s married she doesn’t have to worry about bringing in any income, having a job, and she’s not going out as much as she used to. She definitely has more free time on her hands. It seems as if she wants a relationship with Sonny now that she is married. She makes more of an effort to communicate with Sonny and she’s always asking him “what’s wrong?” yet she still fails to spend much time, if any at all, with him.

Silvia doesn’t seem to be the most sincere person. What were her reasons for marrying Cloyd? Was she really in love or did she do it for financial stability? It’s obvious she is not happy with her situation, but as long as Cloyd continues to support and provide for her and Sonny, she doesn’t mind putting up with this man she married. It’s as if Silvia and Sonny are always walking on egg shells around Cloyd. She does her best to make sure nothing is said or done to make him angry. Silvia is always trying to convince herself, as well as Sonny, that it’s good they’re living with Cloyd now. Silvia’s heart isn’t in the marriage. She is always questioning herself as well as reassuring herself that she made the right decision moving into Cloyd’s apartment.

Idea Paper

I think I will write my paper on the female characters in the novel such as Silvia, Cindy, and Nica. I will use the feminist critical theory. I will write about their roles in society and how they are viewed or judged by others.

Significance of the car salesman

Pink the car salesman’s name. He lives in apartment number six. I’m not exactly sure what his significance in the story is, but I predict that he will have an impact on Sonny’s life. Through out the story, ever since we were introduced to Pink, he has had a connection or taken a liking to Sonny. Whether Pink is a sincere character or not, we may soon find out. At first it seems as if Sonny isn’t sure how to feel about Pink, but he soon takes a liking towards him once they go on a joy ride together in the Bel-Air to get beer. I think Pink maybe a little conniving and sneaky. The main reason Pink even speaks to Sonny is so he can have Sonny listen in on Cloyd and Bud’s conversations. Pink wants Sonny to be a fly on the wall and bring back everything that is said about Pink. I predict that later in the story a fight or some kind of drama concerning Pink, Cloyd, and Sonny will occur. The reason Cloyd doesn’t like Pink is because Pink is always bringing African-Americans around Los Flores. Cloyd is racist and doesn’t want African-Americans anywhere near the apartments. Cloyd isn’t sure why Pink hangs around or converses with African-Americans so much but he doesn’t like it one bit. Later in the story we find out Pink is an albino, so this may stir things up a bit.

Metacognitive Reflection

While reading Los Flores, there were a few times where I would get a little confused how Sonny’s story would jump from one scenario to another so abruptly. At first it was hard to get used to the story jumping around so much but soon enough I grew accustomed to it. Every once in awhile it’s hard for me to get started reading, because I get distracted or side tracked doing other things, so I will put reading on the back burner and “do it later.” I’ve learned that I have to just force myself to stop wasting my time watching TV, being on the computer, or whatever it is that I’m doing and just sit down and read. I know when I’m reading  it’s very easy for me to get side tracked but I’ve definitely gotten better at making time during the day to just sit and read, this way  I don’t fall behind on my reading. The reading we do in this class definitely isn’t unbearable or too much. I feel it’s just the right amount of reading and it’s never overwhelming. When I first started reading the novel I wasn’t sure what to expect from the story but as I kept reading, Sonny’s story caught my attention and I’ve enjoyed reading the story.

Character Description

Silvia is one of the main female characters in this novel. At the beginning of the novel, it seems as if she pays no attention to her son Sonny. Silvia comes off as self-centered and cares for nothing but herself and her well-being. Sonny talks about her saying she is never home, always going out with her friends and when she is home it’s only for a short time. Sonny said “It was that my mom, if she wasn’t at her job, was out on dates and whatever. And sometimes she’d get in so late I wouldn’t be awake. That was better for me than when she was home, because when she was home, though I lived there and slept there, it was better to be inside a neighbor’s house than pissing her off” (pg. 5). By the way Sonny talks about Silvia it seems that she takes no interest in her son’s life. Silvia is too caught up in her own world, whether it is because of dating or her job. When Silvia brings Cloyd home to meet Sonny for the first time Cloyd starts asking Sonny questions about himself and his interests. Silvia joins in on the conversation and says '“Maybe he likes baseball… Don’t you mijo?” She had no idea. We never talked nothing about me’ (pg. 12). This quote goes to show how disconnected Silvia is from Sonny. Its obvious Silvia isn’t around to take care of Sonny, nurture him, give him advice, and teach him right from wrong. Silvia isn’t your average mother figure. Sonny describes his mother to be somewhat of a sexual object, “I was always seeing how men looked at her… How pretty she was in the way men are flipping through pages of dirty magazines” (pg. 10). It is obvious that Silvia is desirable to men, for example, Cloyd. When Silvia sits next to Cloyd he can’t help but to admire her, “He looked up at her like he was the luckiest man because her warm body was next to him, thank you, thank you Lord. She made her eyes go like she’s so flattered, and you’re welcome” (pg. 13). Through out the novel people such as, Bud and his wife show some sort of admiration for Silvia. They both speak about how beautiful and good looking she is. Once Cloyd and Silvia got married, it seemed as if Silvia tried to make a change in her relationship with Sonny. Now that she’s married she doesn’t have to worry about bringing in any income, having a job, and she’s not going out as much as she used to. She definitely has more free time on her hands. It seems as if she wants a relationship with Sonny now that she is married. She makes more of an effort to communicate with Sonny and she’s always asking him “what’s wrong?” yet she still fails to spend much time, if any at all, with him. Silvia doesn’t seem to be the most sincere person. What were her reasons for marrying Cloyd? Was she really in love or did she do it for financial stability? Nowhere in the book does it say why she got married to Cloyd, but it’s obvious she is not happy with her situation. Silvia and Sonny are always walking on egg shells around Cloyd. She does her best to make sure nothing is said or done to make him angry. Silvia is always trying to convince herself, as well as Sonny, that it’s good they’re living with Cloyd now. Silvia’s heart isn’t in the marriage. She is always questioning herself as well as reassuring herself that she made the right decision moving into Cloyd’s apartment.