After reading the first fifty pages of the novel The Flowers, I found many interesting and difficult passages. The first one that comes to mind though was when a drunken guy stops by Sonny’s apartment and starts yelling and banging on the front door asking for his mother. When the man came by Sonny said, “I heard some man yelling at it loud and he’s beating on it, so hard that it’s shaking and rattling. I ain’t going to answer but he keeps hitting on the door so much I can’t help myself, the words pop out of me that my mom’s not here.” (6)  

I found this passage both interesting and difficult. It was interesting to see how he handled this situation for a fifteen-year-old. Since Sonny has grown up living with only his mother I cannot imagine how tough it must have been without a father figure. I was surprised that he did not run away or try to hide when he heard the man yelling and screaming at the door because I sure would have. Sonny was very brave to stand up for himself and yell back at the man and tell him that his mother was not home. I thought it was also interesting when he searched the house to find a knife for protection.  When I was his age I wish that I was able to think the way that he did. After the man broke the door down and started to attack Sonny, I thought that it was bold of Sonny to try to stab him. I believe that takes a real man to protect his house when one is in a situation like that.

Even though Sonny had a knife, his dog, and the guy being unarmed, it is still difficult for a boy that is half the size of a grown man to have a fair fight. As a result the, man was able to get the knife from Sonny and pin him to the ground causing him to suffer. He hurt Sonny and the dog and walked out the door. That is really sad for a young teenage boy to go through something like that and for something that when on with his mother. It is also pathetic for a grown man to get drunk and take his problems out on a woman’s son that he had an issue with. That is just messed up. I could not imagine what kind of pain Sonny is going through in his childhood. Growing up in a split up family and unfortunately dealing with his mother’s lack of care and protection to let some man come into their house and hurt him. I am sure that Sonny is building a lot of character and becoming a man through abuse, but that is not always the healthiest way for a teenager to grow up. He might end up with a lot of psychological or emotional problems later in life. That can sometimes be difficult to accept and cope with.