Character Description

The Character Sylvia, Sonny's mother, has seem to taken a different direction then when she was first introduced. When she was not married to Cloyed, she had this sort of teenage popular party girl. The reason the emphases on the word girl is because, it seemed like she had not grown up fully yet. Sylvia wouldn't do things that most mothers would do for their sons and daughters.She would argue and fight with her daughter Ceci. Almost as if it was like they were not even mom and daughter but as if they were rivaling sisters.

"My mom used to fight loud with my sister. She would get so she'd go after Ceci with belts or wooden hangers or what ever was near. One time it was a soda bottle."(5)

Sylvia would then not know what to do with this anger she had with her daughter. So she turned to the next of kin, Sonny, probably didn't help that he was the only male in the house as well. She would yell at him for what would seem to be the stupidest things. For example the bananas,

 "I was eating banana after banana during the fight and my mom turned on me for one second too- maybe why i was eating all the bananas right after she had bought them."(5)

When Ceci finally got old enough, she moved away from the house. It was just Sonny and Sylvia. She would still go out and get drunk with her friends and then buy a whole new look. This was happening on a regular basis, why was she doing this though? I think she was always trying to use her looks, and the clothes she wore to pick up a mate. That way she could fill the void she had in her life as a single mother, and with one bird away from the nest.

Since she is "stuck" in this immaturity she gets married, quick, as a way to sort of grow up. She is married to this man named Cloyd who seemed to "come out of left field". Sylvia practically bends over backward and back up to please this guy. She starts to send Sonny out of the house to get rid of him for a while so she can look like a better wife.

"And I want you to do something else for me." She reached into her purse and handed me a five. "Maybe just go get yourself dinner tonight. He'll be going out."...."It'll take more then this to shut me up."(80)

Sylvia then starts to lead this fake perfect housewife life. She makes Cloyd all of these Mexican dishes and then tells him that she made it from scratch. When really she is hiding cans of store bought salsa in the trash. Then trying to get Sonny to play along with this little game that she is attempting to have to make as a normal day life forever.

Sylvia soon starts to get thoughts that maybe she rushed into this, or that she made a mistake.

(Sylvia talking to Sonny about Cloyd)
 "Do you know that he cares about the toilet paper?"
"What"?
"He cares about how much toilet paper. How much is used." (50)

Sylvia is thinking wow this guy is a nut, why did i get my self into this. But she seems to think that maybe she is just over reacting to things and eats it up. Until Cloyd starts to use racial profiling with Sylvia saying how she is is Mexican girl, and singling them out if only to use them as a compliment. I feel like Sylvia then starts to wise up, she begins to mature right in the book.