A Scene I can Relate To

A scene that I can relate to is when Sonny is with Nica, pages 57-61. In this scene, the reader can see that Sonny really likes Nica. Sonny sees that Nica doesn’t have a very happy life, and sort of makes it his mission to make her happy and show her how to have fun. The part I particularly relate to is when he is trying to get her to go out with him and have fun.

I relate to this because I am such a people pleaser. When someone is down, I want to make them happy. For example, I have a friend that lives somewhat like Nica. She has to babysit her siblings, do chores around her house, do homework, all while having a part time job.  She feels very stressed out, especially because she often has drama with her mother. She feels that her mother doesn’t appreciate all the help and they constantly fight about it. She does a lot for her mom, but her mom still doesn’t think it’s enough. It makes me very sad that her mom doesn’t appreciate all of my friend’s hard work  so I try to get her out of the house as much as possible because I don’t want her to go the wrong route. Because of the stress and drama, she has considered moving in with her boyfriend so that she can get away from her mother. As much as they fight, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I tell her that she should just stick it out until she goes to college. In the meanwhile, I tell her to look at the positive parts of her relationship with her mother. Her mom allows her to go out sometimes, so I make sure she enjoys the free time to the fullest.

In an objective perspective, this scene was written to show the concern Sonny feels for Nica’s happiness, and how much he cares for her. I feel that this scene impacts the novel by showing the growing connection between them and maybe foreshadows a future relationship against the will of Nica’s parents.

These two interpretations of the scene are similar because they are both about caring for another person’s well being. However, they are different because my personal interpretation was about caring for a friend, while the interpretation about the author’s intention was about Sonny caring about Nica as more than just a friend.