An Encounter With Mr. Josep

Sonny meets a variety of people during his daily chores, but the encounter with Mr. Josep was one of the most memorable and relatable for me.

Recap: (You can skip this if you remember the scene)

The scene starts off with Sonny sneaking toward Nica’s apartment. Sonny notices Mr. Josep, but “[he] was sitting on his chair, staring out. [Sonny] didn’t think he ever noticed [him] or anything else” (Gilb, 82). Just as Sonny finishes his mental note of Mr. Josep, he waves for him to “go up the stair and come to here” (Gilb, 83). Mr. Josep offers Sonny a chair, but he kindly says "he doesn't need one" (Gilb, 83). The conversation turns into a discussion about high school and transitions into a commentary of Nica's decision to not go to school;"She doesn't go to the school....She doesn't know any English" (Gilb, 83). Meanwhile Sonny is trying to understand Mr. Josep's point of view and his cultural background; "I was wondering what language he spoke. It didn't seem to me like his accent had anything to do with Spanish" (GIlb, 84). Just as things begin to get interesting Cindy interrupts the conversation and calls for Sonny to meet her.

Personal

But what made this scene memorable for me wasn't the conversation -- it was the nature of the encounter. I've come across a similar situation where I've been “called out” by someone who I didn't think was watching. The encounters have always been awkward, but I think that's what made Gilb's scene so memorable for me; they shared the same awkward feeling I'd been used to. In the scene Sonny tries to visualize himself in the Mr. Josep's seat. He notices all sorts of sounds which he didn't earlier; "I heard the traffic on the boulevard that I usually didn't hear... I saw the sky not like air but like gas, like clean fizz on a blank TV screen" (Gilb 83). It would seem as if the sounds from the boulevard, the motorcycles revving, and the dogs barking would be a very loud ruckus, but Sonny realizes just how quiet it is in contrast; "made me realize how quiet it was before" (Gilb, 84). What started off as an awkward event begins to interest even Sonny as he ponders other questions to ask Mr. Josep; "I was going to ask what [language] that was" (Gilb, 84).

The part I found most amusing was seeing that neither Sonny nor Mr. Josep was truly listening to one another. Mr. Josep responds "that's good" when Sonny tells him about how he hates school. And Sonny likewise responds "yeah" without really understanding Mr. Josep is talking about Nica. I think this happens in daily speech all the time, and to see it written made it so much more realistic.

Objective

Dagoberto Gilb uses the encounter with Mr. Josep as a scene to display Sonny's changing viewpoints. In the past Sonny would have been very impulsive to make decisions about people. But in this rare encounter, Sonny tries to perceive the world through Mr. Josep's eyes. He even becomes interested in discovering more about Mr. Josep. But like the other events in this story, Sonny is interrupted by Cindy just as he is about to get close to an important revelation. The story may act as a metaphor into Sonny's story; he begins as a sneaky trespasser, gets caught by someone new, and then almost always gets thrown back with Cindy. Sonny will likely follow this path for the entire novel and ultimately learn something new.

Conclusion

Both of these interpretations were about the same event, but they were very different. My personal reflection was mainly about how natural the encounter was. I loved reading the scene because I felt I was living through it. I actually didn't even see the metaphor or how it related at all with Sonny the first time. As I began to write an objective view all this came into sight and I began to think of encounter as not my own, but Sonny's, even leading me to a very important revelation.