Sonny and The stranger

In the novel The Flowers by Dagoberto Gill, the passage below really stands out in my mind.

I swear he’s slugging the door with his fist, and there was like a crackling wood sound. “Do you hear me, kid? Do you fucking hear me?” ... The man started kicking the door. Then he was throwing his body against it, and you could hear the wood cracking... His eyes were slits but i could feel heat and breathing out of them too and i was standing there too and i was standing maybe ten feet away, one hand with the big knife loaded in it and the other clenched and a little up, looking ready to jab in a left-right combination... Then he went at me. He was so fast he took me down even before I saw him come and his hand locked my hand with the knife in it to the floor... I got up once he got off me, and i was crying, and i saw how i was bleeding at my stomach... He was standing there watching me for what might have been a long time. and then he just turned around and took off out the broken front door. (pages 7-8)

This scene happens so early on in the book that I am still confused as to why it was there, but what really stood out in this passage was that it gave another level to Sonny’s character. Even though Sonny was scared he was smart enough to grab a knife to try to protect himself. This passage is important because it shows how his mothers relationships affect him and how he is from a broken home. Even at this point in the story it is easy to tell that Sonny loves his mom very much but he doesn't care or try to get involved in her relationships because they never last. I think this is the reason why Sonny never gives anymore information about this. After rereading the passage I realized that Sonny never mentions the mans name or talks about him again. I think this symbolizes how he feels about his mom in her relationships. He tries not to get involved but he still ends up getting hurt in the end. 

This is one of the few passages that really confused me though. It really doesn't provide many other details and Sonny doesn't say much to lead up to it, but after reading it i still get a better sense of how Sonny felt in his own home. After reading this I still want to know who this man is and why he came into the picture so abruptly and left the same way but i figure whats important is the insight into Sonny’s life. The last sentence in the passage seems to describe his family “broken”. Sonny has mentioned how his mother and sister Ceci were constantly fighting and he doesn't even mention his sister anymore. His mother is never around either, she is just at home to sleep or to get ready to leave again. It wasn't until much further in the story that i questioned the absence of Sonny’s father which much be the last thing on his mind.