Imagine being a young girl dreaming of becoming a woman and flying like a super hero over your neighborhood, seeing everything that happens at night. Then, you wake up to realize you are still a young girl sleeping in your room with white “princess” furniture. This is part of the narrator’s dream in the story “Volar” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, but what exactly does this dream mean? Many details can be interpreted by analyzing the character and theme, both by using the reader response approach and the psychological approach made, mostly developed by Sigmond Freud’s theories. In “Volar” the narrator is an older version of the character. She is an older woman, but her age is unknown; we do know the narrator is most likely out of adolescence because …show more content…
I know the story takes place in the United States because the narrator mentions living in a “barrio”, the footnote of this word, in the story, explains that a “barrio” is a Spanish speaking neighborhood in the United States. So, the story does take place in a Spanish speaking neighborhood in the United States of America. Although the house the family lives in is not described in great detail the readers do know there is a cluttered alley outside of the kitchen window and the girl has a small room with white “princess” furniture. In “Volar” the narrator is reflecting back to her childhood (her twelve year old self), when she would collect comic books and loved to read the comic “Supergirl”. The young girl would have dreams about becoming “Supergirl”, her hair would turn from dark curly hair to blond and straight hair, she would gain muscle, grow taller and become a woman; basically the American dream of a woman. The girl, although never named, would dream of jumping out of a window and flying over her neighborhood (the barrio). She could now see everything happening by using her super powers and even play little tricks on people, like the landlord of her parents building. She would see the landlord counting his money and the girl would blow to create a wind …show more content…
This is because the girl dreams of being a beautiful superhero. She dreams of flying and the mother even says “Oh, if only I could fly”, these both indicate very powerful situations. Also, I feel that as a little girl the character is left out a lot, like when her parents are talking in the mornings and she cannot get up until her mother comes to wake her. But, the girl mentions in her dreams that she can see everything that happens, maybe because she is now a woman and is not left out like she is in her real life. Lastly, she dreams of being a superhero with super powers, this shows she wants to be powerful, but cannot be in her waking life. I believe the vision the writer, Judith Ortiz Cofer, is trying to portray is women do want to be powerful. Both the daughter and the mother want to fly and do something more with their lives, but they cannot. I believe many women could relate to the story when it was written in the mid-twentieth century. This is because at the time women were expected to be housewives and not do many extraordinary things. Also, I believe many women wanted to do powerful things, like vote and get a job, and this was a time period when the view of women’s roles was
The novel explores the predatory nature of human existence. It explores loneliness, isolation and friendship. A major theme is that of the illusionary nature of 'Dreams'. In particular, 'The American Dream'.
Bill Meissner’s theme is to never give up on a dream no matter how big the challenge. Bill uses a boy named Martin who is “weak”, “translucent”, and “who nobody liked” (42) to use as an aspect of how size does not matter to gain an ob...
Dreams prove as a powerful, motivating force, propelling an individual forward into real achievements in life. Conversely, dreams can transpire as blatantly artificial. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “Winter Dreams” depicts the story of Dexter Green, a young man who dreams of achievements and works hard in a real, non-illusionary world to win them. His work in this plain, unromantic world brings him ever closer to the dream world he so desperately wants, while at the same time the dreams show themselves as decaying or empty. Unfortunately, this does not cure him of dreaming and does not push him to abandon his dreams in favor of a healthier attitude. When Dexter embodies all of his dreams in the beautiful Judy Jones, her fickle attitude and the inevitability of her aging destroys Dexter’s dream world and dries up the source of his achievements. The author, using paradoxes, shows Judy Jones differently through Dexter’s eyes, and reinforces the theme of illusion versus reality.
The writer has carefully introduced Zelda in the book to represent women of questionable morals in the society. Through her, the reader is in a position to learn the evolution and growth of liberty that women in the US have undergone in their quest to achieve modernity. Also, through CoCo Chanel, the designer, one gets to understand how a woman is able to use the talents and skills she has to liberate other women in society. Through her clothing and design techniques, she was able to shun traditional ways of a woman’s life and live a life which was more independent. She stayed away from the old root, Victorian ideology. This move as the writer puts it shows that a woman has the right and the ability to lead a comfortable life without the support of society. This move as the writer
In the story, set in the 1960’s, Anita lives in the Dominican Republic, a country with a dictator named el jefe. One day at school, Anita’s cousin is called out of class, and Anita is asked to go with. She finds out that her cousin is leaving for the United States with her family. From there, Anita’s life becomes pretty complicated. Her entire family lives on a compound, each with their own house. With her cousin’s family leaving, her house is the only occupied one left. Everyone has either moved to the U.S. or is missing. Her father tells her they will
Hurston’s juxtaposition of the dreams of men in contrast to the dreams of women is signified by the movement from concrete imagery to abstractions. She describes men’s dreams as cargo on a ship which is at the mercy of the tide, while women’s dreams are likened to memory, which can be controlled. Her deliberate choice to contrast the way that men and women dream affects the reader by immediately raising the issue of the differences of perception between the two genders. The purpose of this comparison is to immediately prompt the reader to realize a fundamental difference between men and women by using imagery they can relate to. The difference is also one of the novels thematic concerns: women are proud and defiant, they can control their wills and chase their dreams while men never really reach for their dreams. This is symbolized by men’s dreams on a ship; dreams for men either come to them or leave them, like a ship. A ship is
What world are you living in? Over the past hundreds of years psychologists have been studying the functions of the human mind. It is a task that seems to prolong as information and new methods arrive. What makes us dream or imagine things? The fact that we have dreams and ambitions in life strives us to believe through imagining and dreaming that we will eventually get a break in life. Lolita, by Vladimir Nabokov, is a novel that characterizes these types of situations. It implies similarity in plot and theme between Lolita and certain fairy tales. Furthermore, Nabokov implies the folk characterization in Lolita to show the paradoxical relationship of art and reality thus showing how real life people live out the lives of fictional fairy tales. It is also evident that because of the folkloristic material portrayed in Lolita, it is seen that man lives between two worlds, the imagined one and the true one. The image of Lolita had such effect on society in the way that pre pubescent children wanted to be like her, they wanted to be as pretty as her and wear those heart shaped sunglasses like her thus living in a world of fantasy. Even today's society still has, more then ever that Lolita syndrome thus causing a lot of pre pubescent kids to live in a fantasy world instead of the real one.
In the article “Wonder Woman” Gloria Steinem expresses that the making of female super-heroes empowers females by reducing the fixed theme of a Caucasian male saving an inferior female. She displays this by showing how inferior women were before in male super-hero comic books, compares what it was like personally reading female super-hero comics to male super-hero comics as a child, the fight with other women to have the original Wonder Woman published in Ms. Magazine and how even males were changed by the making of Wonder Woman.
What happens to a dream deferred?Does it dry uplike a raisin in the sun?Or fester like a sore-And then run?Does it stink like rotten meat?Or crust and sugar over- like a syrupy sweet?Maybe it just sagslike a heavy load.Or does it explode?While Langhston Hughes authors this poem, A Dream Deferred, it can easily be interpreted as Toni Morrison's description of Nel and her life of sorrow and dissatisfaction. Sula and Nel, the protagonists in Toni Morrison's Sula, are each the only daughters of mothers whose distance leaves the young girls with dreams to erase this solitude and loneliness. There is no question that Sula alleviates this aloneness with a lascivious and experimental life, "I'm going down like one of those redwoods. I sure did live in this world"(143). Nel, however, for the most part, fails terribly at realizing her dreams and experiencing a happy existence.
Oprah Winfrey once said, “The best thing about dreams is that fleeting moment, when you are between asleep and awake, when you don't know the difference between reality and fantasy, when for just that one moment you feel with your entire soul that the dream is reality, and it really happened.” But, what actually is a dream and what do dreams really have to do with one’s everyday life? In essence, a dream is a series of mental images and emotions occurring during slumber. Dreams can also deal with one’s personal aspirations, goals, ambitions, and even one’s emotions, such as love and hardship. However, dreams can also give rise to uneasy and terrible emotions; these dreams are essentially known as nightmares. In today’s society, the concept of dreaming and dreams, in general, has been featured in a variety of different mediums, such as literature, film and even music. While the mediums of film and music are both prime examples of this concept, the medium of literature, on the other hand, contains a much more diverse set of examples pertaining to dreams and dreaming. One key example is William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. While the portrayal of dreams, in general, plays a prominent role in Shakespeare’s play, the exploration of many aspects of nature, allows readers to believe that dreams are merely connected to somewhat unconventional occurrences.
The submission of women is demonstrated in the text through the symbolic colors of the couple’s bedroom. Indeed, as the young woman’s husband is asleep, the wife remains wide-awake, trying her best to provide the man with comfort, while enjoying her newlywed life. As she opens her eyes to contemplate “the blue of the brand-new curtains, instead of the apricot-pink through which the first light of day [filters] into the room where she [has]
...e could explore her own intuitions and be her own self, and like most women, it was a dream she had longed for since birth.
People tend to want change something about themselves to make them feel better of who they are. The author, Judith Ortiz Cofer and her family immigrated from Puerto Rico to the United States in 1954. She struggled with her own identity due to the transition of coming to a whole new different setting. The story “Volar” by Cofer, a young girl tries to escape her reality by having dreams and reading the fantasy world of comic books. In her dreams, she describes the physical changes she is experiencing, for instance her legs would grow longer, her breasts be larger, and her hair would go straight and turn gold. This is what seemed to be her desire look which is like Supergirl. However, Cofer depicts the young girls’ appearance “…find myself back in my body: tight curls still clinging to my head, skinny arms and legs and flat chest unchanged” (234). She points out her “flaws” instead of embracing her own body. She wants to have the physical characteristic of superhero and like be able to fly. Therefore, her identity is affected since being a superhero is not realistic and the story of a superhero being unstoppable does not exist. She considers her body to be unacceptable and there is nothing she can do to change it. A story, affects her identity because she admires superhero characteristics but she is weak. She wants to be someone else rather than her own self. She
In the story, “An Hour With Abuelo” by Judith Ortiz Cofer, Arturo goes to visit his Abuelo and throughout the story realizes that he shouldn’t be so quick to judge the people that care about him because you might find them to be worth your time. This story teaches its readers that you should cherish the time you have with the people that love you. Arturo thinks to himself, “I want my mother to have to wait a little. I don’t want her to think that I’m in a hurry or anything.” (Cofer, 140) This quote proves that he realizes he has a lot in common with his Abuelo and ended up enjoying the time he had with him. Throughout the story Arturo and Abuelo realize all the things they have in common with each other. This idea brings the readers back to the thought that it is never too late to make a connection and enjoy the time you have with the people who love you.
Dreams play a major role in the story, and, throughout the history of literature, sleep has often been consid...