Have you ever ever wondered how your life experiences shape who you become? How do they shape your values? In the stories Born Worker and Abuela Invents the Zero, both Constancia and Jose value the importance of becoming a better person. In Gary Soto’s Born Worker, Jose values being a hard worker, but after his experience with Arnie, he realises that he can also be a good person. Growing up, Jose always believed that “he was a born worker” (1) just as his mother “stitched at a machine all day“ (2) and his father worked “climbed splintered, sun sucked poles, [and] fixed wires” (2). He was brought up in a family where the ultimate goal is to do hard work in order to live a comfortable life. This shows that Jose wanted to be a laborer because he looks up to his parents, and wanted to be just like them. Later, after saving Mr. Clemings, he realised that he “was more than just a good worker” (127), he was“a good man” (127). Jose didn’t want to just be a hard worker, but a good person as well. This shows that his life experiences shaped his value of being …show more content…
When Abuela first came to visit, Constancia tried to “ walk far behind them in public so that no one [would] think that [they’re] together” (4), but enjoys her parents company. Constancia enjoys being with her immediate family, but not with her extended family. This shows that she values her immediate family more because she would rather spend time with her parents than her grandmother. After seeing how she made her grandmother, she realized that if it weren’t for Abuela, she “would not be here“ (20). Constancia feels bad at how she made her grandmother feel bad. This shows that Constancia became a better person, because after her experience with Abuela, she decided that she should treat her Abuela with more
Personal experiences affect everybody. Just like in the stories “Abuela Invents The Zero” by Ortiz Cofer and “Home” by Anton Chekhov. Constancia and Yevgeny, from the stories, both have small problems that lead to dramatic changes in their values. Constancia values what her peers think of her and Yevgeny values work more than his son. The authors of “Abuela Invents The Zero” and “Home” have both shown how small moments can change a person’s values forever.
Both Dumas and Cordero are growing up in a culture that is different from their parents’; this difference is one reason why both girls have a feeling of ‘otherness.’ Even though both girls feel a struggle between their heritage and the American culture they live in, they deal with this struggle in dissimilar ways. Although Cordero does love her family, she feels as though she is trapped by her Mexican heritage. She is surrounded by Mexican-American females who are oppressed, unsatisfied, and often longing for a different life. We get many stories of her grandmother, cousins, and neighbors who are stuck in a place of discontent with no way out; and she does not be part of an endless loop of females who are under the control of men.
The overall theme of “Abuela Invents the Zero” is treat your family with respect. In Abuela Invents the Zero is a girl doesn't respect her grandmother. In paragraph 14 it says “ I Realized to my horror that my grandmother is lost…. I am so embarrassed that even the woman sitting next to me is shooting daggers my way… i would rather like her to disappear. I just know on monday that my friends and my enemies will have a lot of senile grandmother jokes to tell in front of me…. The lady sitting next to me makes a big deal about getting up and getting abuela (ortizes , 14). This shows that no matter what people say or think that you shouldn't be embarrassed of your family. And that everyone has their own opinion and it shouldn't affect your relationship
In closing, Francisco faced many hardships throughout his life. He had to adapt to his life here in the United States, deal with being a male in his family, as well as face discrimination. Through all the hard times, family and getting a good education were always his top priorities. With the help of his teachers and counselors, he was able to succeed in school, unlike the majority of the students. Francisco is a true hero in the eyes of many Hispanic immigrants who come to the United States and strive to be the best they can be.
José, the protagonist, is a young man of African descent living in Black Shack Alley with his grandmother, M’Man Tine. The people who work harvesting sugar cane are the close descendants of only recently freed slaves – they live in conditions of poverty similar to that of slavery due to the wealthy, ruling white class. Catholic imagery is found throughout the film – notably, M’Man Tine keeps a portrait of Jesus Christ in her shack in Black Shack Alley, and later, above her bed. This portrait serves as a visual cue to the reach of French colonialism and an iteration of French power – the idols of white religion hang in the houses of black oppressed peoples. Perhaps Jesus, to M’Man Tine, represents the notion of life after death and a means of escaping the physical and psychological toil of harvesting cane, much in the same way the converts in Things Fell Apart looked for solace in
...en-year-old girl”. She has now changed mentally into “someone much older”. The loss of her beloved brother means “nothing [will] ever be the same again, for her, for her family, for her brother”. She is losing her “happy” character, and now has a “viole[nt]” personality, that “[is] new to her”. A child losing its family causes a loss of innocence.
Not only does Constancia think of her own feelings in this scene, she also doesn’t want to go to church with Abuela in the first place. As seen in Abuela invents the Zero, “I plan to stay very busy the whole time she’s with us so that I won’t be asked to take her anywhere, but my plan is ruined when my mother comes down with the flu and Abuela absolutely has to attend Sunday mass... My father decides that he should stay home with my mother and that I should escort la abuela to church. He tells me this on Saturday night as I’m getting ready to go out to the mall with my friends. ‘No way,’ I say.
Cisneros starts the essay by reflecting on an anthology for a work that she wrote where she stated “I am the only daughter in a family of six sons. That explains everything” (Cisneros 366). Right after she introduces herself as how she sees herself now as the statement that she had written she feels does not explain enough about her to the reader. Next, she then goes into her story of how she sees herself and what has made her who she is. This explanation is taken throughout the entire essay as she explains how she got to where she was in her career. Her thesis is that growing up alone in isolation made her work hard to prove herself to her father. The thesis is very obvious in the essay and Cisneros successfully uses proves her thesis as she explains her childhood with her dad in the center of attention. Although others may argue that Cisneros’ relationship affects who she is in a negative way, Cisneros successfully proves the relationship between the two positively affects who she
Similar to the March’s situation, Judith Ortiz Cofer's story, “Abuela Invents the Zero”, portrays a teenage girl, known as Constancia, who bases her decision on not assisting her visiting Puerto Rican grandma, off of how society will react to her decision. At the beginning of the story, the author explains that Constancia’s Abuela was flown out by her parents from Puerto Rico, in order to experience snow for the first time. Even though Connie has only seen her grandma three or four times, her opinion about Abuela has been proven to be set when she continuously calls her
In this chapter Reyna is reunited with her father, however she is disappointed of their detachment. Even though, she has complicated relationships with both of her parents with the inclusion of this scene the reader learns of the relationship between her and Mago. To Reyna this sisterhood bond is valuable and fundamental to Reyna’s growth. Due to the emotional distance between Reyna and her parents the siblings foster a stronger bond as an act of resilience against their complex relationships with their parents. Taking in consideration the achievements of Reyna Grande as an author, aside of growing up in poverty and the difficult relationship with her parents is an act of personal resilience. By sharing her story Grande can foster community resilience for those that find representation in her work. Also, due to her vulnerability and act of letting the reader into her healing process, her narrative creates a sense of empathy in the reader and for those with similar experiences solidarity and
Instead of improving financial statuses like going from poor to being stable, or getting educations, some individual's seem to have character improvement making them a better person. A friends' mom serves as a great example for the Como Se Acuesta Se Levanta because she went from having insecurities and a parasitic relationship to having promotion after promotion and overall a better lifestyle with successful children. She didn’t let her insecurities and relationship get the best of her, but she decided it was time for a change and daily progressed until she overall became the person she is today. She now is close to being a DON ( Director of Nursing) one of the highest rankings an individual can possible get in her job, along with setting a great example for her children that life isn’t easy but if you give your absolute best daily, you will achieve success. A friend's mom serves as a great example of the dicho Como Se Acuesta Se Levanta due to her going from a parasitic relationship to being close to one of the highest ranking people in her
In this chapter Reyna is reunited with her father, however she is disappointed of their obvious emotional detachment. Even though, she has complicated relationships with both of her parents with the inclusion of this scene the reader learns of the relationship between her and Mago. To Reyna this sisterhood bond is valuable and fundamental to her growth. Due to the emotional distance between Reyna and her parents the siblings foster a stronger bond as an act of resilience against their complex relationships with their parents. Taking in consideration the achievements of Reyna Grande as an author, aside of growing up in poverty and the difficult relationship with her parents is an act of personal resilience. By sharing her story Grande can foster community resilience for those that find representation in her work. Also, due to her vulnerability and the act of letting the reader into her healing process, her narrative creates a sense of empathy in the reader and for those with similar experiences solidarity and
By educating herself she was able to form her own opinion and no longer be ignorant to the problem of how women are judge by their appearance in Western cultures. By posing the rhetorical question “what is more liberating” (Ridley 448), she is able to get her readers to see what she has discovered. Cisneros also learned that despite the fact that she did not take the path that her father desired, he was still proud of all of her accomplishments. After reading her work for the first time her father asked “where can I get more copies” (Cisneros 369), showing her that he wanted to show others and brag about his only daughters accomplishments. Tan shifts tones throughout the paper but ends with a straightforward tone saying “there are still plenty of other books on the shelf. Choose what you like” (Tan 4), she explains that as a reader an individual has the right to form their own opinion of her writing but if they do not like it they do not have to read it because she writes for her own pleasure and no one else’s. All of the women took separate approaches to dealing with their issues but all of these resolutions allowed them to see the positive side of the
The narrator does not hesitate to show how much Honoria and Charlie care for each other. Though Honoria was just a little girl, growing up without a father is still harsh. Still her love for Charlie is unconditional, and questions about the past are not brought up. Their strong relationship is alm...
They are overjoyed with having their two children with them and care very much for them. Both Tristão and Fidelia have a better relationship with Dona Carmo and Aguiar than with their true families. When Tristão was a child, “Dona Carmo seemed more truly the boy’s mother than his real mother did. He shared himself with both, though slightly preferring the foster mother” (28). In addition, Fidelia’s relationship with her family is absent.