Have you ever made a mistake and ended up growing and changing because of it? Everyone has. Especially in literature, you can read about characters that were shaped and developed by personal values and experiences. Literature reveals characters coming to terms with their values, and/or telling about their own experiences to help with someone else’s values. Judith Cofer Ortiz shows this in “Abuela Invents the Zero”, as well as Langston Hughes in “Mother to Son.” Even though these pieces of literature are very different, the authors gave us the point of view of someone experienced, and someone who is changing values as they are learning. Whether it’s advice or a story about someone who learned something, they can both give you an idea of how …show more content…
Constancia learns that the actions she takes can result badly sometimes, if she doesn’t realize how she’s treating others. Constancia mistreated her Abuela and ended up hurting her feelings because she was embarrassed to be around her. Abuela got really upset and hurt by Constancia. Eventually, Constancia learns a lesson and changes her values. Constancia reveals her embarrassment when she says, “I just hope that nobody I know see’s us together. I’m dreaming, of course”, (Cofer Ortiz). The next step closer to Constancia’s realization about her wrong-doing’s was when Abuela expresses how it makes her feel. “You made me feel like a zero, like a nothing”, (Cofer Ortiz) Constancia ends up feeling guilty, revealed when she says, “That’s when I’m sent to my room to consider a number I hadn’t thought much about- until today”, (Cofer Ortiz). The values of the mother in “Mother to Son” were strong and mature. The mother goes through a lot of challenges throughout her life and gains experience from it. This means that she can give her son advice to help guide him for his future, what he will face, and developing values. Some advice she gives her son is, “So, boy, don’t you turn back”, …show more content…
She has a strong opinion of her Abuela without really getting to know her. Constancia is strong in her judging and criticism. An example of this was when she says, “She is walking as slow as Captain Cousteau exploring the bottom of the sea, looking around, taking her sweet time”, (Cofer Ortiz). Constancia’s weakness was recognizing her behavior. An example of this is in paragraph 17 saying, “I try to explain what happened. ‘I don’t understand why she’s so upset. She just got lost and wandered around for a while,’ I tell them. But it sounds lame, even to my own ears”, (Cofer Ortiz). In “Mother to Son”, the mother’s strength is that she is giving advice such as, “Don’t you fall now- For I’se still goin’, honey, I’se still climbin’, (Hughes) to help her son with his future experiences. The mother didn’t have any weaknesses in the
The children also argue with their mother often. The children think that their mother, with no doubt, will be perfect. They idealize their mothers as angel who will save them from all their problems, which the mothers actually never do. The children get angry at their false hopes and realize that their mothers aren’t going to...
Doña Guadalupe is a woman of great strength and power, power and strength which she draws from her devout faith and her deep and loving compassion for her family, and power and strength which is passed down to her children. “‘Well, then, come in,’ she said, deciding that she could be handle this innocent-girl-stealing coyote inside. On going into the long tent, Salvador felt like he’d entered the web of a spider, the old woman was eyeing him so deliberately” (360). Doña Guadalupe is a very protective woman, which is extremely speculative when it comes to her children, this is especially true when it comes to boys, because she has not gone this far only for all of her hard work to be ruined by a no good boy. This shows how protective she is, she loves her family, and especially her kids so much that they themselves must pass her test before being able to pass on to her children. “The newborns were moving, squirming, reaching out for life. It was truly a sign from God” (58). Doña Guadalupe is also a very devout and faithful person. She sees God in everything and in everyone and by that fact, what she sees and who she sees is true, and she tries to be a model of clairvoyance for the family. “Doña Guadalupe put the baby’s little feet in a bowel of warm water, and the child clinging to his mother. He never cried, listening to her heartbeat, the same music that he’d heard from inside the womb” (57). Finally, Doña Guadalupe is very passionate which allows for a great model upon which her children follow. This further shows how she is clearly th...
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.
What drives people to do things? It would be foolish to call this a simple question, but a possibility would be that the most important factor in why people choose to do something is to feel accomplished about themselves and their actions because as humans, people only do things that they believe will accomplish something good. Some might say that people can do things for no reason. However, everyone has a reason to do something, it might just be hard to find, like going on an unknown path out of curiosity, or randomly dancing for fun. Judith Ortiz Cofer's Abuela Invents
As the next few weeks go on we see Pedro and Tita's relationship develop. The biggest change is when Pedro's son Roberto is born. Tita begins to breast feed Roberto because Rosaura had no milk after the strain of her pregnancy. The author uses imagery to express the feelings of longing between Pedro and Tita by writing about the looks they gave each other. Specifically when Pedro looked at Tita, it was a look that, when matched with Tita's "fused so perfectly that whoever saw them would have seen but a single look, a single rhythmic and sensual motion." This look changed their relationship forever, it bonded them together and they would never be separated in their hearts. This shows that the theme of, true love can withstand anything, is true. After this interaction between them they had been less careful about hiding from Mama Elena and when the baptism rolled around Mama Elena had seen enough. She decided, in the middle of the party that Pedro, Rosaura and Roberto would be moving to San Antonio to be with her cousin. They left and after about a year Mama Elena passed
No matter what actions or words a mother chooses, to a child his or her mother is on the highest pedestal. A mother is very important to a child because of the nourishing and love the child receives from his or her mother but not every child experiences the mother’s love or even having a mother. Bragg’s mother was something out of the ordinary because of all that she did for her children growing up, but no one is perfect in this world. Bragg’s mother’s flaw was always taking back her drunken husband and thinking that he could have changed since the last time he...
How can a character change over time in a book or text? Some may say that the characters in a book do not change but, like humans, characters learn and grow. Both the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the text "Abuela Invents the Zero," show examples of characters that change throughout the experiences that they go through. In The Adventures of Tom Sawyer ,Tom's Aunt Polly experiences a big change after an experience that she had gone through. In "Abuela Invents the Zero," the main character, Constancia, changes drastically after she realizes that she did something incorrect. In the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and the text "Abuela Invents the Zero", the characters Aunt Polly and Constancia undergo a major change in their values after
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
Claim: When making a decision, people are often influenced by the pressure society places on them in order to follow the social norm, or what is socially accepted.
People can change their ways overtime in a positive way. Everyone has experienced change once in their life. Some people have acknowledged change over the course of life in a positive way or a negative way. Throughout the novel “The First Stone” by Don Aker, the main character Reef alters his ways a lot positively. Reef is a teenager who changes his lifestyle and makes a huge impact in his life after he meets Leeza. This novel develops the fact that people can change in a beneficial way, no matter what situation they are in.
The novel Tangerine, written by Edward Bloor, perfectly demonstrates how a character can change their ways and learn lessons. When the protagonist, Paul Fisher, was first introduced, he was a shy, quiet kid, who never tried to change his situation. He has a terrible relationship with his brother, Erik, and is literally terrified of him and what he will do to him. In the beginning of the book, he was moving from Houston, Texas to his new home in Tangerine, Florida. In his fresh start to life in Tangerine, he learns that he shouldn’t be scared, and that he needs to start standing up for himself and letting his voice, thoughts, and opinions be heard. Even though Paul starts off scared, afraid, intimidated, and full of self doubt, he learns that he needs to change his ways and attitude towards his life, and to take action to make things right.
Opposed to Mother to Son, the son is confused and isn’t determined to
Wasley, Aidan. "An overview of “Mother to Son”." Poetry for Students. Detroit: Gale. Literature Resource Center. Web. 18 Apr. 2014.
In the book Mistakes Were Made But Not by Me, there are several aspects that could be rendered the most important, but the one that stood out to me most was self justification and how practicing it could hurt people a lot more than they are aware of.
The significance of the father’s story and “Coming Home Again” is to show the growing disconnection between a son and a mother. All the mother wants is for her son to be more successful than she is, even if she occasionally regrets sending him away to school. Consequently, the son becomes impatient and distant—as most teenagers do—until he matures into an adult and begins to regret the negative attitude he once held towards his mother. Unfortunately, his mother’s early death caused remorse for his negative attitude towards her as a teenager. Nonetheless, he remains connected with her after her cancer-related death through cooking, in which he finds himself cooking the exact way she would.