Opinions Affecting Other Decisions In Little Things Are Big By Jesus Colon

Opinions Affecting Others’ Decisions in “Little Things are Big” by Jesus Colon In the short story “Little Things are Big” by Jesus Colon, a Puerto Rican man (the narrator) finds himself deciding not to help a white woman carrying things on the train, because of the possible ways she could have responded to his offer. The topics of racism and considering other people’s opinions are the main sources of conflict throughout the whole story. Racism affects people’s opinions, and their opinions can affect others’ decisions. As an example from the short story, the Puerto Rican man’s natural instinct was to help the woman, but because he worried she may have been racist, he chose not to offer his help. People should never make decisions based on others’ opinions because it results in negativity, and in this story, harmed the Puerto Rican man, the woman, and society.

He makes his decision not to offer his help to the woman on the train, because of the possible response she could have had. “If you were not that prejudice, I failed you, dear lady” (para. 14) the narrator says after thinking about his actions. Later on in the story he says “I buried myself in courtesy…..if I am ever faced with an occasion like that again, I am going to offer my help regardless of how the offer is going to be received” (para. 14). These two quotes show that people make decisions based on others’ opinions, and later on will likely regret it, just like the narrator