The Struggle In Cisneros’ story, “Only Daughter”, she describes her “struggle” for acceptance from her father as his machismo kicks in when the narrator announces to her father that she wants to go to college and get an education. He did not express it directly but the idea that he had in mind that, college was good for girls but only to find a husband, pointed out that the narrator had a lack of encouragement from her father; However, this was not a reason for the writer to get discouraged. She still felt the need to succeed so she could stand out amongst her brothers, with the idea that this way she would gain her father’s acceptance. Another thing that the narrator struggled with was that she felt like she was being “erased” every time …show more content…
She felt like the mistranslation was including her as one of her father’s sons. Either way, she would always remind her father that he had six sons, and one daughter. In other words, she wanted her father to have a special title for her when he introduced her. “This is my only daughter, the writer.” And not what he would always say, “This is my only daughter. She teaches.” Although this should have no importance in my opinion, the narrator is not satisfied by the way her father has introduced her in the past. Anyway, she goes on by describing how her father’s reaction after reading one of her stories – translated into Spanish- made her feel wonderful when he asked for more copies for their relatives. Similar to Cisneros’ story, I too have struggled for acceptance and felt some sort of lack of appreciation from my parents, and some …show more content…
She did not agree with my dad’s opinion, then again it was not the first time that happened which was most probably the cause of the divorce. Anyway, she believed that I should stick and focus in my education only. She had a good point, “you start working, and get money and end up losing interest in school because you start liking the money. Then you will see that getting an education and going to college as a waste of time.” Now I’m not saying working while studying is not a good thing, I know plenty people do it and still end up successful. Nor am I judging my own ability to be able to excel on both, but I saw my mother had a good point. Also, I had enough examples of what dropping out of school to work looked like, either by necessity or by choice. My brother was one of them. He had dropped out for the necessity of money, and he would always tell me to focus in school and try to get a higher education. Personally, I plan to be successful. But honestly I never saw working and studying at the same time as my plan to success. Still, I felt the need to satisfy my dad’s desire for me to work, but at the same time I did not want to disappoint my mom. I mean, what if I did lose interest in school and just focused on getting money? Most importantly I wanted to be a successful psychologist. My mother’s last words when it came to me making decisions were always; “It’s your choice, tu sabes.” This left a lot of doubt
The author uses different points of view to create tension in the story. The mom acts in a way that neglects the daughters interests. This makes them both feel less connected and leaves the daughter feeling hopeless. In paragraph 9, “‘It’s strange actually. I wasn’t expecting it, but then at the last minute the funding came through.’ She folded her arms across her waist. ‘I’m going to Costa Rica to finish my research.” This made the narrator/daughter angry and flustered with her mom’s actions. She has trouble remaining connected with her parent because they both want different things which leaves on character feeling betrayed. “Opportunity? For me? Or for you?” (34). Both of their actions and responses create tension in this story. Their communication lacks and this results in pressure on both
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
Daughters have always had a special bond with their fathers, even at the time where women did not have the same rights as men, and were seen as the weaker sex. This father is no different, in wanting the best for his little girl. The father in this letter wants the daughter to accomplish her roles differently than the women before her because he knows that women are capable of accomplishing “male” tasks. The letter also addresses how women were seen and treated by men and the changes that were occurring in order to gain a status quo for both men and women.
Madeleine Neveu eloquently gives words of wisdom to her daughter Catherine in her piece entitled, "Epistle to My Daughter." Madeleine is quite aware of the attitude surrounding educated women in her time period. Yet, she abandons those opinions to express her own for her daughter. Her epistle embraces the need for a woman to be true to herself and to stand on her own two feet, as opposed to relying on a man to hold her up.
The daughter alludes to an idea that her mother was also judged harshly and made to feel ashamed. By the daughters ability to see through her mothers flaws and recognize that she was as wounded as the child was, there is sense of freedom for both when the daughter find her true self. Line such as “your nightmare of weakness,” and I learned from you to define myself through your denials,” present the idea that the mother was never able to defeat those that held her captive or she denied her chance to break free. The daughter moments of personal epiphany is a victory with the mother because it breaks a chain of self-loathing or hatred. There is pride and love for the women they truly were and is to be celebrated for mother and daughter.
In the Book women are looked upon as objects by men whether they are boyfriends, friends fathers or husbands. The girls in the novel grow up with the mentality that looks and appearance are the most important things to a woman. Cisneros also shows how Latino women are expected to be loyal to their husbands, and that a husband should have complete control of the relationship. Yet on the other hand, Cisneros describes the character Esperanza as being different. Even though she is born and raised in the same culture as the women around her, she is not happy with it, and knows that someday she will break free from its ties, because she is mentally strong and has a talent for telling stories. She comes back through her stories by showing the women that they can be independent and live their own lives. In a way this is Cinceros' way of coming back and giving back to the women in her community.
This passage defines the character of the narrators’ father as an intelligent man who wants a better life for his children, as well as establishes the narrators’ mothers’ stubbornness and strong opposition to change as key elements of the plot.
I chose to write about Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros because I am the only daughter of three children. Therefore, I can relate to this essay because I constantly strive to make my father proud in everything that I do, along with feeling as though I am alone and not understood by my family. My father is constantly in the back of my mind so whatever I do revolves around how I know he would feel about it. Due to this I am more studious when it comes to my education because I know that he will be more supportive the better that I do. Without my dad I would not have come this far in what I have accomplished because I would not have had to prove myself to anyone. Being the first born and the only girl, my parents and family many times do not know how to handle how I feel or what I enjoy because I am more studious out of my entire family. Because of this I
Demetria Martínez’s Mother Tongue is divided into five sections and an epilogue. The first three parts of the text present Mary/ María’s, the narrator, recollection of the time when she was nineteen and met José Luis, a refuge from El Salvador, for the first time. The forth and fifth parts, chronologically, go back to her tragic experience when she was seven years old and then her trip to El Salvador with her son, the fruit of her romance with José Luis, twenty years after she met José Luis. And finally the epilogue consists a letter from José Luis to Mary/ María after her trip to El Salvador. The essay traces the development of Mother Tongue’s principal protagonists, María/ Mary. With a close reading of the text, I argue how the forth chapter, namely the domestic abuse scene, functions as a pivotal point in the Mother Tongue as it helps her to define herself.
...cts of the mother and the descriptions, which are presented to us from her, are very conclusive and need to be further examined to draw out any further conclusions on how she ?really? felt. The mother-daughter relationship between the narrator and her daughter bring up many questions as to their exact connection. At times it seems strong, as when the narrator is relating her childhood and recounting the good times. Other times it is very strained. All in all the connection between the two seems to be a very real and lifelike account of an actual mother-daughter relationship.
This is a book that tells the important story about the social significance and long-standing implications of fatherless families from a seldom heard point of view. The male siblings are linked by their struggles achieve peace with father and with the women in their lives as they move from adolescence adulthood. This text is filled with rich characterization and visual imagery.
Surprisingly, within the first year of being in high school, I took and passed the High School Competency Test (HSCT). I had no idea what the acronym was, all I knew was that I needed to take that test an passed it before I can graduate high school and go to college. My counselor was surprised, but happy for me. From that day on, he spoke nothing to me, but college, and how bright I was. Eventually, I told him, I want to be a lawyer. He replied yes, you can be a lawyer, one day, but now what do you want to be. He started telling me about his daughter who works at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami. Finally, I realized that he thinks I should become a nurse. I started to question myself, I asked, did he heard what I told him, that I want to be a lawyer or did he ganged up with my dad to convince me that I need to be a nurse. I went home confused, and I got into a deep conversation with my dad. Well, he managed to convince me that nursing was the shortest, and best option for someone like me. He reminded me that I needed to make the way for my little sister who is now an
Deciding to go to college was not easy. I was planning to opt for Cosmetology school. I had a great passion for hair and makeup. I have colored my own hair, gave many of my friend's highlights and I gave my mom bangs. My plan was to work in my favorite hair salon De La Mer for five years, save up enough money and then open up my own beauty salon. My parents were not on board with my plan. As I was getting my makeup done for graduation, my makeup artist began to tell me how she wishes she had gone to college, she said she had taken the easy route out of high school and that she was planning on going to school. She said that this work requires too much labor and that it was not worth it. In her first two years she loved her job, but then
While the relationship between fathers and sons has been documented at length, the father/ daughter dynamic figures less prominently in literary tropes; in fact the last canonical piece I can recall reading was Euripedes’ Electra in high school. The tenuous relationship between Daddy and his little girl, however, harbors depths more personal and tangible than Greek tragedy and psychological analyses invoking the Electra complex. The emotionally void or aloof father in particular often burdens the female psyche, for his absence proves just as palpable as his sought after presence, shaping the landscape of a daughter’s future relationships and the construction of a self-image fragmented and disjointed by an early and intimate knowledge of rejection and abandonment. Transcending characterizations attached primarily to filial duty as experienced by the matriarch, the father figure remains the subject of mythologization, just as Sylvia Plath turned her father into a Colossus, a cold, inanimate stone edifice revealing none of his secrets or affection.
1. I grew up in a family where work was an important aspect, but both of my parents did not always work. My father had many medical issues and was unable to walk for many years. Financial stability was always looked at as the ideal. I was taught working is just a part of life and you should do it to survive. Both of my parents did not attend college, but encouraged me to go to college. They were not happy when I wanted to also go to graduate school because they did not see the point of doing so. I was fortunate to have their help and support in my undergraduate degree because this allowed me to not have to work too much. I did have a lot of volunteer positions and ultimately got what I would call a real job in 2014 doing counseling like services in the community. I always knew I wanted to help people and I enjoyed doing this job, but decided to go back to school for my Master’s so I could ultimately open my own private practice.