Short Story Abuela Advents The Zero

Theme Essay – “Abuela Invests the Zero”

As I was growing up, I would adore going shopping and spending time with my family. But at times, my parents would do something odd and bizarre, such as talk really loud or argue with an employee. Their ridiculous actions would make me feel embarrassed and just want to stand somewhere far, far away from them. In the fictional short story “Abuela Invents The Zero”, Judith Ortiz’s main character, Constancia, feels the same way as me, humiliated. In addition, when she had to take her Abuela to church, she started to pray really loud and make a fool out of herself. At that moment, she just wanted for her grandmother to go away. In the end, Abuela is infuriated and enraged at Connie for treating her so incompetently. Because we both had similar experiences and thoughts, we both learned the same moral. Unlike the way we both acted, family should be valued because it is more important than pride. The author’s purpose of Constancia’s actions is to make the readers

For instance, she went out of her way to meet her family even though it was her “first time in the United States” (Ortiz, 2). This exemplifies how much she genuinely cares despite the fact that she doesn’t know English or her way around the country. Moreover, she also cares more about her family than Connie because she raised ten kids despite the fact that she was alone and by herself. In addition, Abuela is also a very religious and sensitive person. When she came back from church, “she [pointed] her finger” at Constancia because she felt like Connie did not respect her feelings (Ortiz, 16). She was disappointed and angry at the fact that Connie didn’t help her out at church. This shows that the lack of a close family relationship will cause problems between family members. When you respect and value others, they will feel fortunate to have as their