In the haunting short story entitled “Norma” written by author Sonia Sanchez, Sonia draws the story to a powerful end by vowing “never to agree again”. At a cursory glance, it appears that she is vowing never to meet Norma again. However, a deeper examination reveals that she makes this promise in order to affirm that she will never again agree to the rigged system that transformed an intelligent and promising young woman into a drug-addled mother of four.
As the opening lines of the story, Sanchez describes her own personality as a teenager as “... very shy. I walked with my head down, talked with my head down and would have slept with my head down if sleeping had required a standing position (1).”, which highlights the fact that Sonia is too busy attempting to remain inconspicuous to question the status quo. Consequently, she does not violate social expectations or take stands against bias or injustice. Sonia proves that she refused to notice systematic imbalance when she didn’t think it remarkable when Norma was expelled from school. Sanchez “doesn’t remember who it was ()” that impregnated Norma, and “old faces and names had faded into
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You were the genius. The linguist. You were the brain. We just studied and got good grades. You were the une who understood it all. And I started to cry… Tongue-tied by time and drugs, she smiled a funny smile… ()”. As Sonia recalls who Norma used to be and what she should have been, Sonia begins to cry because she realizes what society had robbed Norma of and forced Norma to become. Sanchez closes the story with the lines “Then I pulled myself up and turned away; never to agree again ().” because she is turning away from social injustices and never agreeing with the rigged system ever
It was another instance in which Socorro would have said her emotions were clouding her judgment and her witch’s intuition. One evening she’d had enough of the waiting and the pretending. She was a girl on her own, after all. She made her own decisions. She invited the boy in and before the door was closed, he was against her, his mouth on hers.
A story Enrique 's Journey written by Sonia Nazario is a book about a boy on his Journey to the united states. On Enrique’s Journey, he comes to a point where he has to make a tough decision between staying in the united states and going back to Honduras. Enriques dilemma is that he has just as many reasons to go back to Honduras as he does to stay in the united states. One example of Enrique wanting to stay in the United States seen when Enrique finally sees his mother “ He Jumps squarely onto the bed next to her he gives her a hug then a kiss“ (Nazario 190). Enrique wants to stay in the united states because of many reasons because there’s better job’s, less gang’s, better pay, fewer drugs, has a stepsister Diana and his mother in the united
When Nicholas Vidal, a gang member, is told a prophecy of his death his entire life changes. After allowing a Turkish woman to read his fortune in coffee grounds, the woman confirmed that he would one day loose his head over a woman. In the Judges wife by Isabel Allende, the author uses imagery, foreshadowing, and symbolism to covey her story of Nicholas Vidal. Since confirming his prophecy, Vidal shunned women out of his life in fear of the prophecy coming true. When Judge Hidalgo marries Casilda, Vidal is very unpleased by the sight of her even going as far as calling her ‘ugly’.
The setting allows the reader to understand how people without honour are seen as outcasts of the society and the existence of a woman’s virginity is seen as a measure of her honour, as well as a precious commodity, which can purchase the family’s social advancement, through a marriage of convenience. Ángela states that Santiago deflowered her, but since “…she looked for it in the shadows…”, even though “She only took the time necessary to say the name.” we question this piece of information and its reliability, due to it being precise but also vague at the same time. Due to their sister stating this, Pablo and Pedro Vicario are ordered to reinstate their “…sister’s lost honour…”, ironically by their mother, to meet the expectations of the community and it is up to them to spiritually retrieve their sister’s virginity by killing Santiago. This means the brothers cannot back down from “…the horrible duty that’s fallen on them…” as “…there’s no way out of this…”.
“What could she do?” (Soto 3). We have all at some point or another been the victim of circumstance, whether we accept it or not. The short story “Mother and Daughter” by Gary Soto tells the story of an instance in which eighth grader, Yollie Moreno, is the victim of circumstance. Yollie is a smart, but innocent, young woman who lives with her impoverished mother.
In Allende’s novel The House of the Spirits, Esteban Trueba is the only character to survive the entirety of the novel. In the commencement, the reader witnesses how his rigorous childhood plays a key role in foreshadowing how his violence develops the themes throughout the novel. Furthermore, the reader additionally grows with Esteban as an adult, and witness how his volatile relationships with characters conform the theme of society and class. Lastly, throughout the novel he plays a central role as the antagonist in numerous conflicts, which develop the recurring theme of violence. From a zealous young man, to the main antagonist in various conflicts; examining Esteban’s growth throughout the novel involves the reader in the core of Esteban,
Lola takes advantage of her deteriorating mother whose illness represents the declining hold of the norms over Lola. Since her mom “will have trouble lifting her arms over her head for the rest of her life,” Lola is no longer afraid of the “hitting” and grabbing “by the throat” (415,419). As a child of a “Old World Dominican Mother” Lola must be surrounded by traditional values and beliefs that she does not want to claim, so “as soon as she became sick” Lola says, “I saw my chance and I’m not going to pretend or apologize; I saw my chance and I eventually took it” (416). When taking the opportunity to distinguish herself from the typical “Dominican daughter” or ‘Dominican slave,” she takes a cultural norm like long hair and decides to impulsively change it (416). Lola enjoyed the “feeling in [her] blood, the rattle” that she got when she told Karen to “cut my hair” (418).
She wishes to be a star again and make a return. But, Norma is only lying to herself about the fact that she is still big; when in reality her time has passed her. She is leading herself to glide along the line of a lost career. In another way, Joe enters Norma’s home and sees that she has money and wants to use her delusions to his advantage.
“Ashamed of my mother”, she states, but as she matured,
Names/Nombres written by Julia Alvarez is a short story regarding a little girl, Hooleetah, moving with her family from the Dominican Republic to New York City in the 1960s. It is extremely clear within the beginning of the story that the girl absolutely despises it when people pronounce her, or her family's’ names wrong, this is proven when she corrects the customs officer under her breath when he mispronounces her family’s last name. “At Immigration, the officer asked my father, Mister Elbures, if he had anything to declare... but I said our name to myself, opening my mouth wide for the organ blast of trilling my tongue for the drumroll of the r, All-vab- rrr-es (Alvarez 1). As the story continues each member of her family is assigned with many different American names, as people found it hard to pronounce their actual names.
She feels that she is “an ugly daughter” (Cisneros 88) and does not fit in. This feeling leads her to want a change for herself, something better than what her parents had. Someday she wants to “say goodbye to Mango. [She] is too
The major connection that can be assembled in this story is that this undermined, dependent, and fragile woman is the only person that can stand up against the most feared criminal in the region. Allende’s feminism breaks through this story to prove that women are
She didn’t care about what she was doing and the consequences that come with it. She won 't realize ‘till later the grand mistake she 's made. Norma is so greedy that she can 't see past the reward that she’s been offered, and it’s clouding her thinking and actions as shown when she pushes the button. Matheson also shows Norma as
There is a distinguished balance in the relationship of women and men and it is visible in coexisting and procreating beyond themselves. In making decisions that are influenced by mistakes sometimes, one person gets the short end of the stick. In Hills Like White Elephants, the feminine role is displayed by a woman named Jig, whose feelings and thoughts get pushed aside to cater to the main male character’s wants and needs. In this case the “operation,” that cannot even be called by it’s true name or else the objective to persuade would not be met and ruin their lives. Masculine and feminine attributes have been visible in literature from the beginning of language, with the response of love and forcing one’s self to put aside: “me” for “you.”
Her personal experience is socially and theoretically constructed and emotions play an essential role in the process of identity formation. Her identity is not fixed, which is portrayed by inquisitiveness that her own mother and Aunt thought she was possessed, enhanced and made this story an enriching experience. The family is the first agent of socialization, as the story illustrates, even the most basic of human activities are learned and through socialization people