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 …show more content…
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
In Chapter 4, The Cruel Hand, Michelle Alexander does a great job analyzing the issues that many inmates go through when they get out of prison. This chapter was a bit more interesting to read compared to the last one. One passage that stood out to me was when Michelle Alexander stated, “Even if the defendant manages to avoid prison time by accepting a “generous” plea deal, he may discover that the punishment that awaits him outside the courthouse doors is far more severe” (Michelle Alexander Pg. 142). Like I mentioned in the beginning, when inmates are done serving their sentence they usually suffer on the outside world. That is because they’re now being labeled as criminals in our society and corporates/businesses have a little leverage on
When Cisneros fragments sentences in the chapters “The Three Sisters,” “The Monkey Garden,” and “A House of My Own,” she is conveying that when things stand on their own they can have more meaning that when following
Previously, the narrator has intimated, “She had all her life long been accustomed to harbor thoughts and emotions which never voiced themselves. They had never taken the form of struggles. They belonged to her and were her own.” Her thoughts and emotions engulf her, but she does not “struggle” with them. They “belonged to her and were her own.” She does not have to share them with anyone; conversely, she must share her life and her money with her husband and children and with the many social organizations and functions her role demands.
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
At the beginning of the story, the protagonist, Cleofilas, had an illusion that all romances are like the ones she has seen on television. However, she soon realizes that her relationship with Juan Pedro was nothing like what she had dreamed it would be. Cisneros wants to emphasize the idea that when men bring home the primary source of income in the family, they feel they have power over their wives. Cisneros uses Juan Pedro in the story to portray this idea. For instance, Cleofilas often tells herself that if she had any brains in her, she would realize that Juan Pedro wakes up before the rooster to earn his living to pay for the food in her belly and a roof over her head (Cisneros, 1991, p.249). Cisneros wants to make a point that when men feel that they have power over their wives, women begin to feel a sense of low self-worth.
What is a Wife? What is a Daughter? Are they the same, or are they different? A wife supports a husband, but a daughter could also have the same position could she not? A daughter could marry and become a wife, and still be a daughter. Than again, a wife could be an only child, and a wife could have no father. A wife compares to a daughter in many ways, and differs in many different ways as well. All in all, it?s quite possible that all women, go through at least one of these titles, at one point in there lives.
In the case study of Juanita and Sandra, Juanita, a sales manager of Trumbell and Son, is struggling with Sandra who is a new employee on the sales team. Juanita is an effective manager who spends time to learn about what personalities, strength, and incidental details her employees have. Juanita can pull out employees best skill sets and internal incentives. On the other hand, Sandra’s inconsistent behavior made Juanita confuse about her personality. As a manager, Juanita feels uncomfortable about managing Sandra’s inconsistent personalities. This may be caused by the difference in behaviors and personalities between these two individual.
Each part contains short stories within them. These all consist of a heartwarming girl, Esperanza,who matures into a woman and how she faces these gender roles through love and violence. Cisneros alters the name Esperanza with Chayo, Rachel, Lupe, Ines, and Clemenica, to explain differences between them along with to give the story more lewd effectiveness. Sandra Cisnero's main focus throughout the novel was identity. Cisneros starts off in the first section (“My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn), narrating as a young child and further matures into the final section (There was a Man, There was a Woman)....
...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.
...dia's position on the outside of everything forces her into a position of greater strength. Although hurt, the observations she makes mold her into being able to handle difficulties more easily. The loss of innocence which Claudia faces unintentionally is vital to the role she plays in society and in her life. Her thoughts hold a more realistic view of life and human behavior. She sees the pains and sorrows that life truly is constructed of. Claudia feels that she has missed out on so many opportunities and is not included the way others are. Her strong character generates a feeling of both isolation and separation, but, in reality, she tastes life more closely than most people are able to in a lifetime. Although Claudia's passion to be included is unrequited, she is filled with the strength, character, and pain that make her a more knowledgeable and resilient person.
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.
...s the writer of the essay. Rich criticizes and critiques her own poems to demonstrate the differences in her writing. She transformed language by breaking the traditional views and by writing about man's power over women. At first it prevented her from writing the way she wanted just because she was a woman. Society did not expect a women to have a job as a writer instead writing was considered as a hobby for women. Rich had been taught that society considered poetry to be "universal" meaning non-female. Because Rich had been taught that poetry was "universal" it was very hard for her to write the things that she wanted too. Rich lost herself to society, becoming a mother and a wife and not being able to write as much as she liked. After a couple of years she divorced her husband and found herself again. As a result, Rich is her own teacher. She taught herself to have the courage to rebel against society and become a conscious being.
Men were taught to be superior to women since the dawn of time, whereas females were looked down upon. Ruled by patriarchy, it was hard for most of these women to do more than just be a stay at home wife. In some of the stories we have read, the women were portrayed as submissive, obedient, with no voice. Women have struggled to break out of this mold and find a voice for themselves. However, some managed to break out of these expectations and standards. Women and men have had to fulfill different set standards before anyone had stepped foot outside the womb. For both genders those standards came with different expectations.
The rifts between mothers and daughters continue to separate them, but as the daughters get older they become more tolerant of their mothers. They learn they do not know everything about their mothers, and the courage their mothers showed during their lives is astounding. As they get older they learn they do not know everything, and that their mothers can still teach them much about life. They grow closer to their mothers and learn to be proud of their heritage and their culture. They acquire the wisdom of understanding, and that is the finest feeling to have in the world.