Oppression and censorship from the government and politics in Cuba caused many people to leave their native country and emigrate to other foreign countries in search of better job opportunities and freedom of expression. In Everyone Leaves, Nieve, the main character, who was borned and raised in Cuba, experiences various detachments from important people in her life as she grows up. Sometimes people have forceful reasons for staying/leaving a place or situation. Understanding and learning how to deal with people's absence is a part of life.
Learning how to forgive and how to let people go in some situations is a part of life. Nieve's dad, who was never present in her early life, later came on to have the responsibility of taking care of her. During that time, everything went so bad, he never stabilized a good relationship with her, instead he brutally abused her. Nieve's father, who was living in Cuba, was planning on leaving the country after he lost custody of Nieve.
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Guerra writes, ¨My dad snuck into the Peruvian Embassy so he could leave the country. My grandparents are waiting for him in Miami… We've never again heard from him" (110). After all the suffering that Nieve experienced with her dad, she decided to speak up and to go live with her mom. Even though Nieve had a lot of resentment towards her dad because of what he did to her, she managed to forgive what he did to her. She decided to bury those bad memories in her past and move on with her life. She learned how to let him go. She understood that his departure was for the best. Many things would force a person to leave a place sometimes, even if they do not want to. Fausto, Nieve's stepdad, had a really close relationship with her and her mother. They built a really strong, loving family and they had a lot of plans ahead that were all abandoned due to Fausto's departure. Fausto was also living in Cuba but then was told to leave the country due to work issues. Leaving the house, Nieve and her mother all behind in Cuba. Guerra writes, ¨She told me that Fausto was suddenly ordered to leave for Sweden. They gave him twenty-four hours to buy a ticket and get out" (88). ¨We've never again heard from him. He remarried¨ (126). Since Nieve had a really close relationship with Fausto, his parting hugely affected her, because she saw him like the dad she never had. Fausto took really good care of her when her mother left to Angola; he always treated her with respect and gave her nothing but love. His leaving affected Nieve's mother as well. She got really depressed after he left. Even sadder when she found out that she could not go after him to Sweden because of Nieve's underage problem. None of the two wanted him to go away, but it was a command. He had to go, and there was nothing to do about it but to go on with their lives. Coming to the realization that certain people will always live/stay in your heart but NOT in your life is a big and sad part of life.
After Nieve met Osvaldo, a really famous painter. They became emotionally involved in a relationship and he became her very first lover. Every part of the relationship went good until he had to leave the country and leave Nieve behind/forget about her. Guerra writes, ¨2nd surprise: The News that Osvaldo will be leaving for Paris for several months" (201). "Osvaldo was staying in Paris forever, he was leaving me behind, he was closing the door in my face" (250). ¨I'm still the keeper of his memory. But I'm becoming more and more silent" (214). The fact that Osvaldo ended up leaving her and forgetting about her affected her really badly. Although it was a feeling/thing that she had experienced her whole life, starting all with her father's and Fausto's departure/absence. Nieve here realized that she belonged there, in her little Cuba and without Osvaldo in her
life. Sometimes people have forceful reasons for staying/leaving a place or situation. Understanding and learning how to deal with people's absence is a part of life. Although some people might think otherwise, people leaving a place forcefully is real and it does happens on a daily basis. People emigrate to other countries for various different reasons, for example; poverty, lack of jobs/education, lack of freedom or even war. In Everyone Leaves, most of the people that left Nieve behind in Cuba in that time, was because they could not express how they felt, with their voice neither with their art. That is why they would go and look for better opportunities and a better living in other countries. Despite all the good-byes that Nieve had to say to those big and important people in her life, she somehow managed to stay strong and stay alive in Cuba.
As the next few weeks go on we see Pedro and Tita's relationship develop. The biggest change is when Pedro's son Roberto is born. Tita begins to breast feed Roberto because Rosaura had no milk after the strain of her pregnancy. The author uses imagery to express the feelings of longing between Pedro and Tita by writing about the looks they gave each other. Specifically when Pedro looked at Tita, it was a look that, when matched with Tita's "fused so perfectly that whoever saw them would have seen but a single look, a single rhythmic and sensual motion." This look changed their relationship forever, it bonded them together and they would never be separated in their hearts. This shows that the theme of, true love can withstand anything, is true. After this interaction between them they had been less careful about hiding from Mama Elena and when the baptism rolled around Mama Elena had seen enough. She decided, in the middle of the party that Pedro, Rosaura and Roberto would be moving to San Antonio to be with her cousin. They left and after about a year Mama Elena passed
One night Rodolfo overhears Sofia from the attic telling her mother that she is engaged; he is not happy about it but eventually comes to terms and accepts for Sofia to get married. Meanwhile he also tries to connect with his smaller daughter Ana Paula since he has come to realize that his relationship with his older daughter is non-existing. Eventually the family finds out that he has been staying in the attic and Miriam allows for him to move back into the guest room. They agree that he will live there until Sofia’s wedding day. During this time he begins to work on the leaks of the house and restores the house for Sofia’s wedding, meanwhile both Miriam and Rodolfo seem to miss each other and find connections again yet they don’t admit it to each other as well they both stop seeing their lovers. The day of the wedding comes and Rodolfo keeps his word and moves out to his own apartment. The divorce also goes through although it seemed they both new they were making the wrong decision. In the end Rodolfo gains the courage to take serenade to Miriam and they get together again. Sofia ends up getting the blessing from her parents to get married, Victoria gets a scholarship to go study journalism abroad and Ana Paula has gained more attention from both her parents. Rodolfo finds the perfect job that pays well and Miriam comes to feel like more than just a house wife, also they do end up
Esperanza tries to be a good friend to Sally, but ends up appearing immature and silly. Esperanza feels shame, as she “wanted to be dead”, to “turn into the rain”, and have “my eyes melt into the ground like black snails” (Cisneros 97). With sensory-rich imagery, the author uses similes and metaphors to describe Esperanza’s feelings of utter mortification as she embarrasses herself in front of Sally. Esperanza becomes confused about her newfound sexuality and her loss of innocence when she begins acting strangely, yet awkwardly around boys. She doesn’t know whether to act like a child or an adult because although she wants to be mature and glamorous like Sally, and she gets exposed to the harsh nature of society. The disillusioned view of becoming mature and having boys notice her is especially realized by Esperanza when she gets raped at a carnival. Through detailed imagery, Cisneros describes the dirtiness of the boy, elaborating on “his dirty fingernails against my skin” and “his sour smell again” (Cisneros 100) and the confusion and anger from Esperanza. After this experience, Esperanza blames Sally instead for covering up the truth about boys and is heartbroken about the real truth of sexuality and men. It is clear that Esperanza vividly remembers this awful experience, and just reflecting on this experience causes her thoughts to
We must must show respect. . . . you’re forgetting who you are, Nina. . . .’ My mother said in spanish” (34). This supports my claim because, young people do not understand tragedy unless it is happening to them, they are in other words quite selfish. When they grow up however, they learn to care for the things happening around them. In the story she pleaded to her daughter to help show sympathy and condolence, but her being young did not understand. When she grows up she will understand though the tragedy of that
The text Divisadero by Michael Ondaatje focuses on Marie-Neige who surmounts her sudden burden and chore of running a household and a farm. When her husband is sent to prison she is singularly suddenly entrusted with all of the responsibilies of their farm. Marie-Neige despite the lack her husband and horror of a miscarriage continued to persevere without breaking down or quitting. Her strong will in these instances along with the times she partook in
Judith Ortiz Cofer’s use of diction had effectively implemented the dismissiveness behind an individual’s transition from childhood into adulthood, which had been the central meaning of the poem. Cofer’s uses a rather negative choice of wording in the first line of the poem that being, “My dolls have been put away like dead children”. As the poet decides to use the words “dead children” it brings a sense of gloominess upon the passage. Once the reader continues reading it appears that a connection can be made between the gloominess in the act of putting away the young girl’s dolls like “dead children” to her Quinceanera. Further Along the poem, the pessimism towards the act of maturing is found once again as the poet uses defeatist words such as “poison” when describing the fluids of her body that being blood. It seems that the young girl’s blood symbolizes her menstrual cycle, which effectively marks her entrance into womanhood. When describing the fluids of her body by using the word “poison” it creates a somber image of adulthood as she views her rite of passage as being toxicant. Ultimately, it seems that the poet’s use of diction provides the poem with a solemn tone which ultimately supplies the p...
In the opening pages of the text, Mary, nineteen, is living alone in Albuquerque. Vulnerable to love, depressed and adrift, she longs for something meaningful to take her over. Just as she is “asking the universe whether or not there was more to life than just holding down boring jobs”, she takes on the job of helping an illegal (political) refugee, José Luis who had been smuggled from El Salvador to the United States, to adjust to his new life in Albuquerque. She instantly falls in love with him and hopes to start her life over with the new aim of “taking the war out of him.”(p. 4) Providing a refuge for him, Mary, as Fellner suggests, “imagines herself to be whole and complete in the experience of love”. (2001: 72) She willingly puts José Luis as the “center” of her life (p.5) with the hope that “love would free her from her dormant condition” (Fellner 2001: ...
? . . . it made no difference if they studied medicine or had the right to vote, because they would not have the strength to do it, but she herself [Nivea] was not brave enough to be among the first to give up the fashion.? (6, Ch 1) The women in this society are dependant on the dominant male figure to handle political and economical duties. This point of view is intended to mimic the older generation of women ad present a foundation for the growth of an enlightened generation. Allende uses this excerpt to present a foundation of structure to the novel by beginning with the extremes of opinion, which are followed in the novel through different generations. Alba for example, become a very outspoken activist by trying to attend the student protests and follow Miguel on his demonstrations, a sharp contrast to the indifference or shallowness found in her great grandmother.
She gets terrified and self-conscious and runs away because she thinks that he is only staying with her because his devotion felt more like a curse than actual love. In this piece of text you can catch heaps of similes and metaphors like, “Those calves, I swear, like bricks” (Rassette, 31), “He kept his dreams of us tucked away, hoarded them like those gas-station receipts he jams into the back pocket of his jeans” (Rassette, 32), “He’s charming, but in a dusty way, like the chimes of an old clock” (Rassette, 34), “Now I felt shriveled and curled, more like a fetus feasting on a conjoined twin than a mother growing a son” (Rassette, 31); this quote can also fit into the imagery category, even though it’s a bit too gory for readers to read about love. I picked this piece of text because it is one of those cliché stories where there is always a happy ending. It is also told in first person point of view, along with the other two
Evidently, with what readers presume to be the “man of her dreams”, Clemencia's mother seems to be in her own world as she completely disregards her life with her former husband and their children. This does not bode well for Clemencia as she holds a lot of resentment towards her mother, that will likely never resolve due to the fact that Clemencia's mom is not around in the world anymore. Even though, her mother may not be in this world anymore, Clemencia will always wonder why her mom did marry her father.
Rafaela is married to an older man and “gets locked indoors because her husband is afraid Rafaela will run away since she is too beautiful to look at” (79). The narrator Esperanza notes that because Rafaela is locked in the house she gives the passing kids money to run to the store to bring her back juice. Esperanza states that “Rafaela who drinks and drinks coconut and papaya juice on Tuesdays and wishes there were sweeter drinks, not bitter like an empty room, but sweet sweet like the island, like the dance hall down the street where women much older than her throw green eyes easily like dice and open homes with keys. And always there is someone offering sweeter drinks, someone promising to keep them on a silver string” (81). Esperanza is being to notice a common occurrence in the treatment of women on Mango Street. Rafaela is locked away by her husband as he wants to keep her from running off. This mirrors the relationship between Earl and his wife. Rafaela is described in more detail however allowing readers a deeper connection to her experience in her marriage. Esperanza witnesses Rafaela’s confinement in the house each time she passes by with friends and Rafaela sends them down money to buy her a drink from the store since she is unable to go herself. There is also an interesting comparison in which the confined room is compared to being bitter whereas the sweet drink is compared to being the
The Narrator’s family treats her like a monster by resenting and neglecting her, faking her death, and locking her in her room all day. The Narrator’s family resents her, proof of this is found when the Narrator states “[My mother] came and went as quickly as she could.
...esponsible for the deaths of her husband and sons. The mother lacks the vitality and hunger for life. Lorca instills that hunger in the character of the bride.
In the short story “Eveline “ by James Joyce, Eveline, the protagonist is given the opportunity to escape from her hard unendurable life at home and live a life of true happiness at Buenos Ayres with Frank, her lover. Throughout the story, Eveline is faced with a few good memories of her past from her childhood and her mother, but she also faces the horrible flashbacks of her mother’s illness and her father’s violence. In the end, she does not leave with Frank, Eveline’s indecisiveness and the burden of her family’s duties makes her stay.
In my first paragraph I will be talking about the relationship of Mister Salgado and Nili. Mister Salgado and Nili’s relationship went across or broke boundaries at the social context, because they were from different religion which was unaccepted at that time. Nili was a Christian it is indicated when she says” a Christmas party” this indicate that she is a Christian because it is only Christians who celebrate Christmas. Mister Salgado is a Buddhist. When the fell in love mister Salgado becomes more relaxed and calm he even forgets about the Carol Reef project. The moving in of Nili in the house brought joy and happiness even in Mister Slagado’s life. Their relationship in some way involved Triton, because now Nili and Triton were getting along. That is why Triton felt like they were a family. However later on mister Salgado and Nili’s separate, because mister Salgado suspects that Nili is cheating on him with Robert. This is in context with the country been colonized by the Americans. This follows their intense quarrel, were mister Salgado is subjected to Nili’s whispering swearing when they were coming back from the party. This period is similar to the political turmoil which surrounds them. It indicates a spoilt paradise. Where people of different religion do not see eye to eye, due to a fail...