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It’s hard for many to understand what it's to be a girl but it’s even harder to understand what it's like to be a girl in a Mexican family. In a traditional Mexican family, the girls don't get to go out with friends, you have restrictions. You don't get to do what the boys get to do. I had never been aware of what my life was really like until something life-changing had occurred to me. My dad would rarely let me go out and I couldn't stay up late nor talk to guys. It’s strange how your whole entire view of life could change in a matter of seconds. Coming from this kind of family where the mindset is that a man has all the power has taught me many things. I didn't like it, but understanding why my family was like this helped make me the person …show more content…
I am today. It all began the summer of my junior year, there was a guy named Gabriel that had an interest in me and wanted to get to know me. At first I didn’t think much of it because my father was so protective, and that would scare guys off. But he was different, no matter what I said he never gave up and was there for me. He was sweet, but I was mean to him, I pushed him off so he didn't have to deal with my father. My older sister had to deal with this, but my brothers got a pass, because they were male, and my dad felt that “Boys will be boys”. I hated this, but I was my dad's favorite, he was going to be very protective of me. Gabriel comes from a supportive family with different values than mine. We would talk on the phone until sunrise which I thought was crazy because he had football practice in the morning. When school started, I would go on dates with him but lie to my parents about where I was. Gabriel grew frustrated with the secrecy but I just didn't have the courage to stand up to my father. I knew it wasn’t but I just feared what my dad would say. I finally decided to tell my dad about is on New Year’s Eve. It sounded like such a great idea at the time but it turned out so different. I invited Gabriel to come over to my house and the plan was to tell my dad he was my boyfriend. When Gabriel walked through the door, I was so scared, my heart was beating out of my chest. My brother and sister told him that my dad wouldn't understand, but it was now or never, we just had to tell him and get it out there. We all went outside to watch the fireworks. I stood next to Gabriel and told him that I loved him and would be with him, no matter what. It might sound crazy that a daughter could be so scared of her father, but I did, especially since I felt I couldn't rely on him. We all came inside, ate grapes for the count down, and shortly after my dad stared at Gabriel like he wanted to hit him. I don’t know how, but I got the strength to stand up.
My eyes watered, my body shook, but I finally told him. My dad was upset, his eyes were full of hate and I couldn't understand why. I tried my best to do things right but it turned out horribly. I cried, and my dad yelled, telling me that he wasn’t stupid. I had brought a stranger into his home, he knew what was happening. I was heartbroken, and I felt horrible. Gabriel went outside, I followed and told him how sorry I was and how I wished he hadn't gone through this. We talked for a long time and I told him that I understood if he no longer wanted to be with me. He told me that he loved me and all he wanted was to make me happy. He would stay with me and wouldn't let my dad get in the way. In that moment I realized that my dad couldn’t accept not only Gabriel but that I was suffocating under the idea of what a Mexican girl “should” be. My eyes finally saw the life I was living and I stopped being a child and became an adult. That night really hurt me but it made me realize that my dad wasn’t going to accept that I was such a different person, I was no longer the little girl he took care of. My dad hasn’t spoken a word to me since then. It’s a pain I can’t really explain. But my eyes are open now, and I've grown so much from
this.
Sandra Cisneros “Never Marry a Mexican” and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are stories that reflect on the cultures in which the characters grew up in. In Never Marry, Clemencia, the narrator, reflects on her past sexual relations as well as her childhood. She speaks of her parents’ marriage and then transitions into her relationship with college professor and his son. In Oscar Wao, Yunior, the narrator, gives a second-hand retelling of Oscar’s experiences in New Jersey growing up as well as in the Dominican Republic. A person’s identity is largely influenced by their culture, this is especially the case in Hispanic cultures. The social constraints that these cultures place on social class, sexuality, and gender norms can be very detrimental to a person’s self-esteem.
On one hand we can see that she pushes back and challenges her tradition on the other hand it is difficult to not see emotion expressed by herself when she is alone. One scene that does do this is when she is buying condoms for the first time but does not know what to purchase. This small but significant scene revels that although she is strong and ready she also needs guidance through her path of adulthood. She is able to ask a pharmacist for advice but not her own mother. This lack of connection to be open up to mothers is emphasized enough to create awareness that young Mexican American women need someone to talk to and it should preferably be their
In “Like Mexican” Gary Soto’s grandmother uses her wisdom and an advising tone in order to encourage Gary to marry a Mexican girl who is financially poor and is like a “house-wife.” A traditional family such as this author’s shares an outlook how marriage is significant and culturally supervised by the parent or the grandparents. The grandmother looks toward a homogamy for Gary’s marriage. The grandmother’s conversational style is most defined throughout “Like Mexican” since it began with the grandmother’s advices and throughout the essay Gary was yet again spoken by his grandmother. The repetition of the thought constantly wraps around Gary’s mind. In contrast, the essay “Gender in the Classroom” strikingly separates the male and female student’s own conversation styles. From Deborah Tannen, males are likely to speak up to show their “contribution” and to “express themselves on the floor.” Also, male students tend to find the “public classroom setting more conducive to speaking” in a large group. (Tannen pg. 285). However, in “Like Mexican” as the audience, we were not introduced with many of Soto’s male friends or a male gathering in order for Soto to express his thoughts and feelings. In another opposition in “Gender in the Classroom” “most women are more comfortable speaking in private to a small group they know well.” (Tannen 285). In other words, female
The story revolves around the reality that Mexican girls are raised to find a man and get married. They have a mind set about having a man in their l...
Sandra Cisneros born on December 20, 1954 grew up in Chicago settling with a neighborhood known with Hispanic immigrants. Until then her migrating with her six brothers, from different communities in Chicago, and visiting her grandmother in Mexico, she has never really make ones home in. Being the only girl with no sisters, Cisneros only way that would deprive her from loneliness, is by reading books where she found her talents in writing. Fast forwarding to college Sandra Cisneros worked on her master’s degree at University of Iowa Writers Workshop where found her interest as Mexican-American woman with a self-reliant passion and how being a Hispanic were different in the American culture.
Being so naïve about the country I came from being influenced by the way other people look at Mexico made me ashamed of who I was. Even taking it as far as dreading the color of my skin and despising the blood that ran through my veins. Not knowing of course that blood and the way I am and look is what ties me to my ancestors and my future family. Now, having the ability to block out the unnecessary opinions of outsiders and finally having the courage to love myself and my roots; I’m able to fill my own head with information. Learning from how people in Mexico treated the land like a part a part of themselves, I decided that I’m as important as the seasonal fruits, as intricate as el mole, sweet life the pineapple, and as bright and persuading as the sunflower. For the first time everything I see and am is as beautiful as it should be.
Suppose your mother has hammered into your head over years to marry a man unlike your father. You may not ever marry, you may even become a harlot. Now, suppose have six siblings and you are the only daughter. Your Mexican fathers’ only expectation is for you to marry. You end up not marrying, but always seeking your father’s approval. These are the fascinating cultural enriched protagonists in “Never Marry a Mexican” and “Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros. The cultural expectations of these women and the roles they decided to take went against what older generations had demanded or saw fit. These protagonists challenged these expectations with the roles they chose and I instantly became a fan. Sandra Cisneros is a Latina American
( 254 ). When Alvarez describes how desperately the main character in, “All-American Girl”, is trying to fit into the American culture one can easily visualize a young, confused Latina teenager. She portrays the insecurities that come with being different through the eyes of a young immigrant. Each method of sensory images was unique to its own but efficient in expressing emotions and
As children, we all want to make our own parents proud and accept us for who we are. As humans, we all want to feel loved by those we admire the most. However, when a parent’s lack of acceptance and encourage continues to grow, it can shape a child’s life. Sandra Cisneros, the author of “Only Girl,” comes from a working-class Mexican family whose parents only want what is best for their seven children. Or at least, thinks they know what it is best. The America that Cisneros believes in is a nation full of freedom, which are limited by attempts to certain achievements and capabilities in regards to level of skills and strengths. However, while growing up in two different houses, one in America and one in Mexico, the Mexican culture was favored
Growing up everyone has certain roles to perform; gradually your roles can change once you are freely able to express yourself without any restrictions. Unfortunately just like thousands of other women in the world at the time, the women of Mexico were limited and had role in which they followed. A challenge Mexican women had during their early times was that, “no unmarried women under thirty could legally leave her parental home” (Soto, 10). This limited women to their own individuality as they were force to stay home and take care of their parents since there was no husband to tender for. Every women wanted to get married so that they can grow older a...
chapter he writes how he is affected because he was considered a minority because of his ethnicity. He had to learn to his roots and love his color. The one he could not accept is that he was given special privileges due to his nationality. He wanted to be awarded the awards on his intellectual merits, not because he was a minority-Mexican-American. He goes into depth on how everyone should be given a fair chance even if you are underprivileged or not. He writes about how his parents especially his mother how she feels betrayed by him, due to him talking about their family out in the public and she considered a private matter. He did not consider himself to be a disadvantaged Hispanic-American. Rodriquez, stated “One Mexican-American said
I was born on March 08, 1995 at roughly seven pounds. When I was extracted from my mother, I was given the gender of a male with the appearance of my male body parts. My mother used to say to me, growing up as a toddler that I had so much hair like former American Football player, Troy Polamalu. People had always assumed that I was a girl, therefore my mother had to correct them and say, “No, he is a boy”. Growing up a toddler, I was always wearing some type of jeans with a sports shirt and shoes that were mostly colored black or blue. As I grew older, I gained interest in baseball, wrestling, and the military. I always wanted to play with action figures such as GI Joe and wrestling celebrities in addition to imaginary flying in an apache helicopter or taking command in a battle tank. Advancing to my pre-teen years, I wanted to play baseball, which is considered to be mostly a boy sport. It was at this moment, that my gender was a boy. Progressing to my teen years, I started to observe my father and learn my gender on his roles as the man in our family. I noticed that my father was already taking charge in the house and giving me orders that I needed to complete. Going through middle school, most boys had some type of sports backpack while the girls
Identity-“Ones personal qualities.”Identiy is something only he or she can fully define. My uncle says I am affectionate,cheerful, and calm. My grandmother sees me as slim, pretty and sweet. My dad described me as perky, cheerful and happy, my mom says beautiful, gentle, and self-conscious. These adjectives describe me accurately, yet they are only abstract versions of me. Adjectives cannot begin to describe me and I aknowlege these descriptions for what they are, a condensed translation from my outward self to the world. It is impossible for anyone to understand me completely because nobody has experienced the things I have. My mother has never cherished a raggedy doll named Katie and my father never spent hours upon hours making collages and scrap books for his future children. My uncle never hid in the back of a pick-up-truck and traveled four hours to New York and my grandmother has never walked hours in the rain looking for the Queen of England. My identity is something only I can define.
A secret agent. A professional football player. A fire fighter. These would have been my responses when asked that inevitable question, "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Family, Media and Peers are said to have influenced my views concerning the role I am to play society. All of these factors had one thing in common. They all were influencing me to behave according to my gender. Everything from the clothes I wore to the toys I played with contributed to this. Even now as a young adult my dreams and aspirations are built around the gender roles that were placed on me.
It was around 2:00pm and it was time to open presents. I started with opening friend’s presents then I opened families. I was finally done opening all my presents. I looked around at all the people, who were looking at me and my dad was nowhere to be. That was the only present that I was looking forward too. The party ended and my dad didn’t show up, my little four years old hopes were in the ground, it was like I could feel my heart ripping appart. I looked at my mom and she mouthed I’m sorry, my faced turned rosy red and my eyes filled with tears. From that moment on my life was never the same. It was a dark cloudy day and I was going to see my dad. We were playing the game Sorry and he was winning. I was the yellow player and he was the green player, he was laughing and smiling the whole time. I wouldn’t have wanted to spend my Friday afternoon any other way. When the game was over he asked me to clean up the game while he went out to smoke a cig. When he entered the room and the game wasn’t picked up, he went crazy. His eyes seemed to turn a dark almost black color. It was like he was a completely different person when he came back