“I am an only daughter in a Mexican family of six sons… I am the only daughter of a mexican father and a Mexican-American mother...I am the only daughter of a working-class family of nine.” In the opening line of “Only Daughter” by Sandra Cisneros, she includes sentences she believes “explains everything,”(paragraph 2). What Cisneros wants her readers to understand is that she was the only daughter in a Mexican family, and how that contributed to her writing. As she explains in the writing, she wrote for her father. He was the stereotypical patriarchal figure that believed women were to wives, and in this traditional box Cisneros finds herself unable to conform. In her guilt, almost subconsciously, she begins to write about her family, …show more content…
“I am an twin in a Black family of 3 kids.” Or, “I am the middle child in a Black family, of one son and two daughters.” Also, “I am a twin, in a single-parent family of four people.” Although this explained who I was in a literal way, I favored sentences like “I am a girl who goes to school, and is trying to find new hobbies.” Unlike Cisneros, whose identity revolves around her gender, and ethnicity. Yet, my ethnicity as a black person, doesn't force certain cultural ideas or moral judgments, so I feel as though I have more space to identify myself. I feel like the first sentence was important “I am the middle child in a Black family,” as it explains that I’m Black and a middle child, which contributes a lot to my role at home. Especially since I am now the oldest at home. Likewise, ““I am a girl who goes to school, and is trying to find hobbies,” is an important aspect of my identity, not because of the actual elements, but it shows that I’m still on a path for improvement. As someone that is still discovering my aspirations and what I enjoy, including that in my identity in important, because it explain my views and mindset; constantly shifting and
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
Intertwined in allusions to women of Mexican history and folklore, making it clear that women across the centuries have suffered the same alienation and victimization, Cisneros presents a woman who struggles to prevail over romantic notions of domestic bliss by leaving her husband. In the story Woman Hollering Creek, Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleófilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally. Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. In Woman Hollering Creek, we see a young Mexican woman, who suddenly moves across the border and gets married. The protagonist, Cleófilas’ character is based on a family of a six brothers and a dad and without a mom, and the story reveals around her inner feelings and secrets.
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.
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 Cisneros’ story, “Only Daughter”, she describes her “struggle” for acceptance from her father as his machismo kicks in when the narrator announces to her father that she wants to go to college and get an education. He did not express it directly but the idea that he had in mind that, college was good for girls but only to find a husband, pointed out that the narrator had a lack of encouragement from her father; However, this was not a reason for the writer to get discouraged. She still felt the need to succeed so she could stand out amongst her brothers, with the idea that this way she would gain her father’s acceptance. Another thing that the narrator struggled with was that she felt like she was being “erased” every time
In the story "Woman Hollering Creek" Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleofilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally .Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. Cisneros has been famous about writing stories about the latino culture and how women are treated; she explain what they go through as a child, teen and when they are married; always dominated by men because of how the culture has been adapted. "Woman Hollering Creek" is one of the best examples. A character who grows up without a mother and who has no one to guid and give her advise about life.
What is identity? Identity is an unbound formation which is created by racial construction and gender construction within an individual’s society even though it is often seen as a controlled piece of oneself. In Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’, Tatum asserts that identity is formed by “individual characteristics, family dynamics, historical factors, and social and political contexts” (Tatum 105). Tatum’s piece, “The Complexity of Identity: ‘Who Am I?’” creates a better understanding of how major obstacles such as racism and sexism shape our self identity.
Also, the fact that the Hispanic family speaks english and obtained other "American" characteristics. Within the story, the narrator is faced with remarks by the older generation of Hispanics who have "...strong Mexican roots"
Cisneros feels that society as a whole “glorifies” beautiful, young girls,
That she never question her duty as a mother, wife, or daughter. Cisneros invites her audience to witness what occurs within the those four walls. By letting her characters speak, readers are encouraged to explore implicit meanings of the presented
The Mexican culture that her father was pushing onto her believed that the women’s place was at home with a husband. Which is the reason why her father encouraged her to go to college only because it would mean to him that she would find a husband. Cisneros's went through college without finding a husband as she writes “After four years in college and two more in graduate school, and still no husband, my father shakes his head even now and says I wasted all that education. In Sandra’s eyes her education is not going to waste as she is pursuing her dream of becoming a professional
A person’s identity is shaped by many different aspects. Family, culture, friends, personal interests and surrounding environments are all factors that tend to help shape a person’s identity. Some factors may have more of an influence than others and some may not have any influence at all. As a person grows up in a family, they are influenced by many aspects of their life. Family and culture may influence a person’s sense of responsibilities, ethics and morals, tastes in music, humor and sports, and many other aspects of life. Friends and surrounding environments may influence a person’s taste in clothing, music, speech, and social activities. Personal interests are what truly set individuals apart. An individual is not a puppet on the string of their puppet-master, nor a chess piece on their master’s game board, individuals choose their own paths in life. They accomplish, or strive to accomplish, goals that they have set for themselves throughout their lifetime. Individuals are different from any other individual in the world because they live their own life rather than following a crowd of puppets. A person’s identity is defined by what shaped it in the first place, why they chose to be who they are, and what makes them different from everybody else in the world. I feel that I have developed most of my identity from my own dreams, fantasies, friends, and idols.
Over time, like many other complex topics in society, identity has been reduced to a simplified version of itself. Whether it was a conscious decision or it was fueled by the often lazy nature of humankind, identity was transformed from a far-reaching and perplexing wonder to a handful of terms. When it comes to gender, we are expected to believe that one’s identity comes in two forms: male or female; and with relation to race or ethnicity, we are often labeled by either the color of our skin, or a very large geographical region. Although in recent years, there has been a great deal of progress made towards accepting unconventional identities or being more specific when labeling, we still face an unwillingness to accept a spectrum of identity, rather than a sorted list.
In sociology, identity refers to a variety of factors that make a person or a group, such as qualities, beliefs, personality, appearance, or expressions. In order to think about my identity sociologically, I need to discuss various issues in detail. In particular, the most important points include the way how I define my identity, the factors that contribute to the formation of my identity, and the real-life events related to the development of identity. To begin with, my identity is characterized by a large number of elements. I believe that everyone has their own identity, which cannot be similar to that of other people.
A person's identity is crucial in the decision-making process and behavior. The individual's identity depends on many aspects of their life and environment where they were raised. Many people's sports, clubs, or hobbies are what forms their identity. Personally, my early life and family dynamic have molded my identity mainly but, one aspect of someone's life cannot be the only contributing factor. Other contributing factors to my personal identity are having to move my junior year of high school, living with not only my grandparents but my aunt and uncle at the same time, and my faith.