Tension In Diana Lopez's Confetti Girl

Tension (Noun): Tension is a mental or emotional strain caused by something that typically induces anxiety, stress, or pressure. Oftentimes, throughout one’s life, one finds that when one is in a specific situation, tension occurs internally, and sometimes even externally, between two people. Similarly, in Diana Lopez’s novel, Confetti Girl and Jennifer Cervantes’ novel, Tortilla Sun, the narrators have different points of view than that of their parents, causing tension. For example, in Diana Lopez’s Confetti Girl, the narrator does not like English at all, but because her Father does, she finds that at home, her Father is always asking her about her English class and how she is doing in the class; since her Father is so involved in the subject

that he seems to disregard the narrator’s view on it, an internal tension forms within the narrator between her and her Father. Adding on, in Jennifer Cervantes’ Tortilla Sun, the narrator, Izzy, has a completely different view than her Mother when she is told that she must go to New Mexico because her mother says that it would be a great opportunity, while Izzy completely disagrees; this causes external tension between Izzy and her mother. Lastly, in both texts, the narrators have completely different views than their parents, and because of these disagreements, the narrator feels completely neglected by their parents, further fortifying any tension that had been there initially. Therefore, in Diana Lopez’s novel, Confetti Girl and Jennifer Cervantes’ novel, Tortilla Sun, the narrators have different points of view than that of their parents, causing tension when the narrator disagrees with her Father in not liking English, when Izzy claims that going to New Mexico is more of an opportunity for her Mother than for her, while her mother believes different, and when the two narrators both feel neglected by their parents because they have such different views than them.
One example of how the narrator’s and their parent’s points of view cause tension can be found in Diana Lopez’s novel, Confetti Girl.

In this novel, the narrator and her father live alone, giving her the responsibility to complete most of the household chores without her mother around. Her Father is an English teacher, and one day, at dinner, he asks her about her English class, saying, “Any new vocabulary words?” (Lopez 14). The narrator is in no way fond of English, and responds in a uncaring manner, claiming that she “guesses” that she has some new vocabulary words, but does not remember them; she only knows that one starts with the prefix, super. Her father begins throwing potential vocabulary words at her, but she brushes them off using a sarcastic response. Her Father ignores this and reminds her that the prefix, super, means above and beyond, and that by breaking a word down, you can easily identify the meaning. The narrator says “okay” and quickly changes the subject. However, the Father catches on and asks if she is reading any books in class. The narrator begins to get bored with the topic and tries to hint at this, “I sigh, bored, but he doesn’t get the hint,” (Lopez 22), but he does not understand, so she responds with a yes and claims that she does not know the book’s title, but only that it has a rabbit on the cover. The Father knows immediately that it is Watership Down. She says that she left the book in her locker and can’t do her homework, but her Father

jumps up and begins looking for a copy. At this very moment, the narrator begins getting extremely upset with her father and clears her plate, storming up to her bedroom and passing her father on the way there. As she passes, she hears him whisper something to himself as if he was speaking to a class of students. This is a trigger of her anger, and she thinks to herself, “ I can’t stand it. I just can’t stand it. I’d rather have Vanessa’s crazy mom,” (Lopez 28). This thought implies that the narrator cannot stand her father any longer, and would rather have one of her friends’ crazy parents than have her own English teacher father. This shows how the characters’ differences in point of view create tension because the narrator hates the fact that her Father is so indulged in English that he does not care to recognize her opinion on the subject.
In addition to the resulting tension between the narrator and her Father in Diana Lopez’s novel, Confetti Girl, the narrator, Izzy, and her mother in Jennifer Cervantes’ Tortilla Sun, have such dissimilar points of view that it causes extreme tension between them.

For instance, in this novel excerpt, Izzy’s mother announces that she is going on a trip to complete her research. For this reason, Izzy has to stay in New Mexico with her Nana, whom she calls “a stranger.” It is clear that Izzy does not want to stay with her Nana for the entire summer, so she persists, asking her mother if there is a chance that she could go with her on her trip for her research, but her mother says no, claiming that she already has the ticket and is leaving Monday. Determined not to go to New Mexico, Izzy then questions why she can’t just stay home alone. Nonetheless, the Mother responds with a no full of finality. At this moment, Izzy begins getting upset with her mother, saying, “I swallowed hard and tried not to cry,” (Lopez 29). Despite knowing there was no chance of her winning the argument, Izzy continues to attempt to convince her mom to allow her to stay home. She says that she has plans for the summer to meet some girls before school begins so she is not alone. This is another thing that Izzy and her mother view differently; Izzy’s mother wants Izzy to make friends, but Izzy does not understand why this is necessary considering that she will most-likely move in only a few months. Izzy’s

mother contradicts Izzy’s idea and says that she can make friends in the fall and that traveling to New Mexico will be a wonderful opportunity. Izzy completely disagrees, saying, “Opportunity? For me? Or for you?” (Cervantes 34). Izzy says this because she knows that by going to her Nana’s, she will be out of her mother’s hands, allowing her to complete her research which should change their lives for the better; however, Izzy and her mother just unpacked from their most recent move, and Izzy just wants to stay home. She storms up to her room and when she arrives, she throws herself on the bed, summarizing her feelings: “I ached inside. Like the feeling you get watching a lost balloon float far into the sky until it becomes an invisible nothing,” (Cervantes 35). This statement emphasizes the narrator’s growing sense of hopelessness, knowing that she will have to go to New Mexico, despite her efforts. This shows how the characters’ differences in point of view create tension because Izzy disagrees completely with her mother’s statement that traveling to New Mexico is a great opportunity, and even though she tries so hard to avoid leaving home, Izzy still finds herself losing the argument with her Mother, leaving her utterly hopeless and in a bad relationship with her. In fact, after their argument, Izzy avoids talking to her mother when she tries to resolve the problem, leaving the mother asking, “Would you please talk to me?” (Cervantes 45).