Themes Of Multiculturalism In Not For Sale By Judith Ortiz Cofer

756 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Multicultural Literature: An Essay. (2000). Multicultural Perspectives l(2), 33-37

Minority writers like W.EB. DuBois, Judith Ortiz Cofer, and Sherman Alexie, have endeavored to vocalize the unheard voices of their people through literature. Their poems, short stories and novels echo sentiments of inequalities, prejudices, and the struggles of living as a minority in America. They also courageously share their perspectives on how the conflicts between their respective native cultures and the majority shape their lives and the world around them. These authors through their stories provide deeper insights on the concept of diversity. Authors from differing minority backgrounds have shown the variety of lenses in which diversity can be viewed and understood. Their writings show the evolution of diversity through time. Although …show more content…

In her childhood, Cofer traveled back and forth from Puerto Rico to the United States due to her father’s active military career. This caused her to be entrenched in both worlds, literally and figuratively. She also expresses the issues she faced and experiences due to her dual cultural heritages through her works. In her short story: Not for Sale, Cofer divulges the identity conflict she experiences in having to merge her father’s deeply rooted Puerto Rican traditions with the customs of the new world she was immersed in. She writes “I was being denied everything by my father: no dating like other sixteen-year-olds (I was a decent Puerto Rican senorita, not a wild American teenager); no driver 's license (the streets of Paterson were too dangerous for an inexperienced driver -- he would take me where I needed to go); no end-of-the-school-year weekend trip with my junior class to Seaside Heights (even though three teachers would be chaperoning us). No, no, no, with a short Spanish "o."” (Cofer, 1992. P.1). She points out the challenges of been torn between on culture and the

Show More
Related

  • Okita And Cisneros: A Comparative Essay

    565 Words  | 2 Pages

    Okita and Cisneros’ stories are written from very different standpoints, and from first glance do not even appear related, yet through all of this emerges the idea that you can create your own identity. This common theme would not be achievable if it were not for the eloquent use of literary devices such as tone, mood, and shifts by Okita and Cisneros. Not only do Okita and Cisneros’ works bring together a common theme they manage to bring to light the very real problem of racism in America, that has existed since it’s very foundation, in an attempt to bring about change. Although Both authors used a wide variety of literary techniques to write their works they show that commonalities can be found in the most different of

    Read More

  • Sandra Cisneros' Never Marry a Mexican and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

    1231 Words  | 3 Pages

    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.

    Read More

  • Ronald Takaki's Iron Cages: Race and Culture in 19th-Century America

    1673 Words  | 4 Pages

    Despite the prejudice, hate and violence that seem to be so deeply entrenched in America's multiracial culture and history of imperialism, Takaki does offer us hope. Just as literature has the power to construct racial systems, so it also has the power to refute and transcend them. The pen is in our hands. Works Consulted -. Takaki, Ronald.

    Read More

  • Comparison Of Strange Fruit And Primping In The Rearview Mirror

    251 Words  | 1 Pages

    Poems and other readings with strong racial undertones such as Strange Fruit allow me to reflect back on the role race plays in my life as a black young woman and analysis if much has changed in terms of racism in the American society today.

    Read More

  • A Partial Remembrance Of A Puerto Rican Childhood Summary

    895 Words  | 2 Pages

    #1.The thesis in “A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood” by Judith Ortiz Cofer is that because of the stories her grandmother told every afternoon when she was a child, her writing was heavily influenced and she learned what it was like to be a ‘Puerto Rican woman’. The thesis of the selection is stated in the first and last sentence of the second paragraph: “It was on these rockers that my mother, her sisters, and my grandmother sat on these afternoons of my childhood to tell their stories, teaching each other, and my cousin and me, what it was like to be a woman, more specifically, a Puerto Rican woman . . . And they told cuentos, the morality and cautionary tales told by the women in our family for generations: stories that became

    Read More

  • The Pathology of Whitenes in Pym, by Mat Johnson

    1405 Words  | 3 Pages

    ...it but try to make a change. Through Chris Jaynes, Johnson expresses to his readers the importance of taking a stance on the issue of Whiteness by making it a very prominent ideal in his novel. Johnson furthers his agreement against Whiteness by expressing the fact that the issue not only needs to be identified but that there needs to be more of a push to change the issue. Sticking to the normal ways of trying to fix the issue of Whiteness, such as using a diversity committee, are no longer acceptable in the fight against Whiteness as it has proved to be unsuccessful. Instead Mat Johnson challenges the reader to notice the practices that keep American literature segregated and consider how effective the methods put in place truly are in advancing American literature.

    Read More

  • How The Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents

    1624 Words  | 4 Pages

    Immigrants come to America, the revered City upon a Hill, with wide eyes and high hopes, eager to have their every dream and wild reverie fulfilled. Rarely, if ever, is this actually the case. A select few do achieve the stereotypical ‘rags to riches’ transformation – thus perpetuating the myth. The Garcia family from Julia Alvarez’s book How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents, fall prey to this fairytale. They start off the tale well enough: the girls are treated like royalty, princesses of their Island home, but remained locked in their tower, also known as the walls of their family compound. The family is forced to flee their Dominican Republic paradise – which they affectionately refer to as simply, the Island – trading it instead for the cold, mean streets of American suburbs. After a brief acclimation period, during which the girls realize how much freedom is now available to them, they enthusiastically try to shed their Island roots and become true “American girls.” They throw themselves into the American lifestyle, but there is one slight snag in their plan: they, as a group, are unable to forget their Island heritage and upbringing, despite how hard they try to do so. The story of the Garcia girls is not a fairytale – not of the Disney variety anyway; it is the story of immigrants who do not make the miraculous transition from rags to riches, but from stifling social conventions to unabridged freedom too quickly, leaving them with nothing but confusion and unresolved questions of identity.

    Read More

  • Kindred And The Parable Of The Sower Analysis

    1494 Words  | 3 Pages

    What defines an individual’s racial characteristics? Does an individual have the right to discriminate against those that are “different” in a specific way? In Octavia Butler’s works, which are mostly based on themes that correlate to one another, she influences the genre and fiction in ways that bring light to the problems of societies history. Through Kindred and the Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler examines themes of community, racial identification, and racial oppression through the perspective of a black feminist. In each novel, values and historical perspective show the hardships that individuals unique to an alien world have to face. Through the use of fictional works, Butler is able to delve into historical themes and human conditions, and with majority of works under the category of science fiction, Butler is able to explore these themes through a variety of settings. This essay will discuss two of Butler’s popular works, Kindred and the Parable of Sower, and will interpret the themes of women, race, independence, and power throughout the two novels.

    Read More

  • The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Dubois

    3326 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B Dubois is a influential work in African American literature and is an American classic. In this book Dubois proposes that "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line." His concepts of life behind the veil of race and the resulting "double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others," have become touchstones for thinking about race in America. In addition to these lasting concepts, Souls offers an evaluation of the progress of the races and the possibilities for future progress as the nation entered the twentieth century.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Zora Neale Hurston

    729 Words  | 2 Pages

    When handling a controversial subject, it is important to recognize the opinion of everyone, not just of oneself. If an author does not recognize, at least to some degree, the opinion of everyone in their audience, they risk losing the interest of readers whose opinions are different. African American writers must consider how it feels to be an African American to their audience; they must understand that there is no such thing as one identity for an entire race.

    Read More

  • Silent Dancing Analysis

    1540 Words  | 4 Pages

    Chick critiqued Judith Ortiz Cofer’s Silent Dancing by advising that it is a collection of fourteen essays and poems. It talks about Cofer’s adolescence and how she did not achieve the expectations for her to become a traditional Puerto Rican woman (AEW 381). Initially, Mamá is portrayed as an authority figure because she keeps her family in control just by the use of storytelling. With Chick’s point of view, I cannot disagree since it is accurate. Cofer, also disagrees with becoming the traditional Puerto Rican woman from receiving an education and going on her own path to becoming a writer. It is interesting how some of the characters are perceived, although they are considered as fiction since their identities are hidden. Cofer achieves her storytelling by being half fiction and auto-biography since it is written by herself. She reevaluates how women should be known as, but specifically the means of the life of a Puerto Rican

    Read More

  • Gwendolyn Brooks

    1064 Words  | 3 Pages

    It is important to not that the direction of Brooks’s literary career shifted dramatically in the late 1960’s. While attending a black writers’ conference she was struck by the passion of the young poets. Before this happened, she had regarded herself as essentially a universalist, who happened to be black. After the conference, she shifted from writing about her poems about black people and life to writing for the black population.

    Read More

  • The Latino Culture in America

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    The struggle to find a place inside an un-welcoming America has forced the Latino to recreate one. The Latino feels out of place, torn from the womb inside of America's reality because she would rather use it than know it (Paz 226-227). In response, the Mexican women planted the seeds of home inside the corral*. These tended and potted plants became her burrow of solace and place of acceptance. In the comfort of the suns slices and underneath the orange scents, the women were free. Still the questions pounded in the rhythm of street side whispers. The outside stare thundered in pulses, you are different it said. Instead of listening she tried to instill within her children the pride of language, song, and culture. Her roots weave soul into the stubborn soil and strength grew with each blossom of the fig tree (Goldsmith).

    Read More

  • The Failure Of Multiculturalism By Kenan Malik

    1110 Words  | 3 Pages

    In his article “The Failure of Multiculturalism”, Kenan Malik uses the diverse European culture to study and explain the irony of multiculturalism. He defines multiculturalism as “the embrace of an inclusive, diverse society” (Malik 21). Integration between cultures is practically inevitable, but several nations view this as a threat towards upholding their culture. Due to this, many countries have made attempts at properly integrating new people and ideas while trying to prevent the degradation of their own. This can result in unjust regulations and the reverse effect of an intended multicultural society.

    Read More

  • Essay On Multiculturalism

    1054 Words  | 3 Pages

    Britain is and always has been a mixed race society. Gradually over the years, millions of people all over the world arrive either through past invasion or come as an immigrant to escape their own country’s famine, persecution and seeking for better economic opportunities in the UK (Zafra, 2007). The history of immigration and invasion has produced today’s diverse community. However, for the past few years, there has been a dispute concerning whether multiculturalism has obstruct the goal of attaining a peaceful community and instead causing extremism in the UK. According to Michelle Wilkinson (2011), this is resulted by the notion that multiculturalism promotes segregation and different groups having different beliefs leading to heavy tension and radicalization. On the other hand, multiculturalism has also been praised for advancing equality and social recognition (Caroline Howarth & Eleni Andreouli, 2013). In the light of this controversial issue, both aspect of the pro and cons of Multiculturalism to the society will be covered in this essay, exploring as a whole whether the ideology of Multiculturalism in enforcing equality has worked in Britain or not.

    Read More

More about Themes Of Multiculturalism In Not For Sale By Judith Ortiz Cofer

Open Document