American History Judith Ortiz Cofer Summary

Society perceives life and death with an imbalanced outlook—a widening chasm conveying life as a bouquet, while death is not but a frail skeleton framing one’s former glory. Nonetheless, death is nothing without life, as life is meaningless without death. From mourning to peace, death instills a sense of appreciation for life because it reminds people to live life to the fullest. “American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer portrays how death is mourned by those who care enough to keep a name alive even after life; legacy is all one leaves behind. When President John F. Kennedy is pronounced dead, the protagonist, Elena, experiences how death quite frankly changes the way one behaves. Residents of an apartment building, El Building, mourn the loss
The beauty nature provides for people is often overlooked; thus, it is of the utmost importance to cherish all the little moments in life because one can never truly know when it may be the last. Initially, the death of President Kennedy was a symbol of peace; death unites people closer together to build stronger bonds. Hence, it portrays to readers how insignificant petty grievances appear in the grand scheme of life and death. Accordingly, Elena’s walk home from school was fairly calm the day the assassination occurred. The usual lively atmosphere that emitted from El Building gleamed, muffled with silence. For instance, the news took everyone by surprise because the usual blather of noisy scolds bellowed mellow and glum, as shown in the text: “But the day President Kennedy was shot there was a profound silence in El building, even the abusive tongues of viragoes, the cursing of the unemployed, and the screeching of small children had been somehow muted” (Cofer 1). This news impacted each person significantly, regardless of their age or