Response to "American History" The story "American History" by Judith Ortiz-Cofer is one that many people can relate to. It is not merely a Latina girl ’s experiences with prejudice and growing up in New Jersey. The story rings true for many. In "American History‚" Elena is a ninth grader at a large public school in Paterson‚ New Jersey. On this day‚ a cold gray November day‚ President Kennedy has been shot. The reader can see how all the adults in the story are immensely affected by this
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decision so they can feel better about themselves. In “Abuela Invents the Zero”‚ by Judith Ortiz Cofer‚ it is portrayed that Constancia made her decision so she would fit in and wouldn’t be made fun of. For example‚ when Constancia knew that her friends saw her with her Abuela in the church‚ she thought‚ "I just know that on Monday my friends will have a lot of senile -grandmother jokes to tell in front of me" (Ortiz-Cofer para 14#). Constancia is already picturing her friends making fun of her. Her thinking
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In the essay‚ “The Myth of the Latin Woman: Just Met a Girl Named Maria; Judith Ortiz Cofer describes three experiences about racist stereotypes‚ towards Hispanic and Latin women‚ happened in her daily life. In fact‚ stereotypes are common to see throughout the history of human development. When asked about how can we solve this problem indeed‚ people are always silent and lack of ideas. As an educated one‚ Cofer can at least have a voice for defending herself and the group of Latinas. For myself
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Cultural conflict as a Hispanic American female is fueled by multiple complex variables. For a typical Hispanic girl living in America the choice of food‚ clothing‚ customs‚ and beliefs are fueled by family traditions and often twisted by American media. Traditional Hispanic girls‚ speak Spanish‚ eat Puerto Rican food‚ confess their sins to a priest every Saturday and going to their church every Sunday. The environment of the tropics inspire colors of clothing while the climate impacts that amount
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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
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Judith Ortiz Cofer and Brent Staples may not sound like they have much in common growing up in very different cultures‚ Cofer being Puerto Rican and Staples being African American‚ but both have lived extremely similar lives. Both have faced the ugly head of stereotypes and racism in America. Cofer describes how she felt growing up in her essay‚ “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria”. She explains the struggles of being stereotyped and how being a minority contributed to her
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The theme of “Catch the Moon” by Judith Ortiz Cofer is after losing a loved one‚ people can overcome the bitterness that develops by working and helping others. First in the story‚ the narrator says that Luis would “build a display wall for his father. People would be able to come into the yard and point to whatever they wanted.” This supports the theme because although Luis started by being sneaky‚ troublesome‚ selfish‚ and fearless‚ he changes into a kind‚ thoughtful‚ motivated‚ caring‚ and helpful
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My response to the title of the poem was a fifteen-year-old Latina girl becoming of age. Quinceanera can be compared to Sweet Sixteen or becoming eighteen-years-old all of which represent the transition into adulthood for a young lady. Traditionally a Quinceanera is celebrated among the Latino culture and catholic community. The poem demonstrates tone well using her emotions and feeling toward turning fifteen. This author takes her own experience and puts it into the poem. She describes the time
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“The Myth of the Latin Woman” The set pieces in this essay are the bus‚ the hotel lobby‚ and the boat restaurant that Judith visits throughout her journey. At the bus she is being stereotyped as nice‚ naïve but at the same time as being dumb just for being a Latina. She takes everything with a smile. Even though‚ this is done in a comic way; which doesn’t seem too harsh but still hurts her feelings because everyone is laughing at her. At the hotel lobby she feels hostile. She is seen by the man
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very angery but as she sees herself as a professional‚ educated person‚ we only see a glance of this anger. The essay of Cofer simply puts “stereotypical conclusions people make about Latin people” on table. From the beginning till the end‚ we see Cofer troubling to choose a side between being a Latina like her culture tells her to be or an educated‚ professional American woman. As we read the essay‚ we come across things like “…being a Latina is sometimes a very good thing…” (par. 2) which generalizes
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