Theme Essay – “Abuela Invests the Zero”
As I was growing up, I would adore going shopping and spending time with my family. But at times, my parents would do something odd and bizarre, such as talk really loud or argue with an employee. Their ridiculous actions would make me feel embarrassed and just want to stand somewhere far, far away from them. In the fictional short story “Abuela Invents The Zero”, Judith Ortiz’s main character, Constancia, feels the same way as me, humiliated. In addition, when she had to take her Abuela to church, she started to pray really loud and make a fool out of herself. At that moment, she just wanted for her grandmother to go away. In the end, Abuela is infuriated and enraged at Connie for treating her so incompetently. Because we both had similar experiences and thoughts, we both learned the same moral. Unlike the way we both acted, family should be valued because it is more important than pride. The author’s purpose of Constancia’s actions is to make the readers
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For instance, she went out of her way to meet her family even though it was her “first time in the United States” (Ortiz, 2). This exemplifies how much she genuinely cares despite the fact that she doesn’t know English or her way around the country. Moreover, she also cares more about her family than Connie because she raised ten kids despite the fact that she was alone and by herself. In addition, Abuela is also a very religious and sensitive person. When she came back from church, “she [pointed] her finger” at Constancia because she felt like Connie did not respect her feelings (Ortiz, 16). She was disappointed and angry at the fact that Connie didn’t help her out at church. This shows that the lack of a close family relationship will cause problems between family members. When you respect and value others, they will feel fortunate to have as their
I feel her pain about having a better life than her mom because the reason she has a good life is because of her mother. Because her mom came to this country for a better life for them justifies her sadness for her mother. Analyzing the sentence, she says that she is guilty about her life being better than her mom. This makes it apparent that Mah has sacrificed a lot to make her children’s life something better than what she had. This is important to the book because it compares their two lives and gives background on Mah’s life.
Junior admired his grandmother’s compassion in her last moments. Junior was very distraught about his grandmother’s death because she was a very good influence in his life. This shows how often people are angry and unkind about a situation that they cannot change. The use of the word “call” suggests that Junior’s grandmother did not want her family to be upset over her death. This statement shows that Junior may have to show forgiveness in the
This shows the closeness and care that Janie’s grandmother had for Janie from the time she was born. Because, Janie’s mother wasn’t in her life, so in turn Janie’s grandmother assumed the role of bringing up her
She knew that a family's love for one another is the most resilient strength. Therefore, her husband was able to live through his brother's death and in return, she was his shepherd "I helped your father get safely through this world" (Baldwin 42). Consequently, she can see the similarities between her late husband and her youngest child, how they both carry the weight of their blues onto their shoulders unlike our narrator, who had instead internalized it. She must open the eyes of her eldest son to this tragic narrative of the world, he needs to look out for his fellow black brother, “I guess I didn’t want to believe this. I guess she [the mother] saw this in my face” (Baldwin 42) he quotes.
Life experiences shape people’s values all the time. These experiences change their live’s. How can life experiences shape a person’s values? In the stories, Little Women, written by Louisa May Alcott, and, "Abuela Invents the Zero," written by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the characters endured life experiences that shaped there values, even though the characters lived many years apart and very different lives.
When the grandmother is close to death she no longer acts superior. She realizes she is flawed like everyone else. At this point, she recognizes that both she and the Misfit are sinners in need of grace. The grandmother then begins to offer his love and acceptance by referring to him as “one of my [her] own children’ (15). From a Christian standpoint, grace is to love even when you hate.
Considering this, she doesn't have a strong foundation based on her future and dreams she would like to achieve. While in the other hand, for Victor and his family their migration journeys being in Quincy, Florida there where they are picking tomatoes. For Victor his family is the inspiration and they will always be his inspiration because he does not want to see them suffer. He knows what they have been through and is ready to change not just his life, but theirs as well. Victor is his little sisters’ role model and the one held responsible since his other sisters are still back in Mexico.
Her mother is jealous of her daughter, and because of that their relationship is weak. This is shown by the author’s choice of tone and usage of rhetorical phrases emphasizing on the point that their relationship is not family like. Moving on throughout the story the mother daughter relationship continually weakens. Connie’s mother compares Connie and June by commenting “Why don’t you keep your room clean like your sister” and then compares the beauty products both sisters use, specifically hair spray, and tells Connie “You don’t see your sister using that junk”(1), The author’s usage of a comparison of beauty products both sisters use shows how she favors June instead of Connie. Most commonly the mother daughter relationship in a family should be the strongest but opposite to this is the relationship is Connie and her mother, They are very distant from each other and it even goes to a point where Connie “wished her mother was dead”(1).
She was reading angry at her brother because he destroys the family making the parent suffer emotional and mental. She explains how the brother addiction turns her house outside down with this attitude. However, the brother addiction makes the parents to never give up on him even though his negative behavior toward them. Parents love him unconditional because it was their son. Even though he was not on the best path, they still support him and be on his side because they believe that he can change.
It is of the utmost necessity to analyze all pieces of evidence in order to reach a valid conclusion on one’s nature. If just one component is removed, then the entire decision is altered. 2.2 presents the audience with the final piece of insight on the true intentions of the characters that is needed to fully define their
The reality of the situation was that she had no control over her father’s death. There was nothing or no way that she could have prevented the events that took place. Although she was extremely angry with the situation at hand she learned that she had other things to be grateful for. She wanted people to know that even though something or someone has passed away you can’t stay stuck in the state of depression forever. You have to step back and look at your life because the reality is, life still moves on.
At this point in the story, the reader begins to sense the theme of inaccurate perception and false accusation, for the
It helps her reaction that her life had been forever altered because her mother wasn’t coming back. In addition, another message Mrs. Partridge left said, “Everyone has their own agenda” (Creech 56). This message
Essay #2 Parents play a very important role in the lives of their children. If parents do it in the right way, it positively impacts children’s mental and emotional condition. One of the main characters from the short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” by Joyce Carol Oates, Connie, does not have that kind of relationships with her parents, with who she can share her thoughts or who to get a good advice from. The main reason of all Connie’s mental and emotional problems is that her parents do not play a good role model for her and compare with the older sister. Being parents is far more than just providing children with food and clothes.
The life she has between her child and husband is different than the one with her mother, father and brother. She says her husband doesn’t understand anything that goes on in her family. For example, she says “Nor does he understand that when we talk about sale-leasebacks and right-of-way condemnations we are talking about the things we like best, the yellow fields and the cottonwoods and the rivers rising and falling and the mountain roads closing when the heavy snow comes in.” (Didion 2) So