D.Q. #6

01 October 2015

Memoir Discussion Question

6a. Before I read this selection, the title suggested to me that this selection was going to be about a woman who lived in fear of someone or something. The title implies that she could never fully relax or even sleep because she had to constantly be watching her back. The woman could have been paranoid because she antagonized someone and might have caused them to retaliate against her.

b. After reading this selection, the title ties into the meaning of the cuento that was told during the selection. The cuento is about a women who marries one of the vicious gang members that terrorizes her community and attempts to kill her. She out smarts him and he finally asks for her forgiveness but because of that she always sleeps with one eye open. She doesn’t necessarily do it out of fear but she does it because of her courage and intelligence. “But as a writer, I choose to interpret the tale of the women who outmaneuvers the killer, who marries him so she does not have to fear him, as a metaphor of the creator” (80). “The transaction that took place between Maria Sabida and her assassin husband was a trade off on macho….. He understood that” (81).

c. I believe that the writer was trying to tell us that we need to be courageous and wake up from the person or thing that is keeping us hostage in fear. I believe that she wants us to have the courage to look at fear in a different way and have it work for us not the other way around.

“It is easier to sleep while life happens around you. Better to dream while others do. The writer recognizes the poisoned fruit. She may pretend to sleep and bear the pain of hot wax as she prepares herself for battle.” (81).

d. The title helps me figure out the significance of the selection because as my professor once told me, “Writers but purpose into the title” and so it helped me see that his selection was going to be about a women who slept with one eye open and not necessarily because of fear like I had originally thought but out of courage. It helps give away a piece of the selection without giving the whole thing away.

D.Q. #7

3 September 2015

Memoir Discussion Questions

7a. A character that really caught my interest was the Bishop because it surprises me to see how some people can be really stuck in their ways and not want to make a change for the better. It astonishes me how these people can have such a one-tracked mind and not be willing to understand why change is necessary to grow. They are stubborn and stuck in their ways and this character reminds me of my grandfather. My grandfather is a very old-fashioned man who believes that he is always right. In better terms “it’s his way or the highway”.

b. A major conflict that I can identify with within the book are the narrators misunderstanding and disagreements with her mother. I can personally relate to this because my grandmother and I share very opposite opinions about social issues like gender equality and gay marriage. For example, I once asked my grandmother what she would do if I was a lesbian and I remember her telling me that she would have kicked me out of the house. It shocked me to see that my own grandmother is one of those people who are stuck in their own beliefs and do anything to depend that no matter what the cost.

c. Some major problems that were raised in this selection were issues regarding women’s rights, women’s need to serve men, and issues within the Catholic religion. The problem that was solved was the issue regarding women’s rights and it was solved by Sister Rosetta. Sister Rosetta began a campaign to support the change in the traditional attire for a nun. The campaign was a success and in the end the nuns were able to change the way they dressed.

e. Something I have learned through the narrator is that it is okay to question the beliefs you were raised with. When I began to question my own beliefs, it felt extremely wrong but im starting to see that in order to grow as a person and choose my own future, questioning your beliefs is sometimes necessary. Through writing about this particular conflict of women’s rights, I have learned that as a women is it crucial that I stand up for what I deserve and what I believe is the right thing. Women are a minority even in this time and era of the twenty first century and that is something us, women, need to change. 

“Taking the Macho” In-Class Essay

            In the essay, “Taking the Macho” by Judith O. Cofer the narrator writes about empowering women artist. She uses a legend about the “Caribbean warrior women” and different scenarios to support her main concept of showing how women artist should have the courage to work towards their goals no matter what.  I learned two important and valuable lessons while reading “Taking the Macho” and they are: being a courageous independent women is rare but possible and that having fear is natural as long as you do not let it stop you.

            I grew up in a culture where men are superior to women and in reading this essay I have realized that, that is a norm I will not be a part of. The legend of the Caribbena warrior women is about these women who took charge of their own lives and did not serve men. The narrator uses imagery to project how the women’s attire itself was empowering and different; they were “dressed for battle”. Reading this essay opened my eyes to seeing how it is a possible to be a courageous independent women in a society that is superior to men. Although I was raised in a culture where I should serve a man their food first, I will take charge of my own life and not let my choices be because of a man. These women were attacked by the Christian men and “put up such a fight” to defend themselves and their values. Just because they were unknown to the rest of the world, they did not give in to the difference. They fought and paid no attention to the difference between a man and a woman. Being an independent women is very difficult because there are constant challenges that we face by men, but just because they throw me a curve ball, I refuse to be overthrown. I will not live by this norm that women will serve men I will be an independent and courageous women like those from the legend.

            Fear is a very powerful emotion that many people let take charge pf their lives, myself included. In this essay, I read about the constant struggles and fear that the narrator herself faced as a writer (artist). She describes it as a “paralyzing fear” that exposes her to the world and dares it to accept her even though she is constantly pointing out its flaws. However, she does not let that stop her from writing what she desires and writing about the truth. Fear has been a big part of my life because of my past and I almost let it stop me from continuing onto my future aspirations. In reading about the struggles that the narrator faced, Ive come to the realization that I cannot let it stop me. I will push through this fear because everyone has it, and although not everyone overcomes it; I will. I refuse to let fear rule my life any longer and although I will be “flying without a map” as the narrator says, I will march on. The narrator uses different allusions like Charles Lindbrgh and Christa McAuliffe to project ow there are other people out there who face the same issues but have the confidence and courage to overcome it. Now I have faith in myself to be able to say, “if they did it, I can too”.

            This essay is full of important and valuable lessons that I have stayed with me. However there are only two that I value the most and have made the biggest impact on me. Being independent and courageous are to personal traits that I did not always have and now that I do I am happier and have faith in who I am today. I have realized that not many women have these traits and it has caused me to value them all that much more. Being a child with a hard past, I have let fear run my life for a very long time. In reading this essay I now know that it is time I stop letting it take charge and stop letting the fear of my own past keep me from doing what I want to do.