Analysis Of Only Daughter By Sandra Cisneros

In Sandra Cisneros’s article, Only Daughter, she writes about herself and how her father and society saw women in the 1990s. She begins her writing by mentioning that she had six brothers but even if she had six brothers, she was still lonely since her brothers were embarrassed to play with their sister. So when Cisneros suggested that she would attend college, her father was overjoyed because he thought that this was the perfect time for her to find a husband. But as years go by and finally finishing her second year in graduate school, she still hasn’t found a man to marry. Her father’s disappointment can only be summoned up by a few words, “I wasted all that education” (Cisneros). From this point on she has tried to write as many essays, …show more content…
On top of that, when asked her father always he has seven sons, even though he only has six sons and one daughter. This “mistranslation” always hurt when she hears him say it. As time go by finally one of her writings were translated into Spanish and only this time is when her father finally realize his daughter’s hard work and accomplishments. In this essay, Cisneros tries create an idea where women can be valued equally to men in the society during this time. Through the use of this, Cisneros is able to construct gender by showing how men, or society in general, view women as inferior to men. This stereotypical idea of women only being dependent to their husband is prominent during the time when Cisneros wrote this essay. In this essay, Cisneros argues that women can be independent and be valued equally as men, which breaks the current society’s ideology of women being dependent on men, through the use of pathos, diction and expectations of the current …show more content…
During the time that she got into college the only expectation that her father have for her was to find a husband but the expectation that he had on her brothers were far higher than her. He expected her brothers to get a job that required the less use of hands and more use of their brains just like her older brother who was as doctor. Her father says “Use this” and “and not this” indicating his head and hands. This mean that finding a job that uses the brain more is far more luxurious than a job that required extensive man labor just like his. This lesson or advice was pertaining to his sons and not his daughter. After all, he only expected her to find a man to marry. He never thought of the possibility of having his own daughter in equal terms. That’s why in the end of the essay it was important for Cisneros’s argument because living in a time where men were the ones that parents expect to achieve greater heights, she was able to have her father realize that she can also reach those heights that her brothers can. Including the different expectations in genders allow her to efficiently argue that through hard work she was able to be recognized and be seen to be the same value as her