Analysis Of The Cruel Country Judith Ortiz Cofer

Judith Ortiz Cofer is a talented writer who is native to Puerto Rico, a place in which she considers home even though she spent most of her life in the United States. She’s proud of her heritage and incorporates her multicultural back ground into a lot of her writing. Among the many writings she has created is an essay called “The Cruel Country”.

This essay is about Judith finding a picture of her mother to display for the funeral home that captures and inspires her mind. The picture shows her mother in a very pivotal moment in her life where she went back to the island as a new widow. She goes on to describe the picture and then compares what her mother is wearing to the clothes in which her mother had worn during her time as a Navy wife. Also, she notes how much younger her mother looks as well as how her hair is down instead of being slicked back. The difference of before and after the death of her father is made quite clear when she notices the tiny flowers decorating her mother’s hair, especially since her mother wasn’t fond of bugs. The author felt like the flowers represented a flirtatious vibe in which was hard for her to comprehend since her mother was in mourning. The contradiction between the two is what I feel draws Judith to the picture. …show more content…
The picture shows how her mother is basically starting over and with that comes feelings such as: fear, excitement, passion, and joy. Amongst all those emotions she also is conflicted by feeling the pain from losing her husband. I feel like Judith wrote this for anyone who is dealing with mixed emotions during morning. I also believe that she wrote this for herself in a way to help with the passing of her