Analysis Of The Moth By Helena Maria Viramontes

Short stories are fictional writings that can grasp the reader 's attention and make their imagination run wild with only reading a few pages. Although short in length, short stories are a form of captivating art that are just as thrilling as a regular novel. One particular short story that is completely mesmerizing is, “The Moth” by author Helena Maria Viramontes, that brings the element of magic into affect. In this short first person narrative, a Latina granddaughter recalls back to the time when she was a teenage girl spending time with her grandmother. The narrator describes the lack of apathy she had towards her sisters. She would constantly get into trouble and was used to being punished for her mischievous actions. The narrator looked …show more content…
We find out that she is fourteen-years-old and that she constantly gets into trouble, disregarding the massive impact that it has on her and others around her. The narrator comes from a Latin background, and it seems that throughout the story her family has a very traditional house hold with her father being the head of it and her mother being the house wife that has to deal with raising the children in a proper manner. At one point in the story, the narrator is taking a stance against going to church, something that is very important in her family. She refuses to go and her indignant stance angers her father, in which her in turn directs it towards her mother, “His anger at Ama for her lousy ways of bringing up daughters, being disrespectful and unbelieving” (34). Her attitude towards everything is one that mimics any teenage girl entering adolescence, she does not care if her mother gets into trouble with her father since she is more focused on doing what she wants. She is very detached from her family, including her mother who she tries to avoid and carelessly leads into trouble. Her defiant actions suggest that she is trying to rebel against her family’s beliefs and traditions by trying to be her own person without being told who she should be and how to act like. The narrator is so used to getting in trouble that she even mentions a couple of times that, “I was use to the …show more content…
The narrator, who at the beginning of the story is full of resentment and immaturity, is forced to change when an extreme loss close to her leads her to inner peace. It is evident that the narrator feels a deep connection and only finds comfort when she is with her grandmother. The narrator 's grandmother must pass away for the granddaughter to finally let go of all of the resentment and to find her true self. At one point the narrator brings up that being with her grandmother is like how, “god is suppose to make you feel” (33). She is trying to tell the reader that what god is supposed to do is to give her a safe feeling which she finds through her grandmother. She faces death head on and changes from an immature individual to a mature care giver. When the moths are released out of the grandmother 's body it does not just symbolize her spirit being free, but also the narrator 's since she lets go of all the hatred and finds inner peace. The narrator changes her views on the ones she loves saying, “I want my Ama” (37). Viramontes uses symbolic imagery in creating the specifics of the granddaughter and grandmother’s closeness and the grandmother’s powers to heal. This suggests that she no longer feels like an outcast and wants to be a part of her family. She wishes her mother was there with her, showing that she let go of all of her immaturity and accepted peace