Cofer In America

The Treatment of Cofer in Puerto Rico and America in The Story of My Body In her essay, The Story of My Body, Judith Ortiz Cofer sees herself from two completely different perspectives. She is judged using Puerto Rican standards as a young child, and after she moves to the United States she is judged according to American standards. Cofer is perceived in a more positive way in Puerto Rico than in America where Cofer was judged according to many of her physical features. Because of her skin color, Cofer stands out in America. She does not “fit in” with the American girls with pale skin even though “[she] was born a white girl in Puerto Rico but became a brown girl when [she] came to live in America.” In Puerto Rico, many people refer to Cofer as “blanca” because she was a child of lighter skinned Puerto Ricans. She was even called “dirty” by a supermarket employee. Cofer faced an immense …show more content…
As a baby, she was considered beautiful just like her mother; they were a dynamic duo of beauty. Cofer even remembers “going into a bodega for our groceries and being given candy by the proprietor as a reward for being bonita, pretty.” This vision of beauty, however, didn’t last forever. When Cofer was ten, she contracted a horrible case of chickenpox that left permanent scars on her face. After this incident, Cofer tried to make herself “invisible.” Growing up in America, Cofer did not see herself as the type of girl the boys would like, so she did what she could to hide herself from their harsh criticism. In her adult life, Cofer finds other means to judge her self-worth other than her appearance. She bases her worth on her writings and the respect she receives from people who view her “as an individual,” not an outcast. The Story of My Body, shows how judgmental society can be just because of someone’s appearance. Although Cofer faced a rough childhood, she has become an extremely prosperous, strong, and determined