Lessons Of Love Judith Ortiz Cofer Analysis

When one decides to become aware in another’s eyes, it tends to portray ones inner self in various ways. In the short story Lessons of Love by Judith Ortiz Cofer indirect and direct characterization portrays how the narrator is self-conscious through her cultural background and status, physical body, and her thoughts. First of all, the narrator is characterized as a self-conscious person through her cultural background and status. As she thinks to herself about her secret lover, she says “I had, of course, in the great tradition of tragic romance, chosen to love a boy who was totally out of my reach. He was not Puerto Rican; he was Italian and rich” (Cofer, 181). This demonstrates how the narrator is self-conscious because she lowers herself as a person because of her …show more content…
With the Italian boy also being rich, the narrator also sees it as a barrier because she is not rich, making her totally out of reach. Secondly, through the use of indirect characterization, her physical body illustrates how she is self-conscious. As she was in her room thinking to herself about her love, she says “He could not see me because I was just a skinny Puerto Rican girl … my heart knocked against my bony chest” (Cofer, 184). This quote displays how the narrator is self-conscious because throughout the short story the narrator criticizes herself on her physical body. As she says that “He could not see [her]” because she was skinny, she feels that being skinny is not appealing to society or to make one noticeable in society making her self-conscious. The narrator also describes herself in a way that makes the narrator insecure and self-conscious about oneself. Lastly, direct characterization also portrays how the narrator is self-conscious through her