Song Of The Water Saints Summary

Improved Essays
In Nelly Rosario’s book “Song of the Water Saints”, Rosario write about this five generation Dominican family starring Graciela and her mother Mai, following by her daughter Mercedes, then Mercedes’s daughter Amalfi and finally Lelia, Amalfi’s daughter. One sees similar conflicts with each mother-daughter duo. Therefore, showing how unstable Mother and Daughters relationships were due to different values in each generation valued. Rosario shows the strict relationship between Graciela and her mother Mai. After not bring the groceries that Mai send her to buy, Graciela was beaten by Mai; “Mai whacked her daughter on the back with a cooking spoon, squeezed the tender cartilage of her ears, wove her claws into Graciela’s knotted hair …You beat her good so she learns, Mai said to Pai “(Rosario 16-17). Mai had beaten Graciela because of her irresponsibility. She had sent her to buy sugar and didn’t return after two hours later and to make matter worst, she came without the requested sugar. Mai’s ability to hurt Graciela demonstrate …show more content…
Mercedes told Amalfi and her brother Ismael that they were going to the United States to have a better life over there. The day of their departure, Mercedes, Andres, Mercedes’ husband, Amalfi, and Ismael has a conversation; “You’re softening up on us Andres said when Mercedes quit trying to control their daughter… You need to go, for us, the future, Lelia, Mercedes said and rubbed Amalfi’s back” (Rosario 192-196). Mercedes was sending her children to United state while she stayed to care for baby Lelia. Mercedes’ willingness to take care of Leila while her mom was trying to make a future for herself shows how she cares for her daughter and she shows it by her action. This act of sacrifice of Mercedes demonstrates how she would do anything her children to have a better life. Therefore, demonstrating more affections and sacrificing willing mother and daughter

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In the novel “Like Water for Chocolate” by Laura Esquivel, it explores the struggle of a girl who is locked up by her family’s tradition. In the novel, Tita falls in love with a guy named Pedro. They try to go forward in life thorough marriage but are immediately rejected by Mams Elena, Tita’s mother. As a family tradition, the youngest girl of the family is not allowed to get married as long as the mother is still alive. The girl is to take care of her mother until she is dead.…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    6. Why do you think Jaja wanted to take the blame for her crime? 7. What kind of message does the novel as a whole give us about domestic violence? Almost all the instances of domestic violence take place in the ‘Speaking with Our Spirits’ section Instances of domestic violence • Mama is beaten following the visit to Father Benedict…

    • 702 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The most defining or important moments of Enrique’s Journey ‘’His mother never returns, and that decides Enrique’s Fate’’(5). The first quote I want to explain is the basis of this book. We know that Enrique’s mother, Lourdes has left her family to go to America. This fact is the most defining moment in this book.…

    • 985 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Sandra Cisneros is the author of a short story entitled "Mericans”. It has a young female narrator is stuck in an “old world” culture. In this particular case it is a Mexican culture. The narrator does not seem to understand the traditions, this shows a rift between the children that are Mexican but are being brought up in America and their grandmother who has migrated here from Mexico. Ciseneros uses the setting and symbolism to create the theme of individualism conflicting with cultural traditions; the individual children show confusion when it comes to showing which culture they belong to.…

    • 1032 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Another important theme in Enrique’s Journey is family. This can be seen by, not only how the characters love each other, but by how they use that love to overcome hardships that they face. The first example of family in the novel is how Lourdes decided to move to America. No mother wants to leave their children, but Lourdes knew that moving to America was the only option if she wanted her kids to live a good life. Lourdes grew up in poverty and did not want that life for her family.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    By considering women as equal to slaves, it shows how they are treated like subordinates and given less freedom in comparison to their male counterparts within Dominican society. In terms of sexuality, it is clear that being sexual is very significant to the culture of the Dominican Republic. For instance, Oscar’s uncle gives him “a box of condoms” and encourages him to “use them all” (Diaz 49). From an outsider’s perspective, this may seem peculiar since Oscar’s own uncle is encouraging him to have frequent sex; however, it is the norm within their culture. Oscar is described as “very un-Dominican” when he is unable to attract women due to his physical appearance (Diaz 11).…

    • 1792 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “In spite of everything, Enrique has failed again--he will not reach the United States this time, either. He tells himself over and over that he’ll just have to try again” (Nazario, 2006, p60). I chose this quote because it shows Enrique’s determination to reunite with his mother. This quote is spoken by the author, Nazario. This quote is inspiring to anyone who reads it.…

    • 1070 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The story “Enrique’s Journey” by Sonia Nazario is based on a true story about a boy named Enrique. Enrique has a expedition to reunite with him mom. The has many dilemmas on his journey, however continues too carry on. Enrique has come to the point where the has to compose a decision about leaving the United States or staying. Enrique is deciding too stay in the United States because he wants too continue making money so the could buy a house one day.…

    • 607 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Is it Love? In Ron Rash’s novel Saints at The River a young work driven women named Maggie Glenn is caught in a romantic triangle between Luke and Allen. Maggie doesn’t have label for these men, however there is feelings directed towards them. To help the readers understand Maggie’s romantic conflict towards Luke and Allen, Rash presents their attitude in different ways which cause the conflict. Luke has a carefree life he only cares for himself which is why he didn’t really care for Maggie.…

    • 492 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Girl Who Won For most kids, growing up is pretty tough. For Julia Alvarez, it was even harder. The twisted paths of adolescence became blurred and incredibly confusing to Alvarez after she was, along with her family, forced to leave her native Dominican Republic for the strange United States. This culture shock was difficult to digest at the beginning, but then Alvarez became fueled by the bullies who taunted her accent and the missing pieces that being a “Dominican hyphen American” left in her life (Haley).…

    • 1031 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    "A Long Walk To Water" by Linda Sue Park describes the life of a female child living in poverty. Nya is 11 and Nuer, a rival tribe with the Dinka. She has to walk a very long way to get water for her family because she is a girl. Her younger sister, Akeer gets sick from the muddy water that they all have to drink, because they don't have a well. Then Nya's father, the chief, talks with a visitor and the visitor tells him there is water between two trees.…

    • 132 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Great Essays

    Family is an integral theme of the novel “A Thousand Splendid Suns”, and this concept plays a huge role in the lives of both main characters, Mariam and Laila. Throughout the book, the differences in parenting and the characters themselves are clearly apparent, and it is shown how this affects them. Mariam and Laila’s relationships with their family differ greatly from each other yet both of those relationships influence and prepare these women as they reach adulthood. Mariam lives a sorrow life, with loss, and this same idea follows in her family life as well.…

    • 1119 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Lourdes cannot afford uniforms or pencils for her kids to go to school. “He and Belky are not likely to finish grade school ”(Nazario 4). When it comes to a loved one or family, one will do whatever is necessary and even go beyond their limits for them.…

    • 675 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Laura esquirel begins to tell the life story of Tita de la garza in her book Like Water for Chocolate. Tita is born to Elena de la Garza who is the mother of Tita and her older sisters Rosaura and Gertrudis. Elena was seen as an untouchable person. None of them especially Tita doesn’t get to live very independent but instead live with their mother doing work like cooking, cleaning, washing and other Jobs. She basically controls the lives of Tita, Rosaura and Gertrudis.…

    • 476 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    In Caribbean literature one cannot bare to miss the relationship between parent and child. It so happens that when it comes to one of these relationships, authors draw more attention to the relationships between mother and daughter. Why? Because many after reading such literary works with the subject of the Caribbean culture, one can see the repetition of the mother and daughter relationship has one of the most fundamental human interactions. Now like most relationship, the relationship between mothers and daughters are not simple but very complex.…

    • 1818 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays