The Struggle In Helena Maria Viramontes's The Moths

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Helena Maria Viramontes’ short story “The Moths” follows a latina narrator as she recounts her childhood struggles with religion and family. To escape beatings from her father, her mother would send the narrator to “help Abuelita plants wild lilies” and other plants in “coffee cans”(322). Throughout the turmoil of her teenage years, the narrator’s Abuelita was always there to care for her. As the story continues, it is divulged that this time the help will be different because Mama Luna is dying. After Mama Luna passes on, the narrator carries her into the bathtub and weeps. As the narrator lay in the tub with her body, moths fly out of Mama Luna’s mouth and envelop the room. The central idea in Viramontes’ story showcases the changing force of loss, grief, and the struggle to fit the standards of one's culture.
“The Moth’s” main character is the narrator. Through the narrator's recounting, we see the relationship with her family, her Abuelita, and herself. At the beginning of the story the narrator explains how her “hands were too big” to do the things the other girls could and that she would often use
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Serving as the family's healer and helper, she has saved the narrator from scarlet fever and set her broken arm. Also, Mama Luna has seen her through many tribulations and seems to be the only one in the family who shows compassion to the narrator. Providing a refuge for the narrator, the Abuelita helps enact the dynamic shift within the character. In addition, Mama Luna is never described as beautiful. Since the narrator feels she isn't as good looking as her sisters with her “bull hands,” it is important she has a shaping role model who doesn't fit that standard mold of beauty either (321). By radiating solicitude, the narrator’s Abuelita instilled the values of respect and tenderness within the narrator. Mama Luna acts as the moon to the narrator, providing a light in the vast

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