Judith Ortiz Cofer

of protection by showing innocence in hindsight are “American History” by Judith Ortiz Cofer and “Society’s Child” by Janis Ian. In “American History”, the narrator experiences prejudice and loses her natural innocence, showing how it defended her all along. In “Society’s Child”, the speaker is unbothered by the opinions of others until they realize that they cannot change those options. Through epiphany and denouement, Cofer and Ian explore…

People do not learn all ethics and values from their parents or teachers. Instead, literature teaches them through the characters’ experiences that some may not have or cannot have experienced. In Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Judith Cofer Ortiz’s “Abuela Invents the Zero” the protagonists face many situations which change them no matter how they respond. Because of the characters response in certain situations they change constantly, and these changes make them value their…

In Judith Ortiz Cofer’s article “The Myth of a Latina Women: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria”, Cofer utilizes her background as a Puerto Rican women to convey the lack of respect that Latina woman face in non-Hispanic societies on a daily basis. Cofer argues that the derogatory views placed on the Hispanic culture has led to the creation of various stereotypes that have negatively affected Latina women. This notion has caused them to have a lack of opportunities, to be mistakenly categorized, as…

the article, “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I just Met a Girl Named Maria,” Judith Ortiz Cofer, a poet, novelist, and essayist, wrote, “As a Puerto Rican girl growing up in the United States and wanting like most children to “belong,” I resented the stereotype that my Hispanic appearance called forth from many people I met.” Cofer had to experience extreme stereotypes as a child and she does not have a good view on them. Cofer experienced racial stereotypes, as well as gender stereotypes. Also,…

and dancing” (Cofer 104). She also recalls that “at Puerto Rican festivities, neither the music nor the colors we wore could be too loud” (Cofer 104). Puerto Rican women, and other Latin women dress to reflect the vivid colors and warm climate of Islands South East of the United States and South America. This cultural divide regarding the meaning of one’s dress can be misinterpreted and is the basis for some of the most damaging stereotypes surrounding…

Young Hispanic immigrants still have the opportunity to attain what they endeavor. However, due to current events tensions between whites and immigrants have surged and immigrants have had to endure a hostile environment. Unfortunately, these are not unfamiliar grounds for immigrants. As Eric Liu claims, “there was a time when assimilation did quite strictly mean whitening…mimicry of the stylized standards of the WASP gentry was the… sole method of ensuring that your origins would not be held…

How is an American Identity Created? Everybody is different. Some people are creative, nice, rude, strict, and forward. So many different verbs, but we all have friends and that makes us kind of the same as other people. America isn’t very accepting of immigrants and we all have our different reasons for that, but we don’t know what they have been through. We have it pretty good and they just want something like what we have. Being rude to someone because you don’t like what they are isn’t…

In the article “Don’t Misread My Signals” Judith Ortiz Cofer explains the religious and cultural differences between other countries. She shares incidents, in the early stages of her life, such as the stereotypes and discriminatory opinions from others she was faced with. She was judged by her society for her appearance because she was a woman from Puerto Rico and had experienced racist situations when she first arrived in the United States. Cofer’s article begins with a flashback to her…

“The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” by Judith Ortiz Cofer and “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” by Brent Staples. Throughout this paper, I analyzed the two given essays to see which I found the most effective for the category. The first reading, “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria”, Just Met a Girl Named Maria”, tells of the stereotypes Americans have held against Latinas. Judith starts by telling a personal story. The story is as…

The narrator states, “I realize to my horror that my grandmother is lost. She can't find her way back to her pew.” The author goes on to say, “I just can't move to get her.” The author goes on, ‘“You made me feel like a zero, like a nothing”’ (Judith Ortiz Cofer 467). These pieces of evidence show that the narrator demonstrated not putting himself in his Abuela’s shoes before making her more embarrassed than she already was. People were making fun of her Abuela and Constancia didn't help her at…