5.+Importance+of+Subject


 * How is the importance of the subject shown?

Feelings: ** "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 apperence called forth from many people I met." (p.148) This quote describes the authors feelings towards the stereotype. It shows that she looks down upon those who only look at her a certain way because of the culture that she comes from. As a child she tried to belong and fit in but society had a different way of seeing things and so she was grouped into the category of a Puerto Rican despite her being an individual.

**Thoughts:** The author distinguishes the importance of the developments of stereotypes through her thoughts. She states, "Mixed cultural signals have perpetuated certain stereotypes." Cofer gives an example of the Hispanic woman as a "Hot Tamale or sexual firebrand." These observation supports the stressed development of stereotypes. She also observes that these stereotypes often are developed between different ethnicities or cultures. The unique characteristics evolve into sterotypes or prejudices that are recognizable. There is also a lack of respect or sense of worthlessness that has developed between cultures.

**Details and Descriptions:** The stereotypes are emphasized through the description and recollection of experiences regarding prejudices. Much of these experiences are written as a narrative and less as imagery. The author mentions a Chicina friend that has a PhD. and her doctor is shocked that she is that smart or has gone that far in her education. This experience showed readers that the friend's doctor believed that because of her race she wasn't smart enough for a PhD. The next example was when the author mentioned an experience she had at her first poetry reading. She was walking through a restaurant when an older woman motioned her to go to the table. The author foolishly thought the woman wanted an autograph but instead the woman ordered coffee assuming that the author was the waitress. Because of the sterotypes that latinas belong in the kitchen, or should work as waitresses made the woman mistake the author for something that she is definatley not.

**Writhing Techniques** In this memoir, //Myth of a Latin Woman//, there is a gradual change in sentence structure as the author overcomes the obstacles presented by the stereotype. The author starts with the somewhat basic and unvaried sentence structure to elaborate on the typical and expected intelligence of a typical Latina woman. As the speaker overcomes these obstacles, the sentence structure becomes increasingly varied and sophisticated. The author also implemented media and pop culture that had contributed into the creation of a stereotype. West Side Story, Don't Cry for Me Argentina, and La Bamba were all applied into the story. The outside media is then reinforcing the stereotype of the Latin woman being naive or immature.

**Tone** The excerpt begins with a resentful tone of how, as a child, Latina girls were looked down upon because they were not able to adapt as well to the American style like the white girls. It also uses a slightly idiotic language to portray such an image. As the memoir continues, the language becomes more complex, which contrasts with the introduction of the memoir.