3.+Writer's+Purpose

**What is the writer's purpose?**

The main purpose that the author has for writing this memoir is to show Latina women that they shouldn't be ashamed of their culture, and also more than that, that the rest of the world should throw away their prejudice and stereotypes in order to respect diversity and see the reality of the situation.
 * "...you can leave the Island...but if you are a Latina...the Island travels with you." (page 148, paragraph 1)

 Judith Ortiz Cofer doesn't want Latina women to have to change themselves in order to silence the stereotypes, she wants the women to stay true to themselves in order to disprove the myths. Judith Ortiz Cofer admits that sometimes, she too took the easy road and took on the so-called accepted attributes and characteristics of the American/English culture.
 * "...I managed my version of an English smile..." (page 148, paragraph 1)



On a personal level, the writer, Judith Ortiz Cofer, is trying to change the unfair stereotypes of Latin women through her writing. Cofer's purpose for writing this essay is to inform about the Latin culture in order to silence the unfair stereotypes and predjudice that surround her native culture. Cofer tries to "replace the old pervasive stereotypes and myths about Latinas with much more interesting realities..." by writing stories and poems. (page 154, paragraph 2) She believes that through her literature she can silence the many untrue stereotypes surrounding the Latin culture, (specifically the Puerto Rican culture).  > >   >
 * "We cannot change this by legislating the way people look at us...My personal goal...is to try to replace the...myths about Latinas..." (page 154, paragraph 2)
 * "...I most often receive...positive interest by people who want to know more about my culture." (page 154, paragraph 2)
 * "I hope the stories I tell, the dreams and fears I examine in my work, can achieve some universal truth...[getting] my audience past the particulars of my skin color..." (page 154, paragraph 2)