Karina Rayo

September 29, 2015

Professor Lennon

English 6A

Judith Ortiz Cofer

            On February 24, 1952 in Hormingueros, Puerto Rico, Jesus Ortiz and Fanny Morot had a baby girl named Judith Ortiz. They conceived and had Judith at a very young age. Judith’s father could not see a good future for his new and growing family, so he decided to join the army to provide for them. Throughout Judith’s infant years, she did not have a father figure in her life. Because of army deployment, Judith’s mother often moved from Paterson to Puerto Rico. She had to deal with a double identity traveling from place to place. While Judith grew up she was always surrounded by the many stories told by her family. She became very interested in creative writing and autobiographies. She received a B.A in English from Augusta College and a M.A in English from Atlantic University. Dealing with her double identities, Judith expressed herself through her writing and she has also helped deal with many socio-cultural issues that many of her readers have to deal with.

            The best way Judith had to express herself was through the words she wrote. When she was younger, she had to deal with a lot of racist actions. She had to walk around very carefully because of the person she was. Through her poems, novels, memoirs and short autobiographies she expressed all the problems she had to deal with as a minority in this country. Many of her work carried the socio-cultural issue of being a Hispanic in America. For instance, in her short story, “The Paterson Public Library,” she talks about a girl getting bullied because of her race. She reflects on the rivalry of the Puerto Ricans and the African Americans that she lived through in Paterson. She uses ethos to connect with the emotions of people that may have had problems with those types of harsh situations or to people who may have not gone through that but still feel the pain through her words.

            Through her writing, Judith really connected with her audience. Not only did she use her race to connect with her audience, but she also used being a female at that time in America. As an example, I know I could relate to her story, “The Myth of a Latin Woman,” that she wrote in The Latin Deli. In that short memoir, she talks about how when she was a little girl she always had to be careful with the way that she was or how she presented herself. In the story she talked about how difficult it was to be seen as so much more than just a sexual object or like Judith said, “a hot tamale,” and seen more as an intelligent woman. I could relate because I know when I was growing up my mom was always very careful about how my sisters and I would dress and act. My mom would always tell us that because we were Hispanic we developed more quickly than girls in other races and we had to be conservative because it could trigger wrong thoughts in the wrong people. Judith knew that it is such a common problem with young girls of color and she used it to connect with her audience.

            Judith Cofer expressed a lot of her own problems through her writing. Whether it was a racism piece or an interracial love novel she used everything she knew and lived through to make the amazing pieces she wrote. She did it with passion and emotion not only to show who she was but to show that people of color had someone to relate to.  Through her words, Judith Ortiz Cofer expressed thoughts, emotions, and her view on how the world is.

                                                                                                                                           

Karina Rayo

October 3, 2015

Professor Lennon

English 6A

“I Grew Up With…”

            Many people think that kids that grow up poor, without a family, or deal with stressful problems will end up in a bad path. For example, kids who attend a private charter school and have a supportive, loving family will always be superior to a kid who grows up on the ghetto side of town and who has a single mother that never has time because she is trying to make ends meet. Having everything you want and need as a kid to help you grow as a successful person is very helpful. However, I do not agree with the thought that kids with fewer luxuries do not assemble a drive for success in all of their problems. Personally, I have always wanted more in life because I did not grow up with much.

            Growing up with fewer things than many other kids that I would go to school with does not mean that I grew up with less happiness. Through everything I had my family. For a very long time my family of 6 and I lived in a single. Many people would cringe at the thought of how clumped up we must have lived. However, it did not really bother us. We have always had a great family bond. I believe that living so close together in a time of so much stress really brought us even closer.

            I grew up with a single mother of 5, so money was always a problem. My mom had a bad marriage where she was forced to leave with all of us. She had to do it on her own. I remember growing up and always seeing her stressed. We never really got to go out or buy clothes when we wanted to. We did not have money to spoil ourselves, or live a life with luxuries. As kids my siblings and I knew not to give my mom problems because we knew how hard she worked just to keep us with shelter, light, and food. It was hard for my mom because she is an immigrant from Nicaragua and did not have anyone to help her or an education to fall back on.

            Fortunately, I have been able to continue with my education even though my mom and sisters did not get the opportunity to do so. My mom only got the chance to finish 10^th grade because she got pregnant at an early age. My sisters finished high school and attempted to go to college but with a lot of problems they decided to work and hold school for later. I feel like growing up and being the first in the family who is pushing their education is very hard. Not only do I have to fight the stereotype of being Hispanic and uneducated, I also have to fight the feeling to give up when times get tough. I believe that education is the key to success.

            Every problem we have had truly has awakened a drive to become successful in life, so that my family and I never have to return to all that we lived through. Every person is born with some sort of ambition. I believe everything my life gave me even more ambition and many more reasons to want it all and give all I can to those who are important to me. My life so far has shown me that life is short and you have to push through any hardship because before there can be a rainbow, there must first be rain. I have always wanted more in life because my past pushes me.

Karina Rayo

October 31, 2015

Professor Lennon

English 6A

Frankie’s Character Traits

            Every single person has their own type of personality, which makes their character traits shine out. A character trait can tell who you really are and how you act. Many times a person can have various types of character traits. However, there is always one that shines out the most. For instance, in the memoir, “The Mee Street Chronicles,” the author/narrator shows who and how she really is through her character traits. Throughout the selections, she showed that she was curious, imaginative, initiative, opinionated, etc. However, Frankie’s strongest character trait was that she was brave.

            In the selection, “No Escape,” Frankie talks about a terrifying incident she had when she was young. She was trapped in her house late at night all alone. Through her imagination, she created dark and light figures that created tension. She saw darkness all throughout her house, but she still did not stop until she was able to get out of her house to go find someone that could help her. She talked about an evil voice describing all the horrendous things that could be lurking in the darkness. She stated, “Although the scared part of me tells me not to go, I make myself ignore it and take the first step in that direction.”(20). She was fearful but she was brave enough to go through all the scary things to get out.

            Braveness is not always about continuing to fight through scary things. It could also be about having courage. In the selection, “Adversaries,” Frankie is stuck with her auntie because her parents go away to for a trip. Throughout this selection and in other selections she talks about how scary and strict her auntie is. Her auntie was an old fashioned strict religious woman that needed everything to go her way. Frankie dreaded having her auntie babysit her, so on one occasion she decided to go out and play. She lost track of time and her auntie went crazy looking for her. When she got back Frankie was in big trouble. Her auntie was ready to give her a whooping and Frankie was waiting for it. At the same time, her auntie was saying bad things about Frankie’s parents, her father specifically. Frankie was not going to let that happen and she held on to her courage and stood up to her scary auntie for her father. Only her braveness could make her do it.

            Through these stories the narrator showed who and how she really is. Frankie had a lot of strong traits; however, she was mostly brave and it was what shined the most. She was brave to never stop when she was scared and to even stand up for the people she loves.  In, “The Mee Street Chronicles,” through all her problems Frankie never took a step back. She always charged the problems with her courage.