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.