When I Was Puerto Rican

Esmeralda and her family are strong people! Their life style of poverty, unfortunately doesn't differ from that of many American families. Their little one floor home was equipped with the basic nessesities and they made it work! Living in Puerto Rico, as portrayed by Santiago, was an interesting experience. One filled with te warmth of tradition and adventure.

The scene where Esmeralda was helping her father cut wood and she became covered in termites was almost real. I could almost feel the horror she felt. That scared me because my father is an electrician and he does lost of domestic projects around the house. Real life things like that are what keep me focused on her adventure. The story opens with a prologue How To eat a Guava. Esmeralda describes a guava to her reader. She compares and contast a ripe Guava from a green Guava. I believe these lines are symbolic because, here the author is trying to explain how some days in life are sweet and perfect and yet some days can be sour and spoiled. Esmeralda is a complex character to understand. In the chapter called Jibara Esmeralda is not sure who she really was. In life everyone tries to find who they are. Esmeralda did not know her real name. She thought her real name was Negi until her mother told Negi Her right name was Esmeralda. She asked her mother" How come you don't have a nickname" Her mother replied yes. Esmeralda felt the concept was too complicated to understand. She felt like" If Each one of us were really two people one who was loved and the official one who was assumed , was not"(p14). I think this conversation with her mother is significant because, it foreshadows Esmeralda's feelings for example in the later chapters in the book Esmeralda's new baby sister Edna takes the place on her mothers lap. Now Negi feels that the new baby receive more attention than she does now that both her names are included Esmerlada loved her mother and father equally. Her Daddy use to teach her about his construction business whenever he had a chance. Esmeralda's Mother Monin never really accepted the fact of a girl doing that sort of work was moral. Monin felt it was a girl's place for a young lady to cook and clean her home. One day when Esmeralda was helping her dad her dad cement their house her mother called her in the kitchen to give her some help but Esmeralda refused. When Esmeralda refused tiny ants infested her body. Her mother was very upset. She blamed Pablito for the incident. The chapter Mami gets a Job is somewhat ironic. Esmeralda mother goes out to the factory and finds herself a job. Eventhough the people in the area are all talking her name she still continues to go to her sewing job. The plot thickens when Raymond is injured by Jenny. Esmeralda is left in charge of the kids so her mother can work but the accident occurs. Everyone in the area rushes to the site. Eventhough Monin was trying to put a daily supper on the table for her kids. Her job was immoral to society. I believe the ironic themes describes the life of a women. The reader then becomes aware of the gender gap between men and women.