Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros
Thesis
Statement
Sandra
Cisneros’s thesis in “Only Daughter” is that being born in a Mexican- American
family which supports the gender stereotypes she had to work a lot to overcome those barriers to get approval from her father.
About
The Author
Sandra
Cisneros (born December 20, 1954) is an American writer. She is best known for
her first novel, The House on Mango Street (1983), and her subsequent short
story collection Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories (1991).
Cisneros's
work deals with the formation of Chicana identity, exploring the challenges of
being caught between Mexican and Anglo-American cultures.
Plot
Summary
Cisneros’s
father believed being only a daughter meant that her destiny would lead her to
become someone’s wife. When she was in the fifth grade and shared her plans for
college with him, she was sure that he understood as he remarked: “Que bueno,
mi’ja, that’s good.” What she didn’t realize was that her father thought
college was good for girls-good for finding a husband. After four years in
college and two more in graduate school, and still no husband, her father
believes that she had wasted all that education.
She
wanted her father to understand to introduce her as “My only daughter, the
writer.” Not as “This is only my daughter. She teaches.” Being a writer,
everything she ever writes has been for her father, to win his approval even
though she knows that her father, to win approval even though she knows
that her father can’t read English words.
When
the writer with her six brothers was growing up in Chicago, they moved a lot
because of their father. They moved to and from Mexico City (and Chicago) time
and again. Each time, her father would seek out the parish priest to get a tuition break, and complain or boast: “I have seven sons.” He meant siete
hijos, seven children, but he translated it as “sons.” “I have seven sons.” To
anyone who would listen. As if he deserved a medal from the state. Because of
this, the writer feels herself being erased as she writes, “I’d tug my father’s
sleeve and whisper: “Not seven sons. Six! and one daughter.”
She
especially wanted to please her father as an aspiring author but he thought
female education was just for finding a husband. She didn’t end up finding one,
and instead became an author and after many challenging years, made her father
proud. She wanted to show that a poor, Mexican woman can write quality
literature.
Her
father is concerned for her well-being, of who she will become. Without a
husband, he feels as if he would fail as a father if she cannot produce kids
who will be his legacy. He often forgets that she is her own person as she
tends to blend in with his sons. In the end, he finds that his legacy will be
not on her own children but on the stories she weaves about her Mexican heritage.
Analysis
₳ Cisneros demonstrates her frequent emotions of isolation and desperation to
feel good enough in her father’s eyes using the literary device, of pathos.
₳ Throughout the essay, the reader often feels sympathetic toward Cisneros’
situation. Even though she had so much potential to be a brilliant writer, her
father, brothers, and culture clearly tried to stifle her.
₳ The reader sympathizes with Cisneros and her countless efforts to make her
father proud. We can see the
desperation in her words as she begs for her father’s approval.
₳ When Cisneros’ father finally starts to show a glimmer of acceptance of his
daughter, we can see her hanging on to his every word. The few minutes she
waited for him to finish reading her story, seemed like hours because she was
so worried about his opinion of her story and his validation of her abilities
as a writer.
₳ Cisneros also uses her original word choice to emphasize how her father
degraded her and didn’t accept her aspirations in life. Cisneros’ Spanish word
choice helps the reader better understand why she’s so upset by her father’s
words.
₳ Her father, the man who seems most disappointed that his daughter can’t
find a partner, seems to be the only main male in Cisneros’ life. Her lack of acceptance and approval may have
had long-lasting damaging effects on Cisneros.
₳ Cisneros clearly explains the importance that a parent’s love and
acceptance have on a young child. This lack of emotions can long-lasting affect a person, not only short-term but also long-term.
₳ Cisneros’ use of the rhetorical strategies of pathos, word choice and irony
helped construct an effective persuasive argument.
World Data
₳
The overall literacy rate works out to be
64.8%, the male literacy rate is 75.3% and that for females is 53.7%, showing a
gap of 21.6% percentage points between the sexes at the national level. The gap
is more in the rural areas.
₳
There are 130 million girls who completely
miss out on school. These are “the most marginalized and hardest to reach”
says Ms. Gillard.
₳
In 2020, 26.5% percent of movie writers
were females, an increase from the 17.4% percent of female film writers working
in the top areas Hollywood area is still a long way off, the 2020 figure was almost
double the one recorded in 2011.
₳
Girls as young as 7 or 8 are forced by
their families to marry much older men. According to the UN 37,000 girls under
the age of 18 are married each day.
Points to Take-Away
Q1. The
word "Only" in italics is used to emphasize what?
Ans.
Being only a daughter meant that she would have to marry to have
"value" in her father's eyes.
Q2. Why
is her father's reaction to her story the "most wonderful" thing that happened to Cisneros that year?
Ans. Her father's reaction is the best thing
that happened to her that year because for so many years that Cisneros was
writing, she was trying to win his approval and she finally did!