The Role Model ‘Central Woman’ in the Literature

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Table of Contents

Introduction
The Central Woman in ‘A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood’
The Central Woman in ‘Grandmother’s Victory’
The Central Woman in ‘Mother Tongue’
How Are These Three Women Similar Or Different?
Thesis
A Response Regarding the Strong Female Role Models
Conclusion
Works Cited

Introduction

Kids need positive role models to become positive when they grow up. The role model can shape that way of a kid’s thinking. The role model can be a famous figure, a celebrity or even someone in the family. This essay will talk about 3 essays from 3 authors who have role models in their families. 1^st essay is ‘A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood’ by Judith Ortiz Cofer, and the central woman is Judith’s Grandmother. 2^nd essay is ‘Grandmother’s Victory’ by Maya Angelou, and the central woman is Maya’s grandmother. 3^rd essay is ‘Mother Tongue’ by Amy Tan, and the central woman is Tan’s mother. The essay will talk about the similar and different values in each of the central women, their motivations, and what can be discovered in each essay. It will also explain how these women are similar.

The Central Woman in ‘A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood’

The grandmother has 2 different sides in her personality. The First side is the powerful woman. Judith Ortiz Cofer calls her grandmother “Mama” (14). Cofer says that her mother “did not possess Mama’s matriarchal power to command and keep everyone’s attention”. Everybody listens to her when she speaks (Cofer, p. 15).

The other side of her personality is the merciful woman. She always used to tell stories about unfortunate people so that females in the family learn lessons (Cofer, pp. 14-20). For example, the story of “Maria La Loca”, she was a woman who was fooled by a man who promised to marry her. She lost her beauty and sanity (Cofer, pp. 15-20).

For Cofer, her grandmother was more merciful than her mother. The mother was strict with her kids and was always watching them because their father was not around. The grandmother gave the kids more freedom (Cofer, p.18). Cofer loved playing at her grandmother’s house during “the afternoon when the men were still at work and the boys had gone to play serious baseball at the park” (Cofer, p. 19).

What seems to be motivating the grandmother is her role and responsibility as a grandmother. She must be merciful and share her experiences with young females.

What can be discovered in this essay is that it is important to be merciful with kids, but some strictness is necessary. Also, it is important to tell real stories about real people so that that the kids become more careful in life.

The Central Woman in ‘Grandmother’s Victory’

The grandmother has two different sides in her personality. She is strict with her grandchildren when it comes to cleanness. She forces the kids to “wash faces, arms, necks, legs, and feet” every night even if the weather is too cold (Angelou 1). About her grandmother’s strictness, Angelou says the following:

Momma was famous for pulling the quilts off after we had fallen asleep to examine our feet. If they weren’t clean enough for her, she took the switch (she kept one behind the bedroom door for emergencies) and woke up the offender with a few aptly placed burning reminders.

The other side of the grandmother was patient, forgiving, and merciful. She controlled herself when some girls came down to her and made fun of her. She didn’t beat them or yell at them. She stayed like that until the girls got bored. When the girls were leaving, the grandmother said to them: “Bye, Miz Helen, ‘bye, Miz Ruth, ‘bye, Miz Eloise” (Angelou, p. 3).

What seems to be motivating the grandmother is religion. Angelou says that her grandmother used to tell her “that not only was cleanliness next to Godliness, dirtiness was the inventor of misery” (p. 1). Also, while the girls were mocking her she was hymning. Angelou heard her grandmother saying: “Bread of Heaven, Bread of Heaven, Feed me till I want no more” (p. 3). And after the girls left, she said: “Glory, glory, hallelujah, when I lay my burden down” (Angelou, p. 4).

What can be discovered in this essay is that it is necessary to be patient with kids. They are young and can do foolish things. Also, if a child is always treated with the respect he will respect others as a result.

The Central Woman in ‘Mother Tongue’

The mother has two different sides. Sometimes she is an impatient woman. Amy Tan went with her mother to the hospital because her mother wanted to see the results of her latest “CAT scan”. In the hospital, they told her that they cannot find the scan results. She got angry and refused to leave until the doctor came and explained everything to Amy. It was not easy to calm Amy’s mother down (Tan, p. 2).

The other side of her was patient with people’s rudeness. About her mother, Tan says that “people in department stores, at banks, and at restaurants did not take her seriously, did not give her good service, pretended not to understand her, or even acted as if they did not hear her” (Tan, p. 2).

What seems to be motivating the mother is her awareness of her “broken” English (Tan 2). She uses her English with her family and her society (Tan, p. 1).

What can be discovered from this essay is that everybody must accept what he is. Everybody must try to face life even if he finds some difficulties.

How Are These Three Women Similar Or Different?

All three women represent role models to the three authors. Cofer and Angelou, both look at their grandmothers as their role models because they were merciful. Both grandmothers were strict when strictness was necessary.

Tan’s mother is a different case. Tan considers her mother her role model because she is the woman who raised her. She accepts her mother for what she is (Tan 1). At the same time, Tan feels embarrassed by her mother’s English. She blames her mother’s language for affecting her “results on achievement tests, I.Q. tests, and the SAT” (Tan 2).

Thesis

Mercy and patience always have an influence on children’s minds. A woman can be considered a role model to a girl in the same family if she is merciful and doesn’t complain about her behaviors. In this case, the kid enjoys freedom. That’s what happened in the case of Judith Ortiz Cofer and her grandmother. The grandmother let the little girl play in the house with no complaints. About her grandmother, Cofer says: “I saw her as my liberator and my model” (Cofer 18).

Women must try to show girls that patience is the best way to face rudeness. Maya Angelou was shocked when her grandmother preferred to be nice to people who showed no respect for her (Angelou 3).

A female role model doesn’t have to be perfect in everything. It’s enough for a female to become a role model if she has one good thing about her.

A Response Regarding the Strong Female Role Models

It would be better if the female role model was a member of the family. In many cases, the grandmothers are better than mothers in dealing with girls. Grandmothers have longer experience in life and they have experience in raising kids.

Conclusion

All 3 essays showed that women’s actions have effects on girls’ way of thinking in the future. Little girls are influenced by compassion, not violence. Even the mistakes of female role models can have an impact on girls’ minds and their future goals.

Works Cited

Angelou, Maya. “Grandmother’s Victory.” 75 Readings Plus, 7th ed. Ed. Santi V. Buscemi and Charlotte Smith. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2004. 14-20.
Cofer, Judith O. Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance of a Puerto Rican Childhood. Texas: Arte Publico Press, 1990.
Tan, Amy. “Mother Tongue.” The Writer’s Presence: A Pool of Readings. Ed. Donald McQuade and Robert Atwan. New York: Bedford St. Martin’s, 2006. 290-295.

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