Only Daughter Analysis
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What kind of father sends his daughter to college just to meet her future husband? This is a similar question Sandra Cisneros wants readers to ask themselves while reading her essay. In her essay, Only Duaghter, Cisneros describes the lack of support from her father while attempting to find success as a writer. Using descriptive language, she tells of the struggle between her Mexican-American heritage and her supposed place in the household and her love in writing. With dignified feeling she constructs a picturesque essay that in the end is able to encapsulate her fathers acceptance through her optomistic writing.
Cisneros begins her essay, “I am the only daughter in a family of six sons. That explains everything.” This passage gives astrong example of her father and the image he has of his daughter. The use of italics symbolizes a family based on gender, in this case male. Her growing up a female dominated by males “was good for a would-be writer,” but made her future merely a housewife based on her culture but mainly her father. She goes on to state when she was young (in the fifth grade), her father misunderstood her future plans for college as he staes “Que bueno, mija, thats good.” This cultural miscommunication acts as an impetus for academic and professional success. She soon discovered, that he thought was a way for girls (or at least Mexican-American girls) to meet their husbands. He even had the nerve to say she “wasted all that education.” This passage vividly depicts her fathers emotions and seeing her as a failure.
“This is my daughter. She teaches.” These brief lines exemplyfy noteworthy syntax. Her fathers saying she teaches instead of saying she is a teacher or professor, displays that her father is not proud of his daughter, and thus holds back his respect towards her. Throughout this essay, Cisneros strives so hard to impress her fahter through her writing and gain his respect, but ironically he cannot even read a word of english. let alone understand what she is writing unless she explains it to him.
Cisneros essay captures and lures the reader in, becauseyou want so hard to see her win her father over and ultimately gain his respect
The style dramatically changes after paragraph sixteen; she give tremendous dtail for the simple fact that it represents the