Mamacita is the narrator's neighbor. Her husband carries her and a baby boy here, and then she never leaves the house. The narrator believes it is because she is afraid of speaking English since she knows only eight words. When she needs to speak she says "no speak English." She always listens to Spanish radio and sings nostalgic songs. She often fights with her husband in Spanish, while he emphasizes here is the home and asks her to speak English, only to make her cry louder. Her son speaks English now, and she still says No speak English.
Study Questions
1. Why does Mamacita never leave the house? Do you agree with the narrator that she knows only eight words?
She cannot and refuse to adapt herself into a new environment. I think she'd tried to accommodate and that she knows how to speak English, more the just eight words, speculating from that she knows some slang and splits it out unconsciously. However, due to some unknown reasons, she gives up adjust herself into English Speaking culture, and isolates herself from the real world.
2. ¿Cuándo, cuándo, cuándo? she asks. (P. 6-line 46) In Spnaish, "cuándo" means "when." Why does Mamacita ask "¿cuándo?"?
All she wants is to return to her home far away from here. In her mind, she doesn't regard this place as her "home." Therefore, she always asks her husband when will they return to her pink house. However, her husband's words only put her in despair, but still she refuses to face the reality.
Summary
ReplyDeleteMamacita is the narrator's neighbor. Her husband carries her and a baby boy here, and then she never leaves the house. The narrator believes it is because she is afraid of speaking English since she knows only eight words. When she needs to speak she says "no speak English." She always listens to Spanish radio and sings nostalgic songs. She often fights with her husband in Spanish, while he emphasizes here is the home and asks her to speak English, only to make her cry louder. Her son speaks English now, and she still says No speak English.
Study Questions
1. Why does Mamacita never leave the house? Do you agree with the narrator that she knows only eight words?
She cannot and refuse to adapt herself into a new environment. I think she'd tried to accommodate and that she knows how to speak English, more the just eight words, speculating from that she knows some slang and splits it out unconsciously. However, due to some unknown reasons, she gives up adjust herself into English Speaking culture, and isolates herself from the real world.
2. ¿Cuándo, cuándo, cuándo? she asks. (P. 6-line 46)
In Spnaish, "cuándo" means "when." Why does Mamacita ask "¿cuándo?"?
All she wants is to return to her home far away from here. In her mind, she doesn't regard this place as her "home." Therefore, she always asks her husband when will they return to her pink house. However, her husband's words only put her in despair, but still she refuses to face the reality.