When I Was Puerto Rican THE TEACHING OF THE NOVEL II. Content Standards After reading, discussing, and analyzing the novel assigned to the level, the students will: A. Identify and analyze the elements of non-fiction 1. Plot a. Single Plot Esmeralda recalls her childhood in Puerto Rico. As a child she lives with mami, papi, and her younger sisters. She talks about the birth of her other siblings and about the constant fighting of her parents. Eventually, mami and the children move to another house and she starts to work in a factory and leaves the children with, Gloria, a neighbor. Later on mami tells Esmeralda that she’s going to have to start helping with the children and the housework. One day, while mami is at work and Esmeralda is taking care of the children, Esmeralda’s cousin Jenny starts to give rides to the children in her new bicycle. Jenny overrides Esmeralda’s demand that their siblings must come home and takes Raymond on a ride with her. Raymond’s foot is mangled in the chain of t he bike and he’s taken to the hospital. Esmeralda feels responsible though everyone agrees that it was Jenny’s fault. Raymond's foot continues to be a problem and the doctors begin talking about amputation, which prompts mami to take him to New York in an effort to find better medical treatment. Esmeralda is left behind with her cousins and is angry, not at being left but at being left out of her mother's plans. Mami soon makes another trip to New York and this time returns with a new hairdo, new clothes and a new sense of confidence. Esmeralda's father soon tells her that her mother is planning to move to New York. Once in New York, mami becomes involved with another man, Francisco, with whom she fathers a child, but Francisco soon dies of cancer.
Esmeralda hates her life in New York, saying that she misses the nature of Puerto Rico. She hates the fact that there is so much crime in the city that she is seldom allowed away from the house alone and that all the children are kept cooped up inside most of the time. Esmeralda is asked by a school official what she wants to do and she gives it some thought, eventually gaining some help gaining admittance into a school for performing arts. In the Epilogue, Esmeralda reveals that she was admitted to that school, that she graduated there and was preparing for graduation from Harvard. b. Multiple plots Chapter 1: Jibara When Esmeralda Santiago is four years old she and her family move to Macun. The family's house is made of tin and the children sleep in hammocks. Esmeralda is called "Negi" because of her darker skin. Esmeralda's mother tells her to stay out of the way as her father repairs the house, but her father lets her help. When Esmeralda picks up the wood, it is filled with termites which bite Esmeralda. She believes she has been punished for disobeying her mother. Chapter 2: Fighting Naked Esmeralda's father leaves the family behind to go into town and mami accuses papi of an affair. During one of her parent’s fight, Esmeralda hears the name "Margie", and later learns that Margie is her halfsister. Esmeralda starts school and she learns about other types of families. One day Esmeralda comes home from school and finds out that she and her family are going to move to the city. Chapter 3: Someone is coming to take your Lap The family moves into a house at La Parada in Santurce outside San Juan. Esmeralda struggles to fit in and the children in school call her "jibara". Esmeralda's mother becomes pregnant with Alicia. Papi visits more frequently after his daughter is born, and eventually, mami and papi reconcile and they all move back to Macun. In Macun, Esmeralda befriends Juanita. When Juanita's grandfather dies, papi participates in the funeral and Esmeralda and Juanita lead the funeral procession to the cemetery. Ramona gives birth to Edna. During a storm in May, Ramona allows the children to play in the rain. Since it is supposed to be lucky.
Chapter 4: American Invasion of Macun The parents are invited to a meeting where they are educated about proper nutrition and hygiene. Mami stores the food samples they received for when they are hungry and don’t have anything. Esmeralda goes to Macun Elementary School and receives a polio vaccine. Esmeralda acts brave so she will not be teased. Esmeralda hates the school's breakfast, but Juanita loves it. Esmeralda is told by a classmate that the breakfasts are a political move to gain supporters for the election; which is true since the program ends when the election is over. Chapter 5: Why women remain jamona Esmeralda goes with her father to spend a week with her grandmother. Esmeralda attends mass with her. When papi is supposed to pick her up, Esmeralda waits in her best clothes, but he never comes. Eventually Ramona comes to pick Esmeralda up, and speaks to Esmeralda's grandmother about papi. Esmeralda decides that being "jamona" cannot be worse than having a neglectful husband. Chapter 6: Mami gets a job Esmeralda's mother has another child, Raymond. Mami leaves the children with a neighbor, Gloria, because she has to work to sustain her family. Glorida talks to Esmeralda about the ways of womanhood. The family begins to feel the society's scorn for Mami's decision to take a job. Esmeralda must begin to look after her siblings. The children have a spoiled cousin named Jenny. When Jenny gets a new bicycle, she gives each of them rides. When Raymond wants a ride, Esmeralda tries to stop him, but doesn’t succeed. T he bike falls, injuring Raymond's foot. Esmeralda feels responsible, but the adults blame Jenny. Esmeralda and her family move to the city. Chapter 7: El Mangle Mami and the children arrive at El Mangle. The family is staying with a friend of mami in a house on the pier. Esmeralda is refuses to use the outdoor commode. Esmeralda starts school and realizes that she is behind and that her teacher seems to dislike children. Chapter 8: Letters from New York The family moves to the back of a bar where they can hear the jukebox and the bar's drunkards at all hours. Papi moved back in with the family. Raymond's foot doesn’t get better and the doctors start
talking about amputation. Mami takes Raymond to New York to find a better medical treatment. When mami returns from New York, she picks Esmeralda up at her cousin’s house and takes her to the family's new house.
Chapter 9: Casi Señorita Mami sends the children to church so she can have time alone. Papi works in exchange for Esmeralda's piano lessons with Don Luis. When Don Luis touches her inappropriately, Esmeralda attacks him. Mami and papi speak to Don Luis and he leaves her alone. The family lives at Calle Castro Vina and is near Esmeralda's grandmother's home. Mami travels again to New York and leaves the children with Titi Generosa who is easily manipulated. Papi is still living at home but it is almost never there. Esmeralda and the siblings decide to misbehave so that Papi calls Mami and make her come home. Chapter 10: Dreams of a better life Mami returns from New York and finds out that Papi has moved to Macun with the five children. Mami's appearance has changed, she returned with a new hairdo, new clothes and a new sense of confidence. Mami and Papi start a deli service from a truck but it fails. Mami and Papi keep fighting about their relationship. Esmeralda attends Ramon Emererio Betances School and tries to find an escape in school whenever her parents are fighting. Just before her thirteenth birthday, Papi tells Esmeralda that Mami is planning to move to New York. Chapter 11: Angels on the ceiling Esmeralda travels on the airplane to New York, arrives in Brooklyn, and meets her mother's mother, whom she calls Tata. Mami and the children soon move into an apartment of their own, which has angels painted on the ceiling. Although she was in eight grade in Puerto Rico, Esmeralda is told that she'll have to be held back a year while she learns more English. Esmeralda objects, and the principal agrees to let her try eighth grade for six months. Mami begins seeing a man named Francisco. He spends a lot of time with the children and he makes Mami laugh. Mami, Francisco and the children soon move to an apartment of their own. Chapter 12: You Don’t want to know
Mami gets pregnant with Francisco’s son. Francisco is diagnosed with cancer and dies at his parents' house. Mami mourns and lights candles
for him for a year. Mami asks Esmeralda to translate whenever she has to apply for public assistance. Esmeralda fears that she'll translate something wrong and their request will be denied. Also, Esmeralda does not like translating for people who lie. During a fight with her mother, Esmeralda says she hates America.
Chapter 13: A shot at it Esmeralda talks to the school counselor about her future and tells him that she wants to be a model. He suggests acting, and she agrees. Esmeralda is scheduled to perform a monologue at PA 66, a school for performing arts. After the audition, Esmeralda is convinced that she failed and is miserable all the way home. Chapter 14: Epilogue Esmeralda returns to PS 66 ten years after her graduation. Esmeralda talks to one of the judges, who is also a teacher at the school, and who tells her that despite the poor performance during the monologue, they were impressed that she was courageous enough to perform. Esmeralda says she's glad the teacher called and reassured her that she wasn't the only child whose family needed assistance. c. Flashbacks - Esmeralda is in New York and by taking a guava starts remembering about her childhood. She starts remembering about how she ate it, its texture, and color. d. Foreshadowing - In casi señorita, mami alerted Esmeralda that she was going to become a señorita soon, since it is part of growing up. In angels on the ceiling Esmeralda becomes a señorita and mami buys her bras and kotex. 2. Character a. Characterization by: 1. Speech - Although Esmeralda did not always understood things, she was a mature, intelligent and optimistic girl.
2. Thought - While she thinks about how much her family is hurting because of her father’s actions, Esmeralda comes to believe that being single (or “jamona”) could not possibly be any worse than this. 3. Action - Esmeralda helps a lot with the chores in the house and takes care of her siblings. 4. Conversations of others - When talking with others she always seemed to understand them. 5. Appearance - Esmeralda has a dark skin color, curly black hair, and brown eyes. 6. Author’s direct comments - Page 54: “The doubt in his voice let me know that I knew something he didn’t, because my soul travelled al l the time, and it appeared that his never did. Now I knew what happened to me when I walked beside myself. It was my soul wandering.” b. Character development - Esmeralda went through several difficult times in her life. And over the years she grew up both personally and physically. 3. Setting a. Time - The story begins in Macun, Puerto Rico in the 1950s. b. Socio-economic set up - Extreme poverty c. Historical moment (Space) - American invasion - Luis Muñoz Marín Government - Santa Clara Hurricane d. Place - Rural area of Puerto Rico (example: Macun) - Urban area of Puerto Rico (example: Santurce) - United States of America New York 4. Point of view
a. Personal point of view (point of view of the main character) - The story is written in first person from Esmeralda’s point of view. b. Omniscient author point of view - In the novel the author talks about her life, her personal experiences and feelings. 5. Symbolism a. Conventional - Page 50: “His eyes were closed, and his hands, which I’d never seen without his machete, were clasped on his chest with a rosary wrapped around them so that the large cross covered his fingers.” - Rosaries and crosses are conventional symbols of Christianity. b. Created by author - Guava is a symbol of childhood memories. 6. Theme and effect - Coming of Age as the book proceeds we observe how Esmeralda grows both emotionally and physically over time. An example of this coming of age we can observe it when Esmeralda was jealous because she couldn’t spent more time with her mom since she had to share her with her brothers and sisters. But despite all, she keeps all of her feelings to herself because she knows that if she says anything to her mother, she would only add a greater burden to her mother (Pages 180-181). And this is a definite sign of maturity.
B. Identify and understand the story pattern 1. Exposition - The novel begins with Esmeralda recalling her childhood in Puerto Rico. She talks about her parent’s constant fighting. 2. Rising action or complication - While Esmeralda is in charge of her siblings, because mami is working, Raymond disobeys her and injures his foot. 3. Climax - Raymon’s foot does not get better and doctors start to talk about amputation. Mami takes him to New York in search for a better medical treatment.
4. Resolution - Because of mami’s constant search for a better life, she decides that going to New York is their best option. They all move to New York, Esmeralda enters the School of Performing Arts and at the end she ends up graduating from Harvard with honors.
C. Identify and interpret conflict and the forces behind it 1. Man vs. himself - Esmeralda struggles with herself about helping or not people lie to get the citizen’s benefits. 2. Man vs. man - Mami and papi constant fighting through the novel. 3. Man vs. environment - When hurricane Santa Clara destroyed Macun. 4. Man vs. technology - When they have a TV but Esmeralda couldn’t enjoy it because she kept looking at the mouths which moved out of synchronization with the voices.
D. Identify the choice of words used by the author (diction) 1. Figurative language a. Simile - Page 63: “She wore skirts to just below the knees, but from there down, her legs were shaped like chicken drumsticks, rounded and full at the top, narrow at the bottom.” - Here Esmeralda compares Mrs. Jiménez legs with chicken drumsticks. b. Metaphor - Page 199: “It won’t flower when you want it to, Mami said. Keep taking care of it and you’ll see. One day it will surprise you.” - Like the gardenias, we has to take our lives one step at the time. And with the right care we will some day blossom.
c. Personification - Page 192: “Cold air blew in, whistling a mournful tune like the dead singing.” d. Irony - Page 53: “Papi was to lead the novenas for Don Berto.” - The irony of papi leading the novenas when he wasn’t a full christian. 2. Sensory imagery - Sight Page 3: “The guava is not quite ripe; the skin is still a dark green…A ripe guayaba is yellow, although some varieties have a pink tinge.” - Tact Page 3: “I picked one the size of a tennis ball and finger the prickly stem end.” - Smell Page 3: “I smell it and imagine a pale pink center, the seeds tightly embedded in the flesh.” - Taste Page 3: “A green guava is sour and hard.” - Hear Page 13: “His voice faded as Papi carried him into the house just as Delsa and Norma came out for their oatmeal.” 3. Symbol - Guava is a symbol of Esmeralda’s childhood memories.
E. Identify and understand techniques for plot 1. Mystery - Page 133-134: “I stood over the hole and spread my legs as far as I could. Below, water flowed to the left, faster than it did by the bedroom window. I felt dizzy. Cold air came up between my legs, and I jumped back and bumped into Mami. “What’s the matter?” “I…I felt something.” 2. Suspense - Page 128: “But the screams were loud and frightened, more than I would have expected from a simple fall. They were screams of terror, of pain. I ran, and as I did, it seemed that the whole barrio was converging in a circle around the bicycle, around Raymond whose toes were caught in the chain, his foot twisted on itself, mangled into a mess of blood, grease, and dirt.”
F. Identify, discuss and clarify ethical values revealed by the actions of the characters. - Rules on behavior - Page 173: “No picking your nose. No sucking your thumb. No speaking unless spoken to…No pushing or shoving each other. Say with your permission and muchas gracias and you’re very welcome…If you need to use the bathroom, aim so you don’t make a mess, and wash your hands afterwards.” - Ethical values - Pages 250-251: “I didn’t know what to do. To tell the interviewer that I knew the woman was lying seemed worse than translating what the woman said as I accurately as I could and letting the interviewer figure it out. But I worried that if people from other countries passed as Puerto Ricans in order to cheat the government, it reflected badly on us.”
