Consider Albert Murray's quote...
What "dragons" does Raquel face and in what ways are they "cooperative"? Identify three (3) dragons. (If someone identifies the "dragon" you have in mind, offer substantive commentary that adds to the discussion.)
1- Rocio - The first "dragon" encountered in Raquel's life was her mother, Rocio. Rocio's choices in life, from the time Raquel was born, greatly affected Raquel's life. Rocio always allowed the men she was dating to dominate not only her life, but as well as the life of Raquel. However this "dragon" was cooperative because it gave Raquel the passion and drive to become a better woman/mother than Rocio ever was and to make better choices than she ever did.
ReplyDeleteI think one Raquel's biggest dragons is her father. He abuse's her both physically and mentally and constricts her life by forcing her to play tennis almost religiously. He is also more of a drill sergeant than a father at a point in Raquel's life where she needed a parent more than anything else. In spite of this, the abuse forced her to become independent and strong and i think that is part of why Raquel develops such an unwavering identity. She was forced to steel herself against her father's abuse. Instead of damaging her, it had the opposite effect which is why i think she's able to shrug off the comments about her identity she receives throughout the book.
ReplyDeleteDad - Raquel's first "dragon" ultimately led her to her second "dragon" which is her father, Eduardo. Eduardo was a very strict and abusive father. He never showed any love and hardly any approval. He was always comparing her to Rocio and threatening to send her back to her mother if he didn't get his way.This "dragon" was cooperative because living with her father in New York led Raquel to discover the wonders of hip-hop and "black culture". She found comfort in the message of hip-hop because it spoke directly to the situations she was facing in her life. This love of hip-hop/rap influenced her choice to eventually become a writer of her own raps and poems and as well as an editor to a hip-hop magazine.
ReplyDeleteThe first dragon that Raquel faces is when she is living with her mother, Rocio. Rocio was never really a mother figure to Raquel, considering that she always made poor decisions. She would always prefer the attention of men rather than just take actual care of Raquel. Furthermore, Rocio has always allowed the men in her life to dominate her as well as Raquel's life. Thankfully for Rocio, Raquel learned from her experiences living with her mother and it made her a better person as well as a better mother to her daughter, Djali.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Ami! her mother was her biggest "dragon" because of how her mother's actions affected her life since she was born, but it was cooperative because her mother's mistakes served as a guide for her to realize that she didn't want that lifestyle and decided to become a better woman. some people think that because you grow up seeing violence, abuse either physically or verbally that we don't have a way to scape from it and become a better us.
ReplyDeleteI think another one of Raquel's dragons is race and identity. Growing up, Raquel has to deal with a lot of attacks on her identity from different places. Her friends and classmates accuse her of being a latina trying to be white or a latina trying to be black. Her father shames her for attempting to embrace her dominican history and constantly tells her that she is nothing like the other dominicans in her neighborhood. I think this dragon is cooperative because Raquel is able to strengthen her identity and maintain her personality throughout the attacks on her. She turns to music and writing as a way to express her frustrations but manages to stay true to herself despite having so many people tell her who she is is wrong.
ReplyDeleteLove is another dragon that Raquel faces. As a child Raquel is exposed to a lot of examples of warped love. Her mother and her father as well as her mother and Papito could have influenced her ideas of love and relationships negatively. Raquel struggles to find affection from the people in her life, including her father and mother, who both ignore her pleas for emotion. She eventually finds a surrogate in Maria but even that relationship is a little strange because initially, Raquel's connection to Maria is through Maria's son Angel. I think instead of taking that warped love and embodying it herself, Raquel is able to utilize it as a reminder of what she must never become.
ReplyDeleteAnother one of Raquel's biggest dragons she faces is her father, Eduardo. I agree with Rafael when he mentioned that Raquel's father is more like a drill sergeant that is always forcing her and demanding her to play tennis. In addition, Eduardo would always talk down to her and tell Raquel that she is going to end up like her lousy mother and that she will never be anything in life. Raquel needed a father figure instead of a drill sergeant.
ReplyDeleteDuring Raquel's childhood she got into fights and she would get in trouble at school. This type of behavior is understandable because of what she experiences at home with her father. Clearly, Raquel is a Hispanic woman but people would also make fun of her and tell her that she is basically trying to be "white" by playing tennis (which is supposedly a "white sport") and living in a nice neighborhood.
Identity – Agreeing with Rafael, Raquel struggles with identity throughout the book and it is definitely a ‘dragon’ for her. Raquel’s father was always denying his own identity, where he came from and who he was. After he married Alice, it got worse. He began to truly believe that he was not associated with blacks or Latinos. He forced his ideals onto Raquel by enrolling her into a catholic school, making her play tennis and giving her piano lessons. He didn’t want her to be like her “lousy mother” or the “garbage Dominicans” on the street. I believe this is where Raquel really began questioning her identity. Her peers often accused her of trying to be white because of the things her father forced upon her and when she began to really get into hip-hop, she was accused of trying to be black. People often asked her about her origins and she would be able to them where she’s from but not where she’s from. This ‘dragon’ is cooperative because it made her want to learn about her family’s true origins.
ReplyDeleteLastly, I also believe that identity was a dragon that she faced. It started with her father denying his own identity and then it went on to people making fun of Raquel and telling her that she is white because she plays tennis or that she is a Latina that's trying to be black based on the hip-hop music she listened to. Basically, a child is taught at home and so when Eduardo would deny his own identity, Raquel seems a little confused about what she really is because she has people telling her different things right and left when it comes to figuring out her own identity.
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