Question

Respond to THREE of the following quotes by (a) saying what you think each quote means; and (b) giving your personal thoughts about what each quote says or what advice you would give the narrator here.

1. “I felt humiliated and alone. Miss Marti’s reptile face kept appearing in my notebook, her voice intoning ‘Let me tell you, you’re nothing.’ Yeah, right. Just what horrible hole did she crawl out of? Were those people really Puerto Ricans? Why should a Puerto Rican salute the American flag?”
(a) What’s happening in the story here?
(b) What are your thoughts / advice about this?


2. “He leaned back in his chair. ‘We have rules, all of us. There are rules even I must live by. People who don’t obey them get disciplined. This will all go on your record…Why ruin it...This is a simple case of rules and regulations…That means you follow the rules, no matter what you think of them.’”
(a) What’s happening in the story here?
(b) What are your thoughts / advice about this?


3. “I hated myself. I wiped my face desperately, trying not to make a spectacle of myself. I was just a kid, a tiny kid. Who the hell did I think I was? I’d have to wait until I was older, like my father, in order to have ‘convictions.’”
(a) What’s happening in the story here?
(b) What are your thoughts / advice about this?


4. “I couldn’t understand back then about a father’s love and what a father might give to ensure his son safe transit.”
(a) What’s happening in the story here?
(b) What are your thoughts / advice about this?

Answer 1

In the second excerpt the narrator probably disagrees with certain rules and a superior is trying to persuade him to adhere to the rules even if he doesn't agree with them. Otherwise, his record will be ruined. My thoughts are that first and above all, we should always be true to ourselves.

In the third excerpt, a young boy has just faced a failure and he is disillusioned. He is trying to console himself by thinking that when he will get older he will feel stronger and will have the right to do as he pleases. My advice would be to relax, enjoy his age and never stop trying.

A child is remembering his father and how he tried to save hm, now that he is an adult. At the time, he couldn't realize how important he was and the fact that his father would sacrifice everything for him. My advice is to do the same for his children.