Zoraida's Mother On The Other Hand example essay topic

Aunt Rosana's Rocker As times change, everything changes with it. The roles that women take on have changed in certain cultures, but in some cultures they have remained the same. Before, men we retreated with more respect and superiority, while women had no voices or say in the events that took place in their society. Today, there are situations where men are taken more seriously than women, but slowly, women are being treated with respect and play an active role in their community and have involved themselves within their community.

In certain cases the roles never change because the people do not change along with the society. In those cases, the roles are usually permanent because of their character or personalities and how they were raised. The ways that some people were raised and their environment are the direct cause to why they may be the way they are. 'AuntRosana's Rocker'; by Nicholas a Mohr presents a story where it discusses the lives of a married couple and how they are struggling with issues that involve not only the marriage, but themselves. In a way, it does not directly talk about the different roles they play, but it can be seen and understood through the events that take place and through the way the characters act. Castro, who is one of the main characters of the story is married to Zoraida.

Zoraida's husband, Castro, is the head of the family and is the one who is working and supporting the family. 'He had even considered sleeping on the living room couch, but he would not be driven out of his own bed. He was still a man after all, a macho, master of his home, someone to be reckoned with, not be pushed out. ' ; (Aunt Rosana's Rocker pg. 81) Castro is a masculine figure and takes on the role of the husband.

He supports and take scare of his family, but the character thinks of himself more than a caretaker. He is prideful and arrogant. As a male figure it is understandable that they may take on the role of someone who is confident and strong, but Castro takes it step further by implying that he is the only one who is capable of handling matters and is someone who only thinks about himself. There would be times that Castro would be portrayed as someone who is patient and understanding, but underneath that disguise he was a man who had intentions and only cared for his own well being. 'Putting down his hands, Castro opened his eyes. All he could do was wait patiently, as he always did, wait for her to finish.

' ; (Aunt Rosana's Rocker pg. 81) 'He had no slept properly since this whole affair started. After all, he had to drive out to New Jersey to earn his living and his strength and sleep were being sapped away. (pg. 81) He would even tell his family good things about his wife, but he was only doing so that he could benefit from it. As a male figure, Castro wanted control and wanted to have control of others. 'Every time I go near her at night, or two or three in the morning, she relaxes. He raised his hand and slammed the table, 'God damned chair!' ;' ; He couldn't control Zoraida's sickness and make her stop going to the rocking chair.

He could not comprehend what she was emotionally feeling and the issues that she had with him and herself. He became even more upset because he did not understand why some of the things that she did were not the ways she treated him. 'To think my handsome, healthy son, who could have had any girl he wanted, picked this one. ' ; (pg. 89) The way that Castro was raised helped him to be the way he was. Hismother's mentality of how his son was so handsome and better than others may have caused Castro to think that he was superior to others. He may be receiving his confidence through this mother or it may be that he truly feels that his man of many qualities and talents. In a way, the issues that he is having with his wife and how he constantly brings up the idea that he is 'macho'; can be from his insecurity.

He may not be feeling man enough or may be even feeling tha the isn't being taken care of. It's a way to attract attention and to be the center of attention. In this story, there is a part where he doesn't understand why she doesn't feel certain things with him. 'Castro remembered how she always urged him to hurry, be quiet, and get it over with, on account of the children. A lot she cares about him tonight!

Never in all their years of marriage had she ever uttered such sounds-he shook his head-or shown any passion or much interest in doing it. ' ; (pg. 82) Men believe that they need to take on the role of a masculine figure, and to be the best. Through his 'macho'; attitude, he is portraying his insecurity indirectly. Physically he may be powerful and strong, but his mind may be powerless. Zoraida on the other hand is seen very timid and weak, but inside she is a woman who contains much strength and endurance.

'And, she's like, well, like a little stick sparrow flirting with death and having the upper hand. Quietly stubborn, you know? Now at all submissive like it might seem to just anybody looking at Zoraida. It's more asif nobody's gonna make the sparrow healthy, but it ain't gonna die either... like it's got the best of both world, see?' ; (pg. 85) Not even knowing who she was Castro was able to figure out how Zoraida was. This is what attracted Castro to Zoraida in the beginning. Her role as a woman was to be a mother and a wife.'s he's clean, hardworking and obedient. ' ; (pg. 89) Zoraida takes on her role as a housewife and finds herself only being a housewife.

She is powerless and shy when dealing with her family. 'Go ahead. Answer, por Dios!' ; 'I... ' ; Zoraida cleared her throat in an effort to speak louder.

' ; Since her husband is so loud and bold and the opposite from her, her way of expressing or dealing with life is through the rocking chair and through the sexual dreams that she had at night. 'She looked over at the empty space near the window. It was gone. She wouldn't be able to sit there anymore and meet all her suitors and be beautiful. ' ; (pg. 95) Her rocking chair was a part of her and was a part of her imaginary world that she created after she stopped having the sexual dreams. For her to create this imaginary world, she was lacking something from her husband or from life. Although her husband is a hard worker, he does not make her happy.

This is where she is in control and where she can be the most happy and away from all her troubles. 'Lately, it had become the one place where she felt she could be herself, where she could really be free. ' ; (pg. 94) She could never be who she really wanted to be because of her husband. She was slowly giving up and withdrawing from her family and life itself. As a woman, you are to be strong, but Zoraida wasn't strong.

She depended on a rocking chair to get through her life troubles. She could not even depend on her own husband who is supposed to be the male figure in her life. Zoraida's mother on the other hand was different from her own daughter. The relationship that her parents have are much different, they depend on each other and look to each other for support. 'Listen to me,' ; Don Isidro spoke in a firm voice, 'if it's the chair that bothers you, then we " ll take it back home with us. Right, Mama?' ; He turned to Dona Clara who nodded emphatically.

'There should be no objection to that, eh?' ; (pg. 93) Seeing this, her parents have a balanced relationship where one or the other does not have more power in the family. Looking at it from a different point of view, the way she was raised could be a factor in why she was so shy and quiet. 'But, he too was lucky to get our Zoraida. Afterall, we bring her up proper and right. ' ; (pg. 90) Growing up, Zoraida may have been pampered and well taken care of especially since she was born premature. 'The miracle baby,' ; they had said, 'Mr. Cuesta, your daughter is a miracle. She should not be alive. ' ; (pg. 90) Hearing this, any parent would have given their best to their child for the reason that their own child may have not made it.

Since their child was born premature, this could be a reason why she is so thin. 'Don Isidro sighed, the mother of three children and she hasn't filled out... she still have the body of a twelve-year old. Well, after all, she was born premature, weighing only two pounds at birth. ' ; (pg. 90) Her thin like appearance can give people the impression that she is weak physically and weak mentally. This could have been the cause of why she was quiet and reserved. Appearances and personalities play a huge role of how the man and the woman will respond and how they will be treated. Some people are so blind that they will never see who the person really is inside and how he / she is truly feeling or what he / she may be thinking.

Society usually hasa part in deciding how the male and the female will be and the roles that they take up in their relationship together. In this case, it seems as if Castro and Zoraida were given certain roles to play in the story. It has to do with their environment when they were growing up and how they were raised. The way they were treated was the result of how they turned out to be when they got older. Castro being the macho and confident male figure while Zoraida being the quiet and the coy female figure, there was no balance with their personalities. One would always be stronger than the other.

Zoraida accepted her life for what it was and as the female role that she played, she would have to be obedient to her husband while he tried to take control of himself and his wife.