48 pages • 1-hour read
Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance Of A Puerto Rican Childhood
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Essay Topics
How do the themes of gender and bicultural upbringing intersect throughout the book?
What does Cofer mean when she refers to “poetic truth” (11), and how does she attempt to achieve this in the book?
How does Cofer use the symbol of blood to explore gender roles, growing up, and the loss of childhood innocence?
How did a childhood spent listening to Mamá’s stories shape Cofer’s own writing and storytelling?
How does Cofer respond to the fact that childhood memories are often unreliable and confused?
In what ways does Mamá’s house symbolically reflect the family and Mamá’s place within it?
How does her mother’s refusal to assimilate into US culture influence Cofer’s experiences and identity?
How does Cofer use the symbol of mirrors to explore the fragmentation and duality of her family’s experience as immigrants?
To what different things is Cofer referring when she speaks of “the power of words” (76)?
How does Silent Dancing combine American literature with Puerto Rican oral traditions?
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