Only Daughter: Sandra Cisneros BBS 1st Year Patterns for College Writing

 

Narrative Essay ‘Only Daughter’ by Sandra Cisneros (page 109)

About the Essayist 

Sandra Cisneros was born into a working-class family in 1954. She was the daughter of a Mexican-American mother and a Mexican father. Her essay "Only Daughter" originally appeared in Glamour magazine in 1990. In it, Cisneros describes the difficulties of growing up as the only daughter in a Mexican-American family of six sons.

The Main Theme of the Essay

The main theme of "Only Daughter" by Sandra Cisneros is the struggle for recognition and identity as a woman in a traditional Mexican-American family. Cisneros, the only daughter among six brothers, faces her father's dismissive attitude, as he values sons more and expects her to fulfill domestic roles. Despite this, she pursues her passion for writing, seeking both personal fulfillment and her father's approval. The essay ultimately highlights her triumph when her father finally acknowledges her work, showing that perseverance and self-belief can overcome gender and cultural expectations. The story underscores themes of gender inequality, cultural pressures, and the power of self-expression through writing.

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Summary of the Essay

Historically, sons have been valued over daughters in most cultures, as reflected in the following proverbs: “a house full of daughters is like a cellar full of sour beer” (Dutch); “daughters pay nae [no] debts” (Scottish); “a stupid son is better than a crafty daughter” (Chinese); and “a virtuous son is the Sun of his family” (Sanskrit). Contemporary research suggests that while the preference for male children has diminished considerably in industrialized nations, a distinct preference for sons continues among many cultures in Asia and the Middle East, raising concerns among medical ethicists worldwide. And, even within the more traditional cultures of the industrialized world, old habits of mind regarding the role of women in society can die hard, as the attitudes of Cisneros's father suggested.

Cisneros’s father believed that being only a daughter meant that her destiny would lead her to become someone’s wife. When she was in the fifth grade and shared her plans for college with him, she was sure that he understood as he remarked: “Que bueno, mi’ja, that’s good.” What she didn’t realize was that her father thought college was good for girls — good for finding a husband. After four years in college and two more in graduate school, and still no husband, her father believes that she had wasted all that education. She wanted her father to understand to introduce her as “My only daughter, the writer.” Not as “This is only my daughter. She teaches.” Being a writer, everything she ever writes has been for her father, to win his approval even though she knows that her father can’t read English words.

When the writer with her six brothers was growing up in Chicago, they moved a lot because of their father. They moved to and from Mexico City (and Chicago) time and again. Each time, her father would seek out the parish priest to get a tuition break, and complain or boast: “I have seven sons.” He meant siete hijos, seven children, but he translated it as “sons.” “I have seven sons.” To anyone who would listen. As if he deserved a medal from the state. Because of this, the writer feels herself being erased as she writes, “I’d tug my father’s sleeve and whisper: “Not seven sons. Six! and one daughter.” 

Moreover, she especially wanted to please her father as an aspiring author but he thought female education was just for finding a husband. She didn't end up finding one, and instead became an author and after many challenging years, made her father proud. She wanted to show that a poor, Mexican woman can write quality literature. Her father is concerned for her well-being, and for who she will become. Without a husband, he feels as if he would fail as a father if she cannot produce kids who will be his legacy. He often forgets that she is her person as she tends to blend in with his sons. In the end, he finds that his legacy will be not in her children but in the stories she weaves about her Mexican heritage.

Comprehension ( page 112) Sample Answers

1.     What does Cisneros mean when she writes that being an only daughter in a family of six sons "explains everything"?

She means that the way she was raised had to do with how many sons and daughters were in the family. This in turn affected the way she turned out as a person. Cisneros, the only daughter of her Mexican parents with six other sons, states “being an only daughter in a family of six sons” in the first paragraph to make her writing clear to readers so that readers can instantly know about her topic matter and about her feelings of being an only daughter. Her statement in the essay “being the only daughter in a family of six sons” clearly represents her situation of a childhood in a Mexican family where readers are expected to have a clear view of her life being the only daughter.)

2.     What distinction does Cisneros make in paragraphs two and three between being "the only daughter" and being "only a daughter"?

The only daughter just means that she is the only female child, whereas "only a daughter" feels like she is less than she would be if she were a boy. Cisneros was the only daughter and only daughter in her family. She mentions facts about her being the only girl child and being only a girl child to her parents. She was a daughter and only a daughter who is expected not to be as equal to her brothers. She is a daughter but more than that she is a daughter only. She was treated as a gift to her future husband who is being taken care of now by her parents in future.

3.     What advantages does Cisneros see in being "the only daughter"? "In being "only a daughter"?

The advantage of being the only daughter was being alone. Being alone and not getting to play with her boy brothers in public provided her with space and time where her imagination flourished and writing developed. She was free so she was able to concentrate on her writings rather than child plays. On the other hand, being only a daughter made her a “girl” rather than a daughter. She was a girl first then only a daughter. She was supposed to be a wife in contrast to being a daughter. This in turn provided her with the opportunity of getting to go to college in search of a husband as her father thought of finding her Mr Right at college.

‘In being the only daughter" allowed to time to be alone and allowed her time to develop her mind as a writer. ‘In being only a daughter’ meant that her father wouldn't question her choice of major in college as long as she went.

4.     Why does her father think she has wasted her education? What is her reaction to his opinion?

Being a girl child to the other six boy child of her parents, the writer was able to attend college and graduate only because her father hoped for her to find her prince at her college. But she was unable to find a boy, perfect for her so her father didn’t get any return from the investment he did in his daughter so in the view of her father she wasted her education. On the other hand, she believes that she got a handsome return for her father’s investment by being a writer and her writings translated to Mexican-Spanish, readable to her father and other relatives which was the most fascinating experience which happened to her last year.

Her father states that she wasted her education because she did not find a husband while she was in college. As it states in the text, she wanted her father to understand what she was writing and for him to introduce her as "His only daughter, the writer." Not as "This is only my daughter, she teaches."

5.     Why is her father's reaction to her story the "most wonderful" thing that happened to Cisneros that year?

The reason her father's reaction was the most important thing that happened in her life that year is that all she wanted was for her father to be proud of her for her accomplishments. She states that everything she had ever written had been for him and to win his approval.

Cisneros was not satisfied with her father’s reaction regarding his investment in Cisneros for college and his daughter being a writer. But when the writer’s writings were translated into Mexican-Spanish, the only language her father could read and understand, her father took ample amount of time to read her work and at last, he requested more copies of it so that his relatives also could look at his daughter's achievement. Finally, her father got the investment back which was the most wonderful thing that happened to her last year.

Purpose and Audience :

1.     Although Cisneros uses many Spanish words in her essay, in most cases she defines or explains these words. What does this decision tell you about her purpose and her audience?

By using Spanish words within Cisneros' essay. Her purpose is to showcase not only to Mexican-American readers but also by explaining these Spanish words, they also help American readers understand where she comes from.

2.     What is Cisneros' thesis? What incidents and details support this thesis?

Cisneros's thesis states that being the only girl born into a family of six boys meant that she would have to overcome hard obstacles in her life. Some incidents and details that support this thesis are the facts that her brothers would not play or spend time with her as they felt that she was beneath them. This opportunity gave her the time to think, imagine, and read to herself.

3.     Do you think Cisneros intends to convey a sympathetic or an unsympathetic Impression of her father? Explain.

Cisneros conveyed a sympathetic impression of her father because her father does not believe that a female can be well educated. Her father's thought of college was meant for a girl to find a suitable husband. She proved her father wrong by showing him that the value of education in college is more than just a place to find a suitable husband.

Style and Structure:

1.     Where does Cisneros in only daughter interrupt a narrative passage to comment on or analyse events what does this strategy accomplish?

She interrupts the passage to comment on the event that her father always said he had 7 sons. She mentioned how proud he was of this statement, even though he had 6 sons and a daughter. She felt like that was a sign of her being erased or replaced by a boy. She didn't seem to let it bother her too much. She also mentioned how he would say it to anyone, hoping to get at least a tad bit of praise. I think that when he said this, she felt like she was less significant than her brothers and that her dad always preferred them over her comment.

2.     Are the episodes in this essay presented in chronological order? Explain.

The essay was not presented in chronological order. Cisneros would jump back and forth throughout the years to tell small parts of her life story.

3.     What transitional expressions does Cisneros use to introduce new episodes?

Cisneros would use words like "well", "in a sense", "when", and "last year" to introduce a new episode as a way of transitional expressions

4.     Cisneros quotes her father several times. What do we learn about him from his words?

We can infer that her father was born in a time when females were only meant to stay home, cook, and clean while the males in the family would work and bring home the money. We can also infer that her father has not been to college or else his thoughts of college would not be to find a suitable husband.

5.     Why does Cisneros devote so much space to describing her father in paragraphs 17-21? How does this portrait compare to the one she presents in paragraphs 9–11?

Cisneros devoted so much space to describing her father in paragraphs 17-21 to help the reader imagine and understand the emotion that would transpire when her father realizes that. In paragraphs 9-11, she tells the story that her father would move around back and forth from Chicago to Mexico City due to his “nostalgia.” Cisneros's father would tell anyone who would listen “I have seven sons,” in reality, he has six sons and a daughter. This paragraph shows that her father was not proud of having a daughter in the family. In the end, Cisneros shows her father that he was wrong and that he can be proud of only the daughter that he has.

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