Enculturation - “Casa”
Tales are deployed during the enculturation the Puerto Rican girls. Cofer recalls, “the women of my family gathered in Mama’s living room to speak of important things and to tell stories for the hundredth time, as if to each other, meant to be overhead by us young girls, their daughters.” The enculturation of girls in Puerto Rico, which is predominantly through stories, is piloted by mothers, aunties and grandmothers. A reiteration of the stories is a ploy for underscoring the Puerto Rican tenets so that the young girls would master them by their heart. The enculturation transpires principally during the afternoons.
Superficial Beauty - “Casa” and “First love”
In "Casa", Maria la Cola is subjected to body shaming due to her looks. Cofer writes, “Kids yelled out nasty things at her calling her la Loca, and the men who hung out at the bodega playing dominoes sometimes whistled mockingly as she passed by with her funny, outlandish walk.” Maria la Loca’s weird walking could be ascribed to health dynamics beyond her command. However, the men and children use the walking to disgrace her. The mockery is grounded on the notion that Maria’s walking is anomalous; thus; it shrinks her desirability as a woman.
In “First Love”, the assignment of roles in the “Roman banquet” is based on students’ physical form. Cofer states, “The Lady was to be a beautiful new student named Sophia, a recent Polish immigrant, whose English was still practically unintelligible, but whose features, classically perfect without a trace of makeup, enthralled us. Everyone talked about her gold hair cascading past her waist, and her voice which could carry a note right up to heaven in choir. The nuns wanted her for God. They kept saying she had a vocation. We just looked at her in awe, and the mans seemed afraid of her. She just smiled and did as she was told. I don't know what she thought of it all. The main privilege of beauty is that others will do almost everything for you, including thinking.” Sophia’s physical charm gives her an edge over the other students notwithstanding her “unintelligible English.” She gets a more privileged position due to her splendor. Comparatively, the narrator gets an underprivileged role because, she is not physically striking. Human beings have a propensity to categorize people based on their physical looks. The nuns’ incapability to look beyond Sophia’s external gorgeousness hints at the innate prejudice in humans.
American Dream - “Casa” and “First love”
Some of Cofer’s family members, in “Casa”, go to Los Nueva Yores (America) to pursue wealth. For example, her uncle, Aunt Nena’s husband “was in the mainland working on his dream of returning home rich and triumphant.” In America, the Puerto Ricans work in factories to make money that can accord them intense wealth. Similarly, Cofer’s parents relocate to America in pursuance of the American dream. Cofer and her brother go to American schools.
Similarly, Cofer’s crush’s family in “First Love” exemplifies the American dream. Cofer recalls, “he was the nephew of the man who owned the supermarket on my block; that he often had parties at his parents' beautiful home in the suburbs which I would hear about; that his family had money (which came to our school in many ways)--and this fact made me knees weak: and that he worked at the store near my apartment building on weekends and in the summer.” Based on this account Cofer’s secret love comes from a prosperous background. The supermarket offers financial autonomy which is prerequisite for the American dream. The family’s contributions to Cofer’s school are pointers to the family’s financial forte. Also, the family owns “a beautiful home” which is grander than that of the Cofer’s family apartment. The “secret love” is relishing the American dream whereas Cofer is still trailing the dream.
Romance - “First Love”
Cofer refers to her foremost romance as a “lonely romance secret.” He could not see me because I was a skinny Puerto Rican girl, a freshman who did not belong to any group he associated with.” Cofer apprehends that their romance would not materialize due to the divergence of their social classes. As a result, most of the romance transpires in Cofer’s fantasies. No sooner does the ‘secret love’ kiss her than he disregards in her.
