Essay Questions

The room filled with Anglo women is clearly occupied by teachers while there is no such definitive indication this is the case in the other room. What literary devices may be at work in this poem that would lead to the logical conclusion that the Mexican women are also teachers?

The connotative clues suggesting the Anglo women are teachers is found in the imagery of their conversation: “budgets, tenure, curriculum.” The topic of the discourse by the women in the other room is not specifically mentioned, but it is a logical conclusion to assume they are also teachers because of the structure of the poem. A parallel structure to the poem serves to create an analogous relationship defined by juxtapositions: the women in both rooms drink coffee but the bitter black beverage drank by the Anglos is juxtaposed against the sweet, milky preference in the other room. The parallel continues through comparisons and contrasts in clothing and smile and emotional atmosphere. Logically, then, it would seem to only make sense that the women share the same profession even if that profession is only made manifest in one of the rooms.

Is the poet guilty of stereotyping?

While it is true all the women in either room are described as being pretty much a “type” rather than individualized, the women should be viewed metaphorically rather than literally. The real occupants of the room are cultural signposts to which the woman in the doorway can relate and possesses a historical understanding. In a way, the poet is utilizing cultural stereotypes already in place to point out she herself has become reconciled to meeting certain aspects of that typecast. In addition, the perspective toward both rooms is non-judgmental: both rooms indicate a certain level of conformity and both social environments could be viewed as desirable or non-desirable.

How do the “click” and “sh” sounds serve to create a sense of motion and activity that is suggestive of the emotional temperature among the occupants?

A “clicking” sound usually conveys a lack of volume; you don’t often hear a click described as mucho ruido. That Spanish phrase translates into “noisy” and the “sh” that the speaker hers provides a sense of stark contrast. The click room is quiet—or professional—with conversation low enough to allow the speaker to hear the clicking of things like coffee cups being put down or, perhaps, the sound of shoes with heel as someone walks across the room. The other room, on the other hand, is a place for the volume of conversation can get so out of hand that professional decorum needs to be reminded through the hushing of one to another. This suggests on the one hand that the women in that room are more emotionally bonded than the women in the other room. Another equally valid interpretation, however, is that the women in the click are just as emotionally bonded to each other, but are cognizant of the need to appear professional at work and prefer to raise the emotional temperature during leisure time.