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updated 8-24-03
Sandra Cisneros
"Only Daughter"
p. 84 in Patterns
"He meant siete hijos,
seven children, but he translated it as "sons."
- Cisneros’ thesis is that being the only daughter of a
working-class Mexican father and Mexican-American mother “had everything to do
with who I am today.” Write a brief list of her supporting points that prove
this to be true.
- From information in the essay, name one
- advantage of being a daughter instead of a son.
- disadvantage of being a daughter instead of a son.
- What does Sandra Cisneros mean by her statement, “I
was/am the only daughter and only a daughter” (par. 3)?
- How does Cisneros’ father’s common statement “I have
seven sons” make her feel?
- Mr. Cisneros believed that education was very important.
- Why was it important for his sons?
- Why was it important for his daughter?
- In paragraph 2, Cisneros adds details to her
self-description of being one daughter among six sons. Name one of the
details. Do you think this additional information is necessary—why or why not?
Sandra Cisneros is a
highly-respected Hispanic author and she credits her writing to her drive to
please her father, which wasn’t easy. The following questions are tied to this
issue of writing.
- What kinds of things did the author’s father like to
read?
- What does she mean when she says her father “represents
. . . the public majority uninterested in reading”? Why does she say that it
is this audience she is writing for?
- Name three things that happened in the “last year, after
ten years of writing professionally” that made it clear Cisneros is a success?
- What was the most wonderful thing that happened the year
of her story?
- Where did this essay originally appear? Who is the
audience for that magazine? Do you think this was an appropriate essay for
that magazine’s audience? Why or why not?
- What is an anthology (par. 1)?
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