Favoritism

Sandra Cisneros’s personal narrative, “Only Daughter”, is about being an only girl in a family with six other brothers. Cisneros had grown up with six other brothers, but because she was an only daughter, she could not fit in with her brothers, and usually left alone. However, having spent a lot of time alone allowed her to think, imagine, read, and prepare to be a good writer. Then, in fifth grade, Cisneros told her family about her plans for college and her life. Her brothers all laughed at her plans; however, her father allowed her to go to college to find a better husband, since her father believed that the girl’s role in life is just to be someone’s wife. This shows that Cisneros’s father doesn’t consider Cisneros as important as her brothers and doesn’t care about why Cisneros wanted to go to college or what she wanted to do in college. In spite of her father’s favoritism toward her brothers over her, Cisneros went to college and graduate school, became a professor, made a speech in many famous schools, and wrote books. Finally, after ten years of writing, Cisneros flew home to Chicago with her book, that is translated into Spanish, in her hand. Cisneros gave her book to her father lying on his bed. Cisneros’s father read her book and enjoyed her writing. At the very end, Cisneros’s father recognized her true qualities and became proud of her. In Cisneros’s narrative, she talks about the conflict between herself and her father. Cisneros tries to get her father’s attention from her brothers and prove that she is not worthless child. On the other hand, Cisneros’s father disregards and ignores Cisneros. However, this conflict is resolved at the end of Cisneros’ narrative, when Cisneros’s father acknowledged Cisneros’s true qualities. The main theme of the story is that do not be frustrated and give up, although society disregards and disrespects you, because your true qualities and values will eventually reveal and be respected. Overall, I had empathy toward Cisneros’s narrative, since I also have a brother and experienced favoritism toward boys over girls by my grandfather. At back home in Korea, my grandfather had stereotypes about the role of boys and the role of girls in the family and society. According to my grandfather, I don’t need to study, because what I will do is just supporting my husband; however, that doesn’t mean that I can wander around and hang out with friends, rather it means that I have to stay calm and learn how to clean stuffs and make foods. Unfortunately, I did not have a chance to resolve this conflict like Cisneros did, because my grandfather has passed away before I show my abilities and prove that I could be better person than the person that he expected me to be.