Composition I
9. From what point of view does Cisneros write this narrative essay? How does this particular point of view help us understand her attitude toward experience? She writes it in first person point of view. It gives us the insight on her attitude because it explains her feelings from her point of view.
10. In writing this essay, Cisneros is making a comment about families in general and Mexican families in particular. What is her ultimate message? What details help you understand this message? Does the fact that she doesn’t capitalize “daughter” in her title have anything to do with this message? Her ultimate message was saying that though her family expected to do one thing, she decided to do what was right for her. I understood it when she said her father did not approve of her job. Yes.
11. How does Cisneros organize the details of this narrative? Is this the most effective order for what she is trying to say? She organizes it by order of importance. Yes.
12. Although Cisneros’s essay is primarily narrative, what other rhetorical strategies does she use to make her point? Give examples of each. She asks herself rhetorical questions. She also uses compare and contrast.
13. In “ Only daughter,” Sandra Cisneros describes the importance of her father’s support of and appreciation for her writing career. Compare and contrast the theme of family support described by Sandra Cisneros, Russell Baker (“The Saturday Evening Post”), Tamala Edwards (“Multi-Colored Families”), and/or Mary Pipher (“Beliefs About Families’). Which author would argue that support from one’s family is most crucial to our development as a person? Why?
14. Both Sandra Cisneros and Amy Tan (“Mother Tongue”) became extremely successful writers in English although they spoke another language at home
as they grew up. Can you find any other common denominators in the experience of these two authors that account for their current skill in using English language?
15. Compare and contrast the use of examples in the essays by Sandra Cisneros, Harold Krents (“Darkness at Noon”), Brent Staples (“A Brother’s Murder’), and/or Frank Furedi (“Our Unhealthy Obsession with Sickness”). Which essay is most densely packed with examples? Which uses example most effectively? Which least effectively? Why?
