The essay written by Aurora Levins Morales entitled "Puertoricanness" has impacted me because of its different point of view. The writer speaks of a woman that is trying to get in touch with her culture. She expresses her longing to be Puerto Rican again. How she is tired of trying to assimilate another race so that she can fit in. It is an essay about coming to a time in your life where you begin to know yourself and in return try to get in touch with the deep structure of your culture. .
The author stresses this by stating, "It was Puerto Rico waking up inside her, uncurling and shoving open the door she had kept nearly shut for years and years." The protagonist in the story is tired of hiding old habits because it is frown upon by other cultures, such as waiting for her husband to finish a complete sentence without interrupting. In the Puerto Rican culture, while holding an informal conversation, we all talk at once. .
The view of having to blend into an accepted society is contrary to my own experiences. I have never felt the need to assimilate another race in order to be accepted. I come from a neighborhood that the majority of people are Puerto Rican. It has Spanish stores with the ethnic foods, our own banks and doctor's offices. In fact, there are old timers that do not feel the need to leave the neighborhood because everything is conveniently nearby. .
Reading about someone else's struggles for the things that I take for granted was a shock to me. I could not relate to the realization that she needed her rice, coffee and unannounced visits by family to feel whole again. I guess because this has always been a part of my everyday life. She stated that she could no longer keep her accent under lock. I never even noticed I had an accent until I was older and stepped out of my neighborhood's boundary lines. Everyone spoke the same way even in school. This story is about a person that lives in Oakland.
