ENG 1A

Choice #1

 Why is “Para Teresa” written in English and Spanish?

I think the switched from English to Spanish to further reflect and contrast her pride for her heritage and her conformity.

Choice #2

I think the speaker realized that although their own opinions may have differed, they were both valid. They both fought to overcome a society that urged them to be stripped of their culture and heritage. They both rebelled against society that worked to make them feel inferior and now the speaker can finally see this. Put in a position of inferiority the speaker chose to use her academics to contest the prejudice while Teresa refused to submit to anything along the lines of conventional.

Choice #4

(Summarize Thinking Critically, Challenging Cultural Myths)

Critical thinking is not just memorizing information, it is thinking about a bigger picture of something. With critical thinking there is no longer just accepting information, you must ask deeper questions, such as motives, causes and explanations. Critical thinking is crucial for challenging cultural myths. The society we grow up in shapes our mindsets and common beliefs. For the most part, we all believe in the same thing, share the same ideas and social customs. When something strays from this we may not be as receptive as we believe ourselves to be because when something is “wrong” in our society, we are only surrounded by other members of the society to validate us. Many of our customs and social norms are simply memorized and accepted to be just the way things are that is why some of our cultural myths are “obstacles to critical thinking”. When you start to question many of the unseen norms of our culture you can begin to free yourself from many cultural restraints that may have impaired your outlook towards the world.

Choice #5(Reading questions for Para Teresa)

1.     Teresa confronted the speaker in the bathroom at school one day. Teresa suggested that the speaker was trying to “show her up” by making her look like a bad student-“I was playing right into their hands, you challenged” (20). The Speaker did not understand that her and Teresa stood for the same purpose, however, they failed to recognize this simply because they went about doing so in different ways. As the speaker strived for success in school Teresa boasted her rebellion with arrogance.

2.     Teresa demonstrated a more “classic” form of rebellion with arrogance and refusal to submit. While the speaker chose a more discrete route-conformity. The speaker flew under the radar as she strived for academic success. “I did nothing for the teachers” (31) said the speaker.  By conforming and making her schoolwork such a high priority the speaker wanted to prove that “we were not only equal but superior to them” (55). By “deadly defiance” I think the speaker is suggesting that you can lose yourself and your individuality if you entirely devote yourself to whatever vendetta you may have, such as her and Teresa’s, to a certain point it ceases to be rebellion and becomes submission. As far as an argument goes, it is obviously crucial to be well read and educated to have any point heard, especially if you want to be heard by more people. I think the speakers choice of defiance is probably the most effective, however, Teresa still made her point clear by her obvious acts of defiance and it is something I find it to be a very respectable thing to take action for something you really care about.