Only Daughter by Sandra Cisneros

Only Daughter

By Sandra Cisneros

5.2 Personal Response to the Essay

Only Daughter sheds light on important topics regarding society, the relationships we have with our parents, and goals, all in terms of approval and the perspectives people have of a woman's role.

Only Daughter reaches out to those who have goals or feel neglected by society or their families. It speaks for those who cant seem to obtain approval from those who they love, and for those who are victims of the societal norms that include gender roles and standards for wages.

Although Cisneros was rewarded by her father for her great writing eventually, she was never truly noticed

while in her pursuit

of writing

Cisneros' was not acknowledged by her father for pursuing the difficult career of writing. We can see the lack of recognition given to her when her father describes her to others as a teacher instead of a writer. Cisneros also mentions how if her father thought of her pursuit through college as important, he would not allow her to major in something "silly" like English. This is true as the pursuit in writing is not respected by society mostly since its hard to succeed in and rarely pays.

Cisneros shows a great deal of determination by succeeding to write without the encouragement of her father. This is relatable as we are all trying to reach something, and along the way we may or may not have people rooting for us. In fact as Only Daughter shows, we may not receive support from the people that we care most about. However if we are persistent in working towards a goal regardless of who doesn't encourage us, we are able to show the value of that goal we strived so hard for, as we see Cisneros does when her father reads and enjoys the translated story she gave him.

Cisneros also mentions how it would not be logical for someone poor like her to pursue a career that doesn't pay or, "choose to be poor". Her decision to continue pursuing as well as her success shows that it doesn't matter what the circumstances are when choosing a career, and that if you work hard enough you can solve the problems attached with that certain career.

"Only a daughter"

Cisneros reveals her neglected childhood through fathers interpretations of the roles of women

Its easy to see how Cisneros would feel neglected since her father makes her feel like she's being "erased" probably since her father thinks that "destiny (will) lead (Cisneros) to become someones wife" and nothing more. Further more her father only encourages Cisneros to go to college for the reason that it helps find husbands.

We can see how this created a lasting effect in Cisneros when she ironically describes herself as "only a daughter" in the article titled only daughter. Whether its meant to be sarcastic or just plain ironic, the fact that it agrees with her father's view suggests that she has been influenced by her fathers neglection