The Monkey Garden

The Monkey Garden was a chapter in this novel that really connected with me besides the fact of the game with Sally and Tito and his friends because that is just slutty and stupid. When she vividly described the garden and how distinctively beautiful it was, it really caught my attention. This really made me feel like I was young again even though I'm only 15, I just felt like I was back in first, second, or third grade. When I was younger every wednesday my three best friends and I would go to my house after school and it was a lot of fun. At first we would just hang out in my room and watch T.V. but there was this room downstairs that we never went in because it was always filled with my sister's old stuff and things we were going to give to charity. But, one day we got rid of all that and then for the nex few years there was not a day that when we were at my house that we weren't in that room. We made up games, hung around, and did a bunch of other stuff that we will never forget because it was like anohter home for use because we loved it there.

A House of My Own

I thought it was interesting how short and intresting this little vignette could be. It hooked me in even though it was just a minute long read between the end of the chapter before it and the beginning of the next. I felt like it helped express the true theme that you can't forget where you come fromb because she explains where she wants to go, not where she belongs. I can relate to this because there was always a place I wanted to go but I always knew that for now this is where I fit in. I wanted a nice spaceous apartmetn for me and a girl until we start a family and buy a small pretty house with a nice porch, a swing, and rooms that me and my family can share together, bond with one another, and love each other.

Alicia Who Sees Mice

Alicia who sees mice seemed different and noticeable to me. It showed me how even throught he good and bad people still are trying to make the best of every situation. I mean it was sad that she has to be afraid of her father now that her fother has gone and she misses and loves her. The idea of her womanhood being better than traditional was interesting because everybody in thsi book is looking fore something more in such a poor neighborhood. I think its cool that she loves the name she ahs inherited but not the roel in the family with a tortilla star, a rolling pin, and sleepiness.

There Was an Old Women

I thought this chapter was intriguing for a few reasons. In the beginning of the book you can already tell that this neighborhood isn't going to be like one you've heard about in other places for other ideas. But, when you find out that this family the Vargases had so many children that life was just a clusterbomb of mistakes and ignorant actions you could see how different this place actually was. When one of them died and not a single person cared except for Esperanza I felt confused because if somethign ever happened like that here it would have been talked around town in matters of hours and everybody wouldn't have cared. I don't understand how something like a dysfunctional family liek the Vargases can have a child die and have everyone just look over it.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1a/Old_Woman_who_lived_in_a_shoe-Kronheim.jpg/424px-Old_Woman_who_lived_in_a_shoe-Kronheim.jpg

My Name

Like Boys & Girls I thought that this chapter was very interseting as well. I was very interested as she described her name not as what it meant in a different language but with metaphors and real things. I thought I could relate my name to that when my parents used to tell me how they thought of my name. But I didn't agree with how she thought that women shoudl be thought of second class people because they shouldn't they just like everyone else, they're equal. I liked the part when she talked about how her grandmother waited by the window for something better and how she didn't want to take her place but accepted her name. I was alos interested in the fact that she wanted to baptize herself a new name, because I would like to do that as well because there is a side of me that nobody knows and I need a name to describe it.

Boys & Girls

This chapter in the book was very interesting. Not only does it describe how her family is connected to one another, but she also describes topics that have discussed a lot in my family. The fact that she talks about boys and girls iving in separate worlds, in my family my dad and I tend to congregate with one another and same with my sister and mom. This also has to do with how she talks about her brothers are best friends liek the men in our family and how the women are tending to congregate together but aren't as close as the boys. Also two other statements she made about having a future best friend and waiting for something good to happen, like with the red balloon also allowed me to connect to her. I thought that it was intersting becasue in the futurei will have new best friends that I can share time with and tell secrets too and after high school I'm going to be waiting for something good to happen.