Quinceañera By, Judith Ortiz Cofer

Poem My dolls have been put away like dead children in a chest I will carry with me when I marry. I reach under my skirt to feel a satin slip bought for this day. It is soft as the inside of my thighs. My hair has been nailed back with my mother's black hairpins to my skull. Her hands stretched my eyes open as she twisted braids into a tight circle at the nape of my neck.

Poem I am to wash my own clothes and sheets from this day on, as if the fluids of my body were poison, as if the little trickle of blood I believe travels from my heart to the world were shameful. Is not the blood of saints and men in battle beautiful? Do Christ's hands not bleed into your eyes from His cross? At night I hear myself growing and wake to find my hands drifting of their own will to soothe skin stretched tight over my bones. I am wound like the guts of a clock, waiting for each hour to release me.

Diction Ortiz Cofer uses the phrase “like dead children” to indicate to the reader that this is a bittersweet moment in her life. “Nailed back” lets us know the amount of work and possible discomfort a girl might be in on this day. “Wound like the guts of a clock” also indicate the level of discomfort and how she may be nervous.

Images The images portrayed in “Quinceanera” show the reader the how this momentous occasion is a happy time but also nerve racking. “My dolls…when I marry”, “sating slip”, “my hair…skull”, “twisted…neck”, “Christ’s hands”. Ortiz Cofer uses a lot of imagery to visually appeal to the reader.

Details Ortiz Cofer includes that she has had her dolls put away “like dead children” to indicate the this day is truly meant for maturation of the girl from childhood to adulthood. She also includes details of preparation of the girl before she is presented. Also included is her “waiting for each hour to release me” which lets the reader know, as scared as she is, she is also very excited about her Quinceañera.

Language The language used is informal but does not use any colloquialisms. The language used does not indicate a particular profession or education.

Structure The sentences contain multiple clauses. The poem contains enjambment which is used to help the slight rhyme scheme. “Carry/marry; and/hands” The sentences are also choppy which is used to give the reader a sense of the authors nervousness.

Bibliography http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quincea%C3%B1era http://www.brown.edu/Departments//English/news/lecturers/cofer.html http://bellaillusion.com/catalogue/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=77_123_126