Thesis: Araceli isolates herself from the outside world frequently, withdrawing into her own world that she reserves the real self, which implies the boundaries between rich and poor, defying the stereotype of a Mexican immigrant.
Araceli remains within her traditional personality which goes along with her isolation, setting a border between the rich American community and herself. She feels rude when American ring the doorbell ten minutes earlier which in her opinion is a particular terrible North American habit that against her tradition (25). In the case of housecleaning, the preference of using the sponge instead of the dishwasher implies the reserved personality of hers, which strengthen a Mexican woman figure even more conventionally.
…show more content…
After finishing her work, Araceli goes into her room which is described as her sanctuary, then “She pulled the comforter up to her chin, and was aware how childlike that gesture was, to seek solace in the softness of fabric” (41), which illustrates a theme of her solitude and isolation happened in her private space, her room, her sanctuary. She enjoys her apartness from the world especially the strange rich world when she is alone, nevertheless, she is never fully herself and wakeful at work. She is a special Mexican woman, not like Guadalupe, the former nanny who is humorous and talkative. She does not try to assimilate into the rich community, instead, she appreciates her solitude. She thinks again in a contemplative silence that “How can we live in such a big world, where hooded sweatshirts and baby ballerina dresses circulate from north to south, from new to old, from those who pay retail to those who pay for their clothes by the pound?” (273), thus, the boundary she set for herself as a poor person strengthens her solitude, which brings a great impact on how society sees the boundary between rich and