The Changeling By Judith Ortiz Cofer Summary

Judith Ortiz Cofer’s work “The Changeling” depicts the exploits of a young girl “vying for her father’s attention” while her mother does not condone such behavior (2). The poem is told as a flashback, with the narrator recalling a memory from her childhood. It begins with the young girl describing a game she made so that her father would pay attention to her. Then she dresses up like a soldier and pretends to be a man as part of the game. Her mother disapproves of her dressing in that fashion and makes her change back into her regular clothes. It’s detailed like a memory and provides the audience of just one incidence the narrator was able to recollect. The poem’s main focus is to take a little look into the disparity between traditional feminine

The first look into the culture is in the second stanza when the narrator talks about her brother and is followed by the imagery of her “change into his dungarees” (7). This is a tradition not solely rooted in just one culture, which is that men are the ones who participate in fighting and war. Women typically are not associated with such roles so the narrator feels that by dressing like a boy she can act like one. Another tradition explored in the poem is the use of historical figures and seeing them as larger than life figures. The girl sees this when she is “transformed into the legendary Ché” who was a major figure in the Cuban revolution (11). All cultures have historical figures that it’s people look up to. For Hispanic American people the connection to their past is very important so remembering figures such as Ché is a way to keep roots with their culture. The last portion of traditions explored in this narrative is the inclusion of the phrase “para la libertad” which translates to for freedom and/or for liberty (17). Given the nature of this poem, it is interesting to note that the use of “la” denotes that libertad is feminine. The ways in which the poem explores traditions of Hispanic American culture is subtle, but definitely a theme

There’s a very clear distinction between roles for women and roles for men. From the first two stanzas the narrator has “invented a game” which gets her father to “look up from his reading” and notice her (3,4). Prior to her dressing like a boy, he had not paid any attention to her and she feels that in order to get his attention she has to pretend to be a boy. The last stanza is where there is the clear message of the different roles for men and women. The woman narrating describes how by shedding her outfit she “returns invisible” as herself (27). By removing her costume the narrator feels that she has returned to her role of being ignored by her father. As herself, she does not feel as though she has a presence. The closing line of the poem perhaps provides the most poignant moment where the narrator returns to the “real world of the kitchen” which she acknowledges her attempts at adventure are all for naught (29). There’s a sense of dissatisfaction with her situation and a sadness of becoming just another worker in the