When I Was Puerto Rico Sparknotes

Being an immigrant child involves fulfilling a familial duty. Being an immigrant child means carrying the dreams and goals of your family. However, carrying hopes and dreams requires giving up what you now have to further develop them. In the memoir When I Was Puerto Rican by Esmeralda Santiago, Esmeralda sacrifices her childhood and dignity to be accepted into a school and to assist her mother. For starters, her mother needed someone to support the family, so she left her in charge of looking after her siblings. But because of her mother's expectations of her maturity and responsibility, this frequently results in arguments. When mentioning her cousin Jenny, who is regularly pampered and left with no work because she is an only child, and stating how fortunate she is, she says, “Every night

Her mother, however, argues that she is nearly a "seorita," which means that while she is gone, she needs to act grown and care for the family. She usually has to deal with the consequences of her siblings' misbehavior, which causes her to struggle with this. Not only that, but when she expresses this to her mother, she not only dismisses it but also states that it is her problem and that she will not be given everything easily. When Esmeralda attempts to deny this, her mother strikes her violently before pushing her away and telling her to at least be a role model for her siblings. Furthermore, she was frequently put in circumstances throughout her early years that she was unable to defend herself against. For instance, when she fought her cousin, her mother heavily beat her for injuring him even though her cousin had attempted to sexually assault her instead of praising her for having the courage to go up against someone. One moment that stood out to her was when she presented herself in front of the judges to determine whether or not she would be allowed into the performing arts