Week One

1. I believe that "Para Teresa" is written in both English and Spanish is because is connects on more of an emotional level. Its tells the story the way it really was. Lets the reader get a good understanding of what is going on in that exact moment in time.  If the whole story or poem were to be in all English it would not make as much sense, it would just seem like another bathroom fight in elementary school. This is not what this was, this was a story about to Mexican- American women who had strong beliefs about who they were and where they came from. Having the story in two different languages really pulls the whole story together.   You really get the detail and what was really going on. Some may not be able to understand it but it connects to every reader in a personal way. I know when i read "Para Teresa" Having written both ways really made it seem realistic and like I was there. You get the intensity level of the purpose of the story. It really brings their culture into the mix. This story had a lot to do with the culture they came from and their heritage and having the two languages intermingled in this really help explain that culture.

                   2. The author in "Para Teresa" writes this story when she is 28 years old. I think she wrote this story because she had a turning point in her life. something must have triggered this. She talks about how after all these years she still remembers this girl and can call her, her sister. There had to be something in the aurthors life that triggered this childhood memory. We all have this same experience all the time. For her she went back to this moment in time when this fight happened and was now finally able to get over it. In some sence she seemed like she regretted the whole thing.The narrator has a greater understanding of Teresa because she is older now more mature and realizes that the little things like this don't matter. They are from the same heritage and she knew that she would have rather stuck with her then to fight with her and this she has regretted. She has  dewelled on the past and as she got older she has realized that there are a lot more important thing in life then to fight or argue about what is right and what is wrong in life. She realizes that things like this don't matter, what really matters is her roots and where she came from.