"When I Was Puerto Rican"

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses and analyzes the book, "When I was Puerto Rican," by Esmeralda Santiago. Specifically, it answers five questions about the book based on the reading and sociological principles. It looks at how Esmeralda Santiago's autobiography, "When I was Puerto Rican", is a compelling story about the culture, mores, and societal influences that all rained down on a young girl torn between two worlds. Negi, a young Esmeralda, searches for her identity in the book, and as she does, she paints a graphic sociological picture of two cultures in two different places that eventually meld into one coherent and strong young woman.

From the Paper:

"There are several theoretical perspectives in the book, including interactionism, feminism, post-structuralism and postmodernism, and rational choice theory. Interactionism plays a role in the novel in the relationships between the family, and how they adapt (or do not adapt) to each other, and what these relationships ultimately mean to the family as a whole and individually. Each member of the family has a specific role, and plays it out throughout the book. Rational choice theory is observed throughout the book as the family makes living and social choices not based simply on rational thought, but based on their economic level and what is available to them, such as the house made out of lard cans in the beginning of the story."

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