Almost A Woman

A detailed Summary of Almost A Woman


In the autobiography Almost A Woman by Esmeralda Santiago, there are many cultural differences. She feels alienated from the rest of the people in New York or the United States, for that matter. When Esmeralda was thirteen she moved to New York with her family from Puerto Rico. She did not know a word of English nor did she have any idea of what the American culture was like. To top off her ignorance of the American culture,

she was poor, making her more of an outcast.

As she was growing up in the United States, most people related her to the only Latin people they had ever seen, who were Desi Arnaz from "I Love Lucy" and Rita Moreno from "West Side Story". She hated those assumptions; they were inaccurate. Desi Arnaz played to role of a Cuban musician who was married to an American and was always put as the dumb, ignorant Hispanic who was sometimes lost in the ideas of the American


Being poor did not help Esmeralda avoid the stereo typical beliefs that people had of her. Most people thought Hispanics to be poor and living with a very tight budget. In her case, it was true. Because she was unable to afford things that were more expensive such as nice clothes or jewelry, her peers alienated her. She did not have many friends.

. Some of that is true, but she didn't like the idea that people thought she was dumb just because the American culture was new to her.

Esmeralda Santiago's autobiography is a great example of how people feel

At the Performing Arts High School more assumptions were made of her. All the roles in plays that were given to her were of foreign people. She tried out for many other roles but they said she did not fit the description of the character. Practically the whole time she was at the school she played Cleopatra with different attitudes ea

Some common words found in the essay are:
Arts School, Puerto Rican, Desi Arnaz, Puerto Rico, Esmeralda Santiago's, School Manhattan, York United, English Esmeralda, Esmeralda Santiago, West Story, american culture, performing arts school, arts school, performing arts, west story, people related, desi arnaz, feel alienated, moreno's character, latin people,

Approximate Word count = 609
Approximate Pages = 2 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: People

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