Judith Ortiz Cofer's Catch The Moon

London Sylvester
English III/West
April 11, 2008
Under the Radar You may ask the question: Who is Judith Ortiz Cofer? Most people wouldn’t be able to answer that question, but this paper will. Judith Ortiz Cofer, born in 1952, is an acclaimed Puerto Rican author. Her works span a range of literary genres including poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays, and Young Adult novels. Cofer born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico moved to the United States in 1956 with her family to Paterson, New Jersey. Her family often made back-and-forth trips between Paterson and Hormigueros (Ocasio 1). In 1967, her family moved to Augusta, Georgia, where she attended Butler High School. Cofer received a B.A. in English from Augusta College, and later an M.A.…show more content…
Personally, I believe this is because he lives with his mother. In order not to be sent back to the detention center, Luis is put into his father’s custody. Luis is promptly put to work in his father’s junkyard, washing and sorting hubcaps. A girl from Luis’ school stops by the junkyard to get a replacement hubcap for her VW Bug. The girl’s presence inspires Luis to stay at the junkyard all night washing the hubcaps looking for the special hubcap. Once Luis finds the hubcap, he runs all the way to the girl’s house, climbs the tree outside her window, throws pebbles at her window to get her attention, and tells her that he has found the hubcap. Luis must be in love with this girl because he straightens up when they get together (Cofer…show more content…
with teenage issues, such as peer pressure and self-esteem, along with a touch of Puerto Rico into her works. She uses her keen understanding of being a teenager growing up in the barrio to make her works more true to life than most contemporary authors who write similar stories (Ocasio 3).
Bibliography
Cofer, Judith Ortiz. An Island Like You. New York: Orchard, 1995.
- - -. “Judith Ortiz Cofer.” Magill’s Choice: American Ethnic Writers. Ed. Nancy L. Chick and Edna Acosta-Belen. N.p.: Salem Press, 2000. Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Baton Rouge Magnet High School Lib. & Baton Rouge/LA. 22 Jan. 2008 <http://search.ebscohost.com/>. “Judith Ortiz Cofer B. 1952.” Rev. of Many Works, by Edna Acosta-Belen and Judy Baker. English. Dept. home page. 2006. U of Minnesota. 24 Jan. 2008 <http://voices.cla.umn.edu/vg/Bios/entries/cofer_judith_ortiz.html>.
“Kathleen Wilson.” Short Stories for Students. Ed. Kathleen Wilson. 26 vols. Short Stories For Students. Detroit: Gale, 1997.
Ocasio, Rafael. “Judith Ortiz Cofer.” The Literary Encyclopedia. The Literary Dictionary Company. 20 June 2002. 24 Jan. 2008 <http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4978>.
Stewart, Gail B. “A Closer Look at Peer Pressure.” Peer Pressure. Understanding Issues. San Diego: Thompson Gale, 2003.