Silent Dancing Essay

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“Silent Dancing” pp.40-48 (Summary) Week II In “Silent Dancing” Judith Cofer gives us insight into her childhood, when she was a young girl, about age three. She describes her family and the place that they are living. Her mother and she have watched the same home movie several times. Leading up to the home movie that they watch, Cofer gives us insight to her childhood. She lets us know that her father is in the Navy and has moved them from Puerto Rico, to Paterson, New Jersey into a tiny apartment referred to as El Building. During this time frame she gives us details of that the first few years were all in shades of gray. This signifies to me a hardship for her family. Her father gave strict orders for them not to socialize with anyone and only to keep to themselves. The only time her mother felt comfortable and spoke to people living in El Building was at the La Bodega. There her mother felt reminded of their homeland. Her father learns painful lesson during this time as well. He tries to look for other places for them to live, but there was prejudice against Latinos. He had a man ask him if he was Cuban and he said, “No I’m Puerto Rican” and the guys responds by saying same shit. He wanted them to get out of the barrio, but that was a place comfort to her mother. After giving insight on her background as a child, she begins to tell us about this home movie that she likes to watch. Her uncle buys a home movie camera and they are going to use it during the New Year’s Eve party. She says the movie is both comical and sad. There is no justification for the absurd movements that music provides for some of them. Some people appear frantic, their faces embarrassingly intense. The five-minute home movie ends with people dancing in a circle. Towards the end of the story her aunt-in-law, who was not invited to the party reveals things about her

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