Struggle and Victory(When I was Puerto Rican-Esmeralda Santiago)
...nly income is from her father, Pablo, handy work around town. Negi is the oldest of three daughters. As her family grows, her mother, Ramona feels the need for money, and she decides to look for a job. This is not approved of by Pablo and it causes even more problems in the family. Their constant battle with poverty ricochets Negi's family back and forth between rural Puerto Rico to the city and back. Finally, her family ends up moving to New York without Pablo. In New York everything is different for Negi. She has to contend with all kinds of problems ranging from the new language and manners to the violence at the streets. In the end, however, Negi defeats all her obstacles and is accepted to the New York City High School of Performing Arts and, subsequently, into Harvard University. Santiago's 270-page book is an autobiography, giving the reader an insight into what the author felt at certain moments of her life. This autobiography is narrated in chronological order. This technique lets the reader understand the sequence of events in her life. By the generous use of imagery, Santiago presents her extremely lucidly.znol She makes her words come to life."Every hair on my body stood on end as I witnessed these transformations. A bristling sweat seeped..."(175). Also, the incorporation of dialogue and Spanish phrases into the book makes the images even more realistic and easy to picture. She accurately duplicates the slang used in Puerto Rico and New York, adding to the realism of her memoir."Te pregunto el Mr. Boone, you know, lo que querias hacer when you grow up"(258) Santiago cleverly incorporates a glossary at the end of the book. It is of great help for a person who doesn't understand many of the Spanish words and phrases used in Puerto Rico, but it doesn't completely eliminate the problem with language. However, Santiago gives an English explanation after most of her Spanish phrases."Del dicho al hecho hay un gran t...