For homework, you were assigned Casares' "Yolanda." Answer the following question in one-to-two paragraphs by Tuesday, January 25, 2011 (before 11:59 p.m.):
In your opinion, what was the ultimate theme of the story? Explain your answer.
When you post response, please remember to use your first name and last name's initial (i.e. Billy J.).
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29 comments:
In my opinion that ultimate them of the story “Yolanda” was to show a young man and his cross from the roles of a child into a man. Oscar Casares explains to us how he experienced a situation which tested his manhood. How as a young man only at the age of twelve he had experienced his first somewhat sexual interaction with a woman old enough to be his mother. The author talks in his story how he wish he had just turned around in the bed and made an attempt at Yolanda, that one night when she snuck over to his house through his window to get away from her boyfriend. Casares experienced having a older woman in his bed with him in the middle of the night, pressing her chest against his back at the age of twelve, Experiencing feeling that he was clearly too young for. This was a clear example of a conflict with Man vs. Self which Casares displayed exceptionally by not overstepping his boundaries and turning around.
In my opinion the ultimate theme of the story is that in life one should not try to hold another individual back for self gain. the narrator described frank as being jealous, over protected and insecure. I believe in frank's mind if he does not allow yolanda to learn how to drive she will soley depend on him for everything . therefore limiting her ability to get around and limiting her access to the outside world thus maintaining complete control and power over her. in my point of view this was an example of a conflict Man vs Woman no one can make a housewife out of someone who is not willing to be a housewife. in short everything that looks sweet is not sweet .
I believe that the theme of the story is showing a young boy’s trial through the rough age of puberty and the reality of becoming a man. Casares was only twelve years old when he was faced with a problem that most adults would not be sure how to handle. Yolanda, his neighbor, had been fighting with her boyfriend and in a desperate time of fear she was forced to tap on his window for help. When he answered she climbed in and jumped into his bed wearing nothing but a nightgown. She held him tight, forcing her body against his back; this was very difficult for Casares because he was infatuated with her prior to this incident. He was struggling with his urge for Yolanda’s companionship as well as trying to respect her. This represents a very difficult transition from childhood to manhood.
In my opinion the ultimate theme of the short story “Yolanda” by Oscar Casares is lust, Infatuation and how it can control an individual actions and perception. That being said Casares lust with Yolanda beauty is shown extensively throughout the story for instance he states “the only girl I saw that came close to Yolanda beauty was the playboy model I saw in Magazines’”, at the beginning of the story is just one indication of his lust for Yolanda. In addition, he also mentions to Yolanda how he thinks she should join the game show The Price is Right; she thinks he is talking about being a contestant but he really means as a showgirl, this is yet another reference he is making to her beauty. Likewise he also states how Yolanda went to Heb’s store looking for a job in meat, but ended up with a job in the cosmetics department he also attribute this to her beauty. Furthermore, his Infatuation and lust come to light when he recall the night Yolanda and her husband Frank fought and she snuck into his room to hide; he recalls her holding him tightly, and in vivid details how he felt her breast and body touch his, how he thought about turning around and regret not doing it. Moreover, after that night Yolanda leaves and her true colors are reveal when it comes to light that she was cheating on Frank, she was pregnant with another man baby, and she was also a thief who stole from her job. Concluding even through all of this Casares still sees Yolanda as perfect and beauty and he still love her regardless, this in effect shows how lust and infatuation played a theme throughout the story, and how it overshadow his perception of the real person she was.
Carlos A.
“Yolanda” is a story that tells about how a twelve year old guy starts becoming a man, and our writer Oscar Casares relates everything that happens when he fell in love for first time. Being a twelve year old kid, Oscar Casares starts discovering many things that he did not know by then, sex, infidelity, stealing, and others that he discovered around that time. The writer tells how life was back then, and how with innocence he falls in love with Yolanda Castro, an older woman who lived next door, and to whom he was sexually attracted. “Yolanda” is a first love story that involves emotions and situations that made the writer become more mature and changed the way he sees the world. In “Yolanda,” Oscar Casares emphasizes in the first time; telling how everything was changing in his town, how a woman was trying to become independent, cheating situation, and the first time he was intimately close to a woman in the confidentiality of his bedroom. The writer tells this romantic story through a kid’s eyes who is dazzled for the beauty of his neighbor Yolanda Castro.
In my opinion the last paragraph was about an idea that the author had always saved in his mind since the moment that he met Yolanda which was something totally different from Yolanda´s life. The author had a dream that was to protect her, and save her from all of her personal problems. One of this porblems were when Yolanda had huge fights with her husband. During the last part of this story, Oscar casares described how Yolandas life started to ruin. To conclude, the end of this story shows how a kid goes through puberty during the age of twelve by just having a visual of a person that can awake an emotional sexual feeling on a kid.
Benedict L.
I believe the ultimate theme of “Yolanda” by Oscar Casares was about a twelve year old boy, who experiences an unexpected sexual, adulthood situation that reveals his love for a woman .Oscar Casares, who let Yolanda in through his window, made him feel like he was protecting Yolanda from Frank. Yolanda who then rubbed her body against his body revealed a first time sexual interaction with Oscar Casares.
Casares;a twelve year old boy, is fascinated with the idea that no other person his age had experienced a beautiful woman like Yolanda. It is dramatic that Oscar Casares experienced his first love with Yolanda because he was not confronted by his parents to what he would experience sexually at the age of twelve. Oscar Casares did not know better that Yolanda was old enough to be his mother or even his school teacher. A twelve year old boy would never expect the worse from such a beautiful woman like Yolanda, who he falls in love with because she seems perfect to him, although in reality she is a gold digger, a prostitute, and a dishonorable woman. Oscar Casares matured sexually at an early age and discovered his first time love.
“Yolanda’’ is the story of a twelve-years-old boy dealing with a nascent sexual attraction to his beautiful neighbor, who is married to an abusive man. Throughout the story, the experiences of this young boy and his new neighbors are narrated. Everything is seen through the eyes of innocence; however, I think that the ultimate theme of the story is gender roles in society.
A very neat contrast between the beauty and femininity of Yolanda, and the rudeness and masculinity of Frank Castro, his husband, is shown as the story progresses. Frank Castro, to whom the writer nicknamed ‘’El Burro,’’ represents the man of the caverns, the man who provides for the family and does not let his wife get involved in any social activity. On the other hand, Yolanda not only reflects the sensuality and fragility of the female gender, but also the sagacity and the desire of a woman who wants to get rid of orders and prohibitions, and live her own life. The main conflict in this story is woman vs. man.
I feel that the short story “Yolanda”, written by Oscar Casares, is about a young mans coming of age. The story is told though the eyes of a twelve year old boy. We meet the author as he recalls when Yolanda and her husband Frank moved into the house just outside his bedroom window. He quickly becomes infatuated by her beauty and charm. He creates this perfect image of who she is in his mind, and we see how the author, somewhat, holds Yolanda on a pedestal of perfection. He is young and too innocent to fully comprehend the truth about this woman. He can only think back on the memories of listening in on her and Frank making love, as his bedroom window coincided with theirs. Until one night, he overhears a loud argument break out between the two, after which Yolanda runs from the house into the night, only to appear at young Casares’ window rapping it softly beckoning him to let her in, which of course he does. As she lay there in bed with him, barely clothed with her woman’s body pressed up against his back, his senses are aroused and he shares his first sensual experience with a woman. Surely none of his schoolmates had such experience. Although it may have only lasted a brief while, in that moment, he was a man protecting the woman he loved.
In my opinion, the theme for the short story "Yolanda" is about a twelve year old boy who had a confusion between lust and love. throughout the story the young boy described Yolanda as a beautiful, light brown skin playboy model and how she was able to get a job at a beauty cosmetic center. having yolanda on his mind and actually hearing the bed springs at night with her husband gave him a different perspective of her; but the night that she came crawling through his window, everything has changed. He felt her warm body attatched to his but nothing happen due to the understanding of who she really was and that is why love comes along. As an older man he is now, he thinks about her and the regret of not turning around when he was younger, while laying in bed and his wife is sleeping.
Yolanda Catros’ role in the story shows an analysis of the portrayal of women’s positions within society. She has an identity of her own but yet controlled by her husband Frank , who is also jealous, overprotective and believes Yolanda should just stay home doing chores while she wants to have a life of her own and experience what is out there . The story also revolves around an adolescent narrator who Yolanda takes refuge in his house on many occasions, the boy is only twelve years old when he was initiated into adult sexual awakening which shows a man vs self situation , along with adulthood while Yolanda crawled into his bed , holding him tight underneath her nightgown when running away from a big discussion she had with her husband . All in all this “Yolanda” , by Oscar Casares emphasizes the role of women in society, manhood, and cheating as the ultimate theme of the story.
In my opinion, the ultimate theme of the story “Yolanda” by Oscar Casares is the loss of innocence. The conflicts “man vs. self” and “childhood vs. adulthood” that he puts on the protagonist are clearly intended to evoke a feeling of nostalgia on the reader. The author purposely uses exaggeration in describing Yolanda to emphasize that everything is seen from a child’s perspective. Casares at his twelve’s is conflicted by his manhood, having the woman to whom he is attracted wearing only a nightgown, laying next to him in his bed. She is pressing her body against his back, and he desperately wants to turn back, his sexual impulses are inflicting on him a hard time where he is going to decide not to turn back. Casares finishes his story from the perspective of an adult—how he regrets not following his impulses and turn back, and how he found out that Yolanda was not the immaculate woman whom he thought she was.
Christian D
In my opinion the ultimate theme of the short story “Yolanda” by Oscar Casares is to follow what you desire because you will regret it in the future. For example he says things in the story such as "I should of turned around, when I can't sleep at night I think of Yolanda Castro". Even though he is married, he still thinks about Yolanda and the time she came into his window and sat on his bed. It was a tough situation to be in due to the fact that he was very young and Yolanda was significantly older than him. He was at an age where he probably just started to experience puberty so he did not know how to handle the situation. I'm sure if he was older, the outcome would have been different and he would have no regrets.
Through the symbolism of manhood, I believe the theme of the story "Yolanda" has to deal a lot with the transition of a boy learning to become a man within his sexuality. Casares proves to be more of a man by resisting temptation.He shows respect and appreciation towards Yolanda which represents what a true gentleman he can be. He is capable of taking action yet is reluctant and by nature decides to decline his urges. Also his perception of Yolanda is more of an intrigue and infatuation more than love itself. He is blinded by what he wants to see and he ignores who she truly is. Whether it be because of his age or denial, Casares demonstrates who he truly is during that time; a boy going through a certain phase in life. It is very apparent that the conflict is Man vs Self which Casares proves within the eyes of an innocent boy learning through reality and it's society.
Christopher A.
In my opinion the ultimate theme of the story is a young boy undergoing the transistion of puberty. Throughout the story i can relate to what this young man was going through emotionally and physically. During this transistion it can be very challenging trying to confront one's fears of acceptance and rejection. In the scene where the young man and Yolanda were together in bed, the situation became surreal. Prior to this encounter he had limited exposure to sexuality through viewing adult magazines and on a couple of occasions over heared Frank and Yolanda's sexual encounter's. The reality of the situation was overwhelming so he was unable to react. In essence his innocence and inexperience clouded the way he felt about Yolanda. In summary, this is just a revelation of sometimes not everything nor everybody is what they appear to be. The main character realizes that Yolanda was an illusion not reality, which was made evident at the end of the story. As we get older instances as the one mentioned above can make a long lasting impression in our life. Furthermore, these events can shape how we interact and view other people.
I believe that the main theme in this short story "Yolanda" is about the erotic and ultimately life changing experience that this man "Oscar Casares" has, as a young boy, or as I like to put it a young curious observer. It all began when he gazed at Yolanda for the very first time. His thoughts and emotions were no longer innocent as that of a child. The more he got to know her, the more he felt like he needed to protect her. I believe that his young eye's were truly opened when Yolanda went into his room in the middle of the night, in her night gown and basically tried to seduce young Oscar Casares. He showed his maturity by not giving in and showing her the respect that he felt she deserved. That small act made him look wiser beyond his years. Yolanda brought out a truck load of feelings in young Casares that changed his way of thinking and that brought him one step closer to becoming an adult.
In my opinion the theme of the story "Yolanda" is "A young boys challenge with sexuality" The author Oscar Casares at the immature age of twelve faces his first sexual longing and encounter. This story highlights Casares childhood innocence and how as he grew into manhood and even after getting married he reflected on his first sexual encounter with a beautiful woman. Casares faced a conflict of Man vs Self as he struggles with his attraction to his beautiful neighbor. This conflict was not resolved even in his adult life. After having a relationship with Maggie in his adult life he could fully understand the relationship between Yolanda and Oscar Casares. He realized that this world is not a perfect place and the same with relationships.
In my opinion, I believe the theme of Oscar Casares’ short story, “Yolanda”, was to show the audience the transition, from a child to manhood. As Oscar Casares tells us, when he was only twelve years old, he met Yolanda Castro, a neighbor for the first time. Who, he quickly finds very attractive, and felt sexual emotions for a woman,the first time in his life. Feeling these strange, yet natural emotions can have a power effect on one’s perception of the truth at that age. As he said in the story “she looked like as beautiful as a Playboy model”, then later having that model knocking at his window in the middle of the night. The moment he’d been thinking and dreaming about since he met her, finally came to a realization and he was stuck with a decision to make a move on her, or not. For a child of only twelve years old, he made an adult decision bigger than he’ll ever know, and choose to not make a move, and savor the moment. This clearly is conflict of man vs. himself.
When in reality she just made herself seem it. Yes, she was treated somewhat poorly by her husband but he also did everything out of love. Jealously isn't a good thing but Frank Castro never crossed the line as Yolanda Castro ended up doing at the end of the story. She was pregnant with another man's child, while also dating another man and she was stealing!
Ivette M.
Wow, the ultimate theme was in a nutshell "Don't judge a book by it's cover" basically, Oscar Casares always saw Yolanda Castro as a victim. When in reality she just made herself seem it. Yes, she was treated somewhat poorly by her husband but he also did everything out of love. Jealously isn't a good thing but Frank Castro never crossed the line as Yolanda Castro ended up doing at the end of the story. She was pregnant with another man's child, while also dating another man and she was stealing!
I'd have to say that lust is the main theme of this story because there are a lot of sub topics you can conclude from this short story. Lust would be the main one just because Oscar Casares makes it seem like this woman is the hottest thing on earth when he truly doesn't know who she is. His perception of Yolanda is solely based on physical appearance and nothing beyond that. As a young teen we tend to go through certain stages in life: puberty makes certain hormonal feelings change and enhance for the most part so I would completely understand why Oscar Casares would never forget about this "sexual" encounter.
I believe that the story “Yolanda” by Oscar Casares definitely conveys a strong theme in masculinity. Casares is in a pivotal transitional moment in his life, and being exposed to a lot of adult content. For the first time he understands the concept of a lustful infatuation; observing promiscuity, adultery, lying, drug use, as well as verbal and emotional abuse. It’s man vs. self as he struggles with the uncertainty and stress of Yolanda knocking on his window and entering his room. At twelve years old there is still so much innocence at hand, and in this situation, it’s on the cusp of being lost. Although he felt an attraction to her, he was still so much in shock and uncertain of how to handle the situation; Casares never turned around and let Yolanda continue to press against him. It was such an intense moment in his life that even as he lay down next to his wife, years later, he is thinking about this beautiful, yet crazy woman that disappeared out of his life after that night.
Contrary to popular belief, the ultimate theme of this story is not Casares’s transition into manhood or his “lust” for Yolanda. Rather, this story manifested from his chronic recollection of Yolanda even as he lies in bed next to his wife every night. Everything you need to know is in the first paragraph. Casares writes, “This thing with Yolanda doesn’t really concern her.” (1) I suppose he may have written that line nonchalantly, but the underlying theme is that he continues to reminisce about Yolanda, exemplified by the sentence being written in the present tense. I can imagine that the story may still have downplayed his true affection and love for Yolanda. Otherwise, why would he perpetuate these thoughts? Oscar Casares is a married man and many years later still thinks about a particular beautiful woman from his childhood years? There are only two explanations. Either he was completely in love with this woman more than the story leads us to believe, or Casares is crazy.
In my opinion the ultimate theme of the story was decribing how a young child can grow to take on the responsiblities of a man in a very short period of time. Described in the story, the young boy was in "puppy-love" with his adult neighbor, that was being treated like a belligerent child on a dialy basis. He feel in love not just by her beauty, which is compared to a playboy model, or a price is right girl, but by the smell of her hair, the touch of her body against his when she jumped into his window the night that changed everything.
In Casares’ piece, “Yolanda”, readers are introduced to several different characters whom all play complex, double-sided roles in this innocent take on an otherwise sensually tempting story. Notable quotes like, “there is more than meets the eye” and “there are two sides to every story” are, metaphorically, screamed throughout this story specifically through the character of Yolanda. Having said all of that, I personally feel that the ultimate theme of this story is the idea of Perspective and how it applies to everyday life. Casares perfectly wrote the character of Yolanda to portray an innocent, mistreated, helpless damsel which she clearly ended up not being. However, through the eyes of outsiders and due to perspective, one would never guess that she could have been such a deviant, selfish woman. With scenes like her being chased by Frank Castro to others like when she was caught stealing from the registers at her job, readers can witness two completely different sides of Yolanda. Another character that was misinterpreted was opposite Yolanda, Frank Castro. Although he was pretty rude and machista for the most part, in the end Casares showed that Castro was indeed a victim of adultery, therefore, giving justification for some of his jealous actions. Even the main character, the boy, was a great depiction of perspective. His views on everything occurring at that time to the interpretations he has on those occurrences now are so different because his maturity level allows his perception to look at the bigger picture. Then, as a boy, his infatuation for Yolanda clouded her actions; looking back now he sees that she was the guilty. Overall, I think Casares’ short story, “Yolanda”, adequately showed how one’s interpretations of a certain situation can differ just from looking at it through a different frame, in this case the frame being time itself.
The outcome of the events in "Yolanda" came out to be something very different to what I had expected, which is why I think the theme in the story was "Irony".
Yolanda was showed to be a good woman,she wanted to work, she was struggling with Frank about working in the cosmetics and he would not let her. As the story continues i get to think that she was the good character in the story. "Machismo" is also used in the story to show Frank's bad side and let us think he is not the victim.
Things turn out to be that Yolanda was stealing, which is the contrary of what i was expecting.
Benedict L.
In the story “A good man is hard to find” reveals two scenarios that there is no good man out there. Bailey, the son of the crazy and rude grandmother shows no respect to her in which demonstrates the man he really is. If Bailey disrespects his own mother, then I would imagine that he has no respect for others surrounding him.
Misfit, the escaped prisoner, has no heart because of his actions towards Bailey’s family. “The Misfit” who brings along two other men, kills Bailey and his family. Most of the men characters represented in this short story reveal that no man is good and that “A good man is hard to find.”
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