Question 1

What is the effect of Judith Ortiz Cofer's opening paragraph?  Does her anger draw you in or distance you?

Question 2

Note the times when Cofer explains rather than denies the basis for stereotyping.  For instance, rather than deny that Latinas prefer vivid colors, she explains that this preference reflects the bright landscape of their homelands.  Does this strategy work, or do you think Cofer is playing to the stereotype?

Question 3

Note the sections of the essay that refer to personal experience.  Does Cofer's use of personal experience weaken her argument or make it more effective?  Explain.  Would the essay be more effective with less--or more--personal experience?  Explain your view.

Question 4

What do Cofer's experiences on the bus, in the hotel, and at the poetry reading have in common?  Could she have omitted any of them from her essay?  Do you find her behavior toward the man in the "very classy metropolitan hotel" (para. 9) unnecessarily evil?  Explain.

Question 5

How does Cofer broaden the argument from her personal experience to larger concerns, including other stereotypes (or stereotypes of other communities)?

Question 6

Who do you think is Cofer's audience for this essay?  Does it include the woman as the poetry reading who asks Cofer for a cup of coffee?

Question 7

According to Cofer, "Mixed cultural signals have perpetuated stereotypes--for example, that of the Hispanic woman as the 'Hot Tamale' or sexual firebrand.  It is a one-dimensional view that the media have found easy to promote.  In their special vocabulary, advertisers have designated 'sizzling' and 'smoldering' as the adjectives of choice for describing not only the foods but also the women of Latin America" (para. 6).  Does this assertion--that the media promotes stereotypes--apply today?  In answering, consider Cofer's example of Latin American women, or choose another group, such as African Americans, older people, or people from the Middle East.