“Why We Left” and “Parrot Story”

1. 

In the story, “Why We Left” Anna Menendez uses the second person “you” in most of her conversations.  Though it is uncommon, Menendez uses it throughout the story which makes the readers and analysts wonder why. In my opinion, Anna uses the second person pronoun you because she wants to involve herself in the fictional story too. She wants to be part of the plot, and from the elementary title of the story, she is part of the plot. The use of the personal pronoun does not just make her part of the plot. Rather it also shows that she had a special relationship with the other person that she talks about. Her use of the third person pronoun “you” therefore only reinforces in her resolve to show that she had a special relationship with the other person that she talks about in the story.

The use of “you” reinforces the themes Anna wishes to proclaim in her story in such an instrumental manner. One of the themes that Anna tries to show is the theme of poverty and suffering. Her theme is deeply engrossed in the life that she and the subject they used to live with used to lead. It was a life that was full of poverty such that they could not even afford a good place live. Their house looked like it was collapsing snow used to drop and pile in the room and so they experienced such an afflicted life. Menendez who is the persona in the story addresses the other subject for instance when snow has covered their house, and she says blames the other subject for such a life as written, “One night, the snow falls hard. It piles on one side of the house like a hand pushing against a foundation. I say the house is listing. You say that is preposterous. I say the move was your idea” (Menendez, 2007.) By addressing the other individual as “you”, Menendez is able to communicate the theme of poverty more instrumentally. 

The other theme that Menendez seeks to address in her story is the theme of affection. It is a theme that is deeply inscribed in the very idea of using “you.” The pronoun is often used to show closeness or to show people who are talking. At one instance Menendez reveals the theme where she writes, “I used to lie awake jealous of your old lovers. You told me you once didn’t love any of them” Menendez, 2007. Therefore the theme of love is more depicted when she uses the pronoun “you”.

2. 

At the end of the “Parrot Story”, I feel more sympathetic about Hortencia. The reason I am sympathetic about her is that she lives in an environment where she is lonely, yet she in love and she lives with a person from whom she would expect to find comfort and love. She, however, lives in an environment where love is nowhere to be found. Her husband is busy and still he is abusive because he does not consider the things that she loves. Any woman needs to feel cared for and loved by their partners. In the case that they do not receive love and care, they are heartbroken. I, therefore, feel that Hortencia is living a lonely life even when she is in a relationship and that is why I am sympathetic about her. 

Felipe does not only assume Hortencia but also disguises everything she loves as sheer stupidity. Felipe, for instance, does not consider that Hortencia has affection for the parrot. It is her only solace because the parrot can say some imitating words after her and therefore she feels like there is some level of communication between her and the parrot. Felipe, however, is inconsiderate and chases away the parrot which angers Hortencia and she says to him, “You chased the parrot away… I’ll never forgive you” (Menendez, 2007). I am sympathetic of Hortencia because I believe that she suffers because she fell with a man who does not consider her emotions at all. She searches for the bird everywhere because she feels lonely yet she does not find it. She is, therefore, a woman who has such a lonely life that makes me sympathize with her.

Lastly, I view, Felipe as a man who is wholly irrational and one who treats his wife with disrespect that makes her to be lonely and to live a resentful life. For instance, when Hortencia asks him whether he thinks if the parrot will come back, he ragingly types, “No, I don’t think that it’s coming back” (Menendez, 2007). I believe people should engage in dialogues especially when it is a family matter. Dialogues make people feel the connection between them and therefore it is necessary for a family entity. In that view, I think that Hortencia feels disrespected. She does not feel the affection that she deserves from her husband and therefore she feels wasted. By the end of the story, I was sympathetic with Hortencia because she is utterly disrespected. 

References

Menéndez, A. (2007). In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd. Grove/Atlantic, Inc..