...Constancia, from “Abuela Invents the Zero,” by Judith Ortiz-Cofer, chose not to help her Abuela because she did not want her friends to tease her. This is because Constancia wanted to be appreciated, which cannot happen if her friends find out about her weird grandmother. When Abuela is lost, Connie says, “I realize to my horror that my grandmother is lost. She can’t find her way back to the pew. I am so embarrassed” (Ortiz-Cofer para. 14). She will not even get up to help her grandmother, for fear her friends will find out and make her feel like she has no dignity. She does this only to be held in high esteem by her friends. Connie rationalizes her choice by knowing that, otherwise, “[O]n Monday my friends, and my enemies, in the barrio will...
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...In Abuela Invents the Zero by Judith Ortiz Cofer, a common theme of respect can be seen. If you treat people without respect, you will also lose respect for yourself. An example of how Constancia treats her grandmother with disrespect comes from the text. The text says, “So since she’s only four feet eleven inches tall, she walks around in my mother’s big coat looking ridiculous. I try to walk far behind in public so that no one will think we’re together.” (Cofer 4) This shows that Constancia was so embarrassed to be seen by her grandmother just because of a jacket she was wearing. Her elderly grandmother just came from a different country. The least Constancia could do would be to welcome her grandmother to the new country instead of hide from being seen by her in public....
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