sp09250rhilgendorf

"The Changeling" Judith Ortiz Cofer (1993)

As a young girl vying for my father's attention, I invented a game that made him look up from his reading and shake his head as if both baffled and amused.

In my brother's closet, I'd change into his dungarees--the rough material mold me into a boy shape; hide my long hair under an army helmet he'd been given by Father, and emerge transformed into the legendary Che' ¹ of a grown-up talk.

Strutting around the room I'd tell of life in the mountains, of carnage and rivers of blood, and of manly feasts with rum and music to celebrate victories //para la libertad.//² He would listen with a smile to my tales of battle and brotherhood until Mother called us to dinner.

She was not amused by my transformations, sternly forbidding me from sitting down with them as a man. She'd order me back to the dark cubicle that smelled of adventure, to shed my costume, to braid my hair furiously with blind hands, and to return invisible, as myself, to the real world of her kitchen.

1-Ernesto "Che" Guevara (1928-1967), Argentinean-born Cuban revolutionary leader. 2-for Freedom (Spanish)

Way 1: First Impressions
My first impressions when reading the text were that this was about the life of a little girl who wanted the attention of her father, but her mother did not agree with the way she was trying to get his attention. The girl used to dress up as a man and the mother wanted her to dress like a girl. The girl used her brother's clothes and an old army helmet to get her father's attention because she otherwise felt invisible. Her mother did not allow her to sit at the dinner table dressed as a man and after she was transformed back into a girl, she again felt invisible to her father.

Cofer does a great job of explaining the childhood of a little girl here. I have known many girls who have to 'try' to get their father's attention when there is a brother around. I know that sounds bad, but at the same time it is somewhat true. I feel bad for the girl in the poem because she is having fun getting her father's attention, but her mother does not want her to dress as a boy. Her mother wants her to behave as a proper little girl and do the things that girls are supposed to do such as cook and keep her long, beautiful hair down. I also feel as though Cofer is speaking of her own childhood.

Way 2: Engaging with the Text
For me, this poem has no rhyme or rhythm. I cannot pick up on anything that rhymes or makes it flow. To me this is more of a story than a poem because of the absence of structure and rhythm. I notice that many times there is a comma somewhere in the middle of the line versus at the end which actually kind of throws me off because I feel like a comma makes you pause a bit when reading and pausing in the middle of the line is not natural for me.

Way 3: A Point About Form and its Relationship to Content
The form of this poem is that it is written in free verse. There is no regular rhyme or meter that I can find. Cofer wanted to write this poem in such a way that there was no real structure; almost as if she were a child when writing it. The four stanzas in the poem each tell part of the story. The first stanza talks of how Cofer invented a game to get her father's attention. The second stanza tells more about the game she played and how she pretended to be an army soldier. The third stanza is a little more detail about her "life in the mountains, / of carnage and rivers of blood, / and of manly feasts with rum and music / to celebrate victories //para la libertad//" (lines 16-19). The fourth stanza is about how her mother does not like her transforming into the soldier and wants her to be a 'normal' little girl.

Way 3: Another Point About Form and its Relationship to Content
Although this page will not show it, the first line of the poem is indented (the first letter is above the apostrophe in father's). I believe that this indentation may be to show that the poem is written non-structurally on purpose--almost as if it were written by the very same child who likes to play games and make up stories.

Way 4: Unpacking an Instance of Figurative Language
__Expert Move #1: Identifying the Figurative Language__ One use of figurative language in this poem is the use of the different tenses of the word transform--transformed in line 11 and transformations  in line 22. The use of this metaphor is important in knowing how Cofer's mom feels about her daughter pretending to be a boy and a war hero. It is also important because we see how Cofer feels about being a little ignored by her father.

__Expert Move #2: Exploring Denotations__ One definition of transform I found is to change completely in form or function. Transform can also mean to change the appearance or form of (Transform). Transformed would mean then, to be complete with the change in form, function, or appearance. Transformation, then, would be the process of changing appearance, form, or function.

__Expert Move #3: Unpacking the Figurative Language and Connotative Meanings__ The transformation Cofer is literally talking about is her own transformation from "a young girl" (line 1) to "the legendary Che'" (line 11). The transformation is literally disguising Cofer as a boy who is pretending to be a war hero. The transformation, however, is also the transformation of a little girl who is looking for some attention from her father. She feels the only way to get his attention is to change her appearance so he will pay attention to her. The change is a mental one to Cofer as well because she is able to be someone else and think like someone else.

__Expert Move #4: Recontextualizing within the whole poem__ The transformations Cofer undergoes during this poem are important because she wants to feel as though she is loved and cared for by her father. We see Cofer becoming this boy who wants to be a war hero so that she can get her father's attention. Were it not for her mother, she would traipse around being this war hero all day. But her mother forbade her "from sitting down with them as a man" (line 23) and made her change out of her costume and be the beautiful, young girl with the long, braided hair.

Way 4: Unpacking Another Instance of Figurative Language
__Expert Move #1: Identifying the Figurative Language__ Another use of figurative language that Cofer uses is the word invisible in line 27. This is also used as a metaphor because the use does not exactly coincide with the denotative meaning.

__Expert Move #2: Exploring Denotations__ When one thinks of invisible, he/she generally thinks of something that is not visible or something that is not easily noticed. Invisible can also mean something that is not seen by the eye or concealed by sight (Invisible).

__Expert Move #3: Unpacking the Figurative Language and Connotative Meanings__ When Cofer says that she returns "invisible / as myself, / to the real world of her kitchen" (lines 27-29), she is not actually talking about being not visible or concealed from sight. She is referring to the fact that when she is her normal, little girl self, she feels invisible to her father. In this case, she feels like her father does not notice her so she feels invisible to him. The only way she can get his attention is to dress like a boy and act like a war hero.

__Expert Move #4: Recontextualizing Within the Whole Poem__ The invisibility that Cofer feels is evident throughout the poem as we see her vie for her father's attention (line 2). While she is dressed up playing her game she makes her father "look up / from his reading and shake his head / as if both baffled and amused" (lines 3-5). Telling the stories of a war hero she feels like she is getting her father's attention and this makes her feel happy. Cofer's mother, however, does not agree with her dressing up and refuses to let her carry on all day in costume. It is then that Cofer must "shed / my costume, to braid my hair furiously / with blind hands, and to return invisible, / as myself, / to the real world of her kitchen" (lines 25-29). Cofer feels invisible because she feels she is not able to get the attention of her father in any other way than to dress up as a boy and play a game.

Way 4: Unpacking Another Instance of Figurative Language
__Expert Move #1: Identifying the Figurative Language__ Another use of figurative language in this poem would be the phrase dark cubicle in line 24. The dark cubicle is important because it tells of how Cofer feels about the closet where she has to change out of her boy clothes when her mother tells her to. This is a metaphor because she is comparing a closet to a dark cubicle.

__Expert Move #2: Exploring Denotations__ A cubicle is often a small area used as an office or a study area. It can also mean somewhere one sleeps (Cubicle). The cubicle is seen most often in a large business building and is screened off so every person has their own space to use. Dark generally means something that is lacking light or having little brightness. It can also mean something that is characterized by gloom. The dark cubicle could either be a cubicle with no light or an area that someone finds unhappy for some reason.

__Expert Move #3: Unpacking the Figurative Language and Connotative Meanings__ In this case, the dark cubicle is being compared to her brother's closet. In the beginning, Cofer loves going into her brother's closet to change her clothes into those of an army hero. She is changing because she wants to get the attention of her father and has found that the only way to do so is to dress up like an army hero and play a game telling him her war stories. At the end of the poem, when Cofer must change out of her boy clothes and become a girl again, she hates going into the closet, so she thinks of it more as dark cubicle. This is because she does not want to change. She likes getting dressed up to get the attention of her father. It makes her not feel invisible and feel like she is getting the attention she deserves.

__Expert Move #4: Recontextualizing Within the Whole Poem__ The dark cubicle that is referred to at the end of the poem is the same room as the closet referred to at the beginning of the poem. In the beginning, the closet helper her transform into a legendary war hero (lines 6-12) so she can get the attention of her father, but at the end, the dark cubicle is place she is forced to go in order to change back into the clothes of a proper young girl who feels invisible to her father (lines 21-29). She dreads this amazing closet at the end of the poem.

Way 5: Analyzing the Setting
One major setting of this poem is the closet in which Cofer makes her transformations. The closet is an important place because it is here that Cofer can change her clothes from a normal young girl to the legendary war hero Che' Guevara. In this closet she is able to "change / into his dungarees--the rough material / molding me into boy shape" (lines 6-8) which allow her to get the attention of her father which she longs for. She is also able to "hide / my long hair under any army helmet" (lines 8-9) to make herself look even more like a little boy who is pretending to be a war hero. She likes this time in the closet. However, at the end of the poem, she is forced back into the closet, which she now calls a dark cubicle. She does not like having to change out of her boy clothes, but her mother does not like her playing the war hero. Her mother will not let her "sit down with them as a man" (line 23) for dinner. Her mother would send her back to the closet "to shed / my costume, to braid my hair furiously / with blind hands" (lines 25-27) because she wanted Cofer to be like a normal little girl who had long, beautifully braided hair.

Way 6: Identifying and Analyzing Point of View
This poem is written in the first point of view because the author is actually partaking in the poem. She is the main character in the poem which is about her own childhood. We see this point of view first in line 2 when she says "vying for my father's attention." Words such as I, my, and me are used in the first person point of view. This point of view is carried throughout the poem. We also see it in the second to last line when she says she is returning invisible "as myself" (line 28). One limitation to this point of view is that Cofer may not actually be referring to her own childhood. This poem seems pretty personal, but often writers will write in the first person without actually meaning to tell a story of their own. If this poem were written in a different point of view, such as third person omniscient, we would know exactly what the character was thinking instead of having to infer a little in points.

Way 7: Analyzing Complexity, Ambiguity, & Difficulty
On thing that makes this poem a little difficult for me to read is that some of the punctuation is not at the end of a line. To me, when there is punctuation, it means to take a little break or breathe from the poem and pause. It seems weird to pause in the middle of a line. Other than that, the poem is very easy for me to understand and get what the author is trying to say.

One ambiguity that I found in this poem would be line 16 when the speaker says she would tell "of manly feasts with rum and music." This is an ambiguity because it appeals to the senses of taste, hearing, and sight. If we think hard enough, we can see the "manly feast." I picture feast happening around a campfire with all of the men she fought her imaginary battle with. We can see them drinking the rum and dancing to the music. We can also taste the rum ourselves and hear the beat of the lively music celebrating the battle's win. This is an ambiguity because the speaker is not talking about her own battles for liberty. She is making up the story to tell her father so that he will pay attention to her and make her feel important. This is related to the whole poem because throughout the poem she is trying to get her father's attention and dressing up as a boy seemed to be the only way she can do this.

Another ambiguity would be in lines 24 and 25 when she says that her mother would send her "back to the dark cubicle / that smelled of adventure." When reading the poem, we can smell the adventure that Cofer is talking about. We can also see what she infers by speaking of the dark cubicle. We can feel the darkness and see the darkness. The dark cubicle she is speaking of is the same closet in which she originally changes into her costume. In the beginning of the poem, she loves going to the closet and calls it such. By the end of the poem, she loathes the closet so she calls it a dark cubicle. She has to change out of her beloved costume and end the adventure she was on because her mother will not let her dress as a boy at the dinner table.

Way 8: Considering Canonicity
I believe that this poem is part of the canon because even though it does not exactly follow a form or pattern, it is a poem that is aesthetically and culturally valid. The free verse in which this poem is written is common in the canon, and the story the poem tells could be perceived as somewhat controversial because the little girl of the story is faced with going against the norm in order to get the attention of her father. In order for the girl to receive the attention of her father, she must dress up like a boy and tell stories of war. It also brings light to the fact that sometimes without even trying a father can somewhat make his daughter feel like she is not necessarily important to him when there is a boy around. This could also be part of the canon because of the historical reference of Che Guevara. Adding this to her poem makes the poem culturally valid for historians as well as for those of the Hispanic culture.

Way 9: Biographical Context
Judith Ortiz Cofer is a native of Puerto Rico but currently lives in Georgia. She writes many "stories about coming-of-age experiences in Puerto Rican communities outside of New York City and her poems and essays about cultural conflicts of immigrants to the U.S. mainland" ("Judith Ortiz Cofer Biography"). The family moved to the US when she was young because her father was in the Navy. This explains why the child in the poem would try to get her father's attention by pretending to be a war hero--Cofer was linking her father's job to the poem by having the girl pretend to be in a war to get her father's attention. She also ties in her Puerto Rican heritage by throwing a little of the language in the poem: //para la libertad// (line 17). The mentioning of Che Guevara also ties in to her latina heritage since Che was an Argentinean war hero who fought for freedom. The background of Cofer really helps us understand why she might write a story poem about wars and trying to get the attention of her father.

Way 10: Historical and Cultural Context
Judith Ortiz Cofer was raised in a world that, as a child, took her between Puerto Rico and New York. Because of this, she often wrote about things that could have been close to her. Writing about both the military and Che Guevara includes pieces of her Latin heritage as well as her American heritage. She was born in Puerto Rico, but her father was in the military, so the family spent a lot of time wherever he was stationed as well as in Puerto Rico where her grandmother lived. This explains Cofer's mention of Che Guevara in line 11 as well as when she writes in Spanish in line 17. Che Guevara was an Argentinean-born Cuban revolutionary leader who died in 1967. The Cuban revolution was something that played a big role in the lives of Latin Americans at the time Cofer was born. Cofer possibly wrote this poem as a way to connect her childhood with her father. The girl in the poem may or may not have been Cofer, but the girl pretended to be a soldier much like "the legendary Che'" (line 11). She was pretending to fight and win so she could have her celebrations "//para la libertad//'" (line 17) or for freedom.

Way 11: Theoretical Application
This poem could be considered a bit feminist because Cofer has to try to get the attention of her father by dressing up as a boy. Why is the girl dressing like a boy? a feminist might ask. Or why is it not good enough for her to be the beautiful little girl with the long braided hair? The reason these actions may be considered feminist is because she has to dress like a boy in order to get her father to see her and pay attention to her. If a girl cannot get the attention of her father by just being a normal little girl, and must go to the extremes of dressing like a boy in order to do so, the girl could be trying to hard which a feminist might not agree with because you should not have to try to get the attention of your father. The feminists may also have a problem with the references to war because at the time, only men were allowed to fight. And if women did fight for freedom, it was not something that was talked about or honored.

Way 12: Another Theoretical Application
A psychoanalytic analysis of this poem might focus on analyzing the girl in the poem. The psychoanalytic critic would most likely say something about the fact that the girl in the poem is somewhat showing signs of having an Oedipus complex. According to the New World Encyclopedia, Sigmund "Freud developed the notion of the Oedipus complex to explain the child's unconscious desire for the exclusive love of the parent of the opposite sex" (Oedipus). Although the desire in this poem may not be completely unconscious, the desire for her father to love her and notice her is there. She also resents her mother in a way as we see when the girl was "order[ed] back to the dark cubicle / ...to return invisible, / as myself, / to the real world of her kitchen (lines 24, 27-29). The girl in the poem was trying, in the best way she could, get the attention of her father so that she felt like she was loved and noticed by him. By looking so hard for attention from her father, she somewhat ignored her mother and only became a girl again when forced to do so by her mother.

Way 13: Unifying Interpretation
"The Changeling" by Judith Ortiz Cofer is a poem about a girl striving to be noticed by her father. She gets her father's attention by dressing up like a boy and pretending to be a war hero. This poem could very well be a story about the author's own life because Cofer's father was in the military and her family spent time in Puerto Rico. Whether nor not this is the case is not as important as what the poem is saying. The girl in the poem is striving for her father's attention by doing things in a non-traditional way. The way the little girl gets her father's attention is not normal for a little girl, and her mother does not like it, but the girl continues. Having the attention of someone who does not appear to be fully involved is important so people try to do anything they can to get that attention. Even though the girl is pretending to be a boy and does not want to be a girl again, she is happy with her life and how she gets the attention of her father.

In the beginning, we hear of the little girl who invented a game to get the attention of her father. She tells war stories to her father because she feels like this is the only way to get his attention. We learn that without this attention from her father, she feels invisible. We also learn that the girl's mother does not approve of her dressing like a boy and will not let her sit down for dinner unless she is in her normal clothes and has her hair braided like a little girl should. When the girl takes off her costume, she feels like she is invisible again and cannot wait until she can dress up again and make her father smile.

Works Cited and Consulted Acosta-Belen, Edna. "Judith Cofer Ortiz." __The New Georgia Encyclopedia.org__. 5 October 2006. 30 April 2009 .

Chick, Nancy. "Eng 250 13 Ways Project." E-mail to Rachelle Hilgendorf. 24 February 2009.

Cofer, Judith Ortiz. Home page. 19 June 2008. 20 April 2000 .

"Cubicle." __The Free Dictionary__. The Free Dictionary Online. 2009. 25 March 2009 .

"Invisible." __The Free Dictionary__. The Free Dictionary Online. 2009. 18 March 2009 .

"Judith Cofer Ortiz Biography." __Scholastic.com__. Scholastic. 25 April 2009 .

"Judith Cofer Ortiz." Contemporary Authors. 20 August 2004. __GaleNet__. Hamilton Roddis Memorial Library, Marshfield, WI. 29 April 2009 .

"Oedipus Complex." __The New World Encyclopedia__. The New World Encyclopedia Online. 29 August 2009. 12 May 2009 [].