1. Unit 6: Reading Comprehension By. Cynthia Pedraza Prof. Mary Colon English 1010 ORAL PRESENTATION: ANALYSIS OF A SHORT STORY AMERICAN HISTORY BY JUDITH ORTIZ COFER

2. Judith Ortiz Cofer was born (1952) in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico. Her family moved to Paterson, New Jersey, after her father joined the United States Navy. Her family often returned to Puerto Rico, and Cofer spent her childhood partly in New Jersey and partly in Puerto Rico. In 1967, her family moved to Augusta, Georgia, where she attended Butler High School. Ortiz Cofer received a B.A. in English from Augusta College, and later an M.A. in English from Florida Atlantic University. AMERICAN HISTORY THE AUTHOR:

3. Introduction "American History" is a coming-of-age tale set in the early 1960s, when racism and segregation were still in full bloom. The story's fourteen-year-old protagonist, Elena, is a Puerto Rican immigrant living with her family in Paterson, New Jersey, when President John F. Kennedy is assassinated. THE MAIN ELEMENTS

4. Despite this tragic event, Elena is focused on Eugene, her new neighbor and the object of her daydreams. The narrator, fourteen-year-old Elena, lives in what she refers to as a Puerto Rican building called “El Building”. It is an old, rundown apartment building on a busy city corner. Because of the loud music that pours out of the windows, Elena refers to El Building as a “monstrous jukebox.” Many of the people who live in this building are recent immigrants, who, according to the author, use the music to help drown out their worries. THE MAIN ELEMENTS

5. On the day that President Kennedy is shot, Elena has an invitation to come to Eugene's house after school. Elena is, of course, very excited. She goes into her apartment to tell her mom she is going to study with a friend. Her mother is mortified. Elena's mother, as well as many of the families in the apartment building, loves President Kennedy. Elena walks out of her apartment building and heads for Eugene's house. THE MAIN ELEMENTS CLIMAX:

6. When Elena visits Eugene that evening, she experiences her own personal tragedy in the form of prejudice. When Elena says that Eugene has invited her to study with him, the mother replies that Eugene needs no one to help him study. Then the mother points to Elena's apartment building. She asks if that is where Elena lives. From the vantage point of Eugene's house, she notes that the building looks more like a prison than a place where families live. Elena is shocked and feels frozen to the ground. After she returns home and goes to bed, Elena tries to think about the president but cries for herself instead. THE MAIN ELEMENTS CONFLICT- ELENA VS. EUGENE’S MOTHER

7. The narrator, Elena, is a Puerto Rican immigrant living with her family in Paterson, New Jersey, where her peers call her "Skinny Bones. Eugene, the kids at school called him “the Hick” and made fun of the way he talked and Elena is so in love with him. AMERICAN HISTORY CHARACTERS:

8. In the story’s conclusion, On the day that President Kennedy is shot, Elena has an invitation to come to Eugene's house after school. Elena is, of course, very excited. Elena is turned away from Eugene’s home by his mother, who is deep in sadness over the president’s death. Surprised to see a young girl asking to study with her son on the day of the president’s assassination, Eugene’s mother assumes that Elena, her family and the rest of occupants of El Building are insensitive to the national tragedy. She believes Elena is not demonstrating the proper amount of sorrow for President Kennedy’s death, Eugene’s mother believes herself superior to both Elena and people who are similar to Elena. In this way, Ortiz Cofer’s story demonstrates that even in with a large, collective tragedy such as an assassination, tragedy can cause strong disunity between people. AMERICAN HISTORY CONCLUSION: