Essay Questions

In “Miss Clairol,” is it really the hair coloring industry that is being implicated as the corporate villain?

This story has been interpreted metaphorically to suggest that Arlene’s obsession with hair dye to alter the color of her naturally dark hair is a commentary on how assimilation into American society by the legacy of immigrants from Hispanic and African countries is an attempt to erase their culture by lightening them up to standard conventions of beauty here. But where do those standard conventions of beauty come from? Surely, not the limited reach of the hair dye industry which, after all, also offers dark-hued colors as well as a spectrum of blondes. The point of the story is not that Arlene is motivated to color her hair, but the specific shades she chooses and why. “Light Ash” and “Sun Bronze” reveal an intensifying of desire to go lighter and lighter and when juxtaposed with her daughter’s content attention on the television, the implication is that the corporate villain here is not the cosmetic industry, but mainstream entertainment media from which the cosmetic industry derives its marketing approach.

In both “Miss Clairol” and “Growing” references are made to Latina teenagers initiating sexual experiences “under the house.” What is the subtext of this recurring imagery?

Stories about teen romances involving white characters have traditionally references the backseat of automobiles, make-out points and lovers’ lanes, drive-in movie theaters and a host of other places were virginities have been lost, but not many of those stories, movies or scenes on TV shows portray this moment occurring on the hard earth in stuffy dark confines just below the foundation of a structure where families likely were going about their business oblivious to the maturation process being carried out literally beneath their feet. The circumstances that would at least seem to be distinctly less romantic, comfortable and private than the “first time” stories of millions of white Americans is highly suggestive of the trickle-down theory of urban poverty: poor parents equals poor children forced to make do with what they have and forego the “luxuries” of middle class in the heartland like borrowed cars, undeveloped property and move theaters.

“Birthday” features an irregular presentation of narrative perspective which varies in tone as well as structure. How is this an example of form matching content?

The events of this story are presented for the most part in conventional first-person structure in which descriptive prose is combined with dialogue that offers a linear progression along an easily recognizable timeline. At various points, however, this conventional approach is dropped in favor of a more stream-of-consciousness approach to an interior monologue which engages typographical features like enclosing text in parentheses, italicizing entire paragraphs, the adoption of present tense, and the abandonment of fully constructed sentences in favor of fragments or one-word sentences. This dualistic approach to form is thematic replication of the inner conflict taking place within the young narrator herself as she deals with the unexpected reality of being pregnant and faces the unpleasant decision of whether or not to go through with an abortion.