Call Me Maria

By Christmas, María has transformed into a young person who is more mature and confident in herself. Not only is María more comfortable in her new city, but she has also built strong relationships and feels freer to express herself in her new city. Nowhere is this transformation more profoundly reflected than in her flamboyant outfit for “Who You Are Day.” In this scene, María disregards popular fashion entirely and instead chooses to wear an eclectic but meaningful set of items to school. Earlier in the year, she might have been self-conscious about being judged for her unusual appearance, but at this point in her social development, she is now able to walk through school and feel proud of her background and familial connections, as represented by her clothes. Thus, this scene represents a culmination of the theme of Navigating School as an Immigrant. María’s new maturity is also reflected in her nuanced and respectful relationship with Abuela, her grandmother. María takes great care to translate Abuela’s journal and absorb her grandmother’s lessons, realizing at the end that Abuela’s message to her is reflected in the journal as well. The idea of choosing who she can be resonates with María, and she holds on to this idea as the novel moves toward the climax and resolution.

The contrast between New York and Puerto Rico is also reprised with Abuela’s visit, reiterating the ongoing theme of The Two Islands and Cultural Heritage. As soon as Abuela arrives, she and Papi get into a friendly debate over the merits of the island of Puerto Rico, with Abuela launching into long descriptions of the idyllic paradise and Papi contradicting each one. María watches this without much commentary, despite her own feelings about the winter climate in New York. In many ways, part of María’s personal resolution throughout the novel is to figure out how to live between the two places or how to become a conglomeration of her different connections. This dynamic is partly reflected in María’s description of Abuela’s Christmas Eve photo, as María analyzes the ways in which she is similar to and different from her grandmother. In particular, María notes that they are in different locations; that section ends with María excited to go spend time with her friends in the city. Ortíz Cofer crafts this narrative around María’s identity with care in order to portray how teenage immigrants are often forced to navigate between a home culture and a new society, a dynamic that makes Navigating School as an Immigrant all the more difficult. Through the shared perspectives of the multiple adults in María’s life, Ortíz Cofer also illustrates the challenges María must face to find her own path through contradictory ideas, narratives, and emotions.

One of the longest narratives in the entire novel takes place in the piece titled “Math Class: Sharing the Pie,” in which María daydreams about her math teacher and the different mathematical ideas he presents. The slower pacing of this section represents a notable deviation from the narrative structure of the novel, which typically moves forward quickly from event to event. Ortíz Cofer’s choice to include this particular scene brings to light one underlying theme of the novel: the ways in which María’s socioeconomic status shapes her life. The analogy of “sharing the pie” enchants María, who hopes that one day people will be able to have better equality of resources. While María does not often discuss money, it is clear that she and her family are not wealthy, and this economic reality impacts both the way she is perceived and the way she perceives the world around her. This section of the novel thus reveals María’s commitment to social justice more explicitly and is an important part of her characterization.