There are so many aspects of this book that are worthy of discussion. One aspect in particular that intrigued me was Estrella's disfunctional relationships with Daddy Groovie, Pipo and Gringo. Halfway through the book, we learn that Estrella was essentially forced into getting together with Groovie, at the hands of Ninang Rola. She ends up getting raped by him, resulting in a pregnancy. When Estrella wants to terminate the pregnancy, Ninang Rola again influences her and has a hand in getting Estrella and Groovie married. When all this surfaces, it confirmed my suspicion that Estrella never really wanted to be with him, nor have kids with him. Later, she even tells Ninang Rola how she tried to love him, but just never could. By the end, of course, we know that she ends up staying behind while Pipo and Gringo go to NuYork to live with their ***hole father. Now, I'm not defending her choice, but in a way, I kind of understand it. For one, perhaps she felt that she could not really be a mother to them, being all screwed up and all (and since she could not be with Daddy Groovie again, figured that the boys would be better off in NuYork with their dad than with her). Towards the end, she was successful at bonding with them (and Pipo and her actually held each other), but ended up not going after all.
Disfunctional relationships really effect entire families. When reading this book, I was reminded of my own Grandma and Grandpa (from my dad's side). Needless to say, their relationship was totally disfunctional and it affected their kids greatly. From what I've been told, my grandpa was a pretty bad dude (he didn't drink, and I don't think he beat up anyone, but from all accounts, nobody liked him. In fact, at his funeral, only one person paid tribute!) Anyway, years after my grandpa died, my grandma revealed that she, like Estrella, never loved him. She married him thinking that she would never get proposed to again, ever. So imagine, getting married to someone you don't love, having kids with them, and perhaps, resenting the kids? I am certainly not encouraging this, just shedding a personal note to illuminate how Estrella might have been thinking.
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2 comments:
Wow Stardust great comments on the book and thanks for sharing your granpas history, amazing.
Wow thanks for sharing that personal story but unlike your story and the dysfunction in the story it was hard for me to relate to a mother not being attached to her children no matter what the circumstances of their arrival... i would think Estrella would dispite her cousin for pushing her into marrying Daddy Groovie instead of punishing the children, but i guess every one deals with their hard ships in different ways.. It’s a shame that she couldn't get close to the boys till the end especially when her and Pipo were going through the abuse together. I would think that they would keep each other close if not for any other reason.
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