Judith Ortiz Cofer: Short Fiction Literary Elements

Short Fiction

The book is set in Puerto Rico and New Jersey, focusing on Puerto Rican teenagers and the narrator's experiences.

First-person narrative

Gloomy, expectant, stirring, hilarious

Judith Ortiz Cofer is the narrator and protagonist of the book.

The main conflict in the story ‘The Room’ is that Grandmother has a steaming cup that she uses in waking up any child who sleeps beyond the acceptable hours of the day.

The climax is when grandma wants to give birth because she asks grandpa to add an extra room to the main house.

Grandma's strictness towards her children foreshadowed the success and discipline in her grown-up daughters, who often come for advice whenever they face challenges in life.

Grandpa’s role in the text is understated. Besides being tasked with adding extra rooms to the main house to accommodate more children, he is the One responsible for grandma's pregnancies.

The stories allude to family setup and parental responsibilities.

The description of grandma's room depicts sight imagery. The narrator describes the mahogany bed where grandma conceives all her children. Similarly, the room has wardrobes that contain natural herbs instead of make-ups. Similarly, there is a rosary and the bible, among other symbolic items. Consequently, this sight imagery helps readers to see the setting of the room where Grandma sleeps.

The main paradox is when Mama tells a story of a man who lives her woman standing in the altar with flowers, and he vanishes not to be seen again. The girl was to get married to the man who never returned to complete the ceremony.

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The Mahogany bed in Grandma’s bedroom is a metonymy for creation because that is where all her children are conceived.

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