48 pages 1 hour read

Judith Ortiz Cofer

American History

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1993

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.

Themes

Migration and Displacement

Several characters in “American History” experience and contend with feelings of displacement. Elena’s parents moved to New Jersey from Puerto Rico, while Eugene’s parents have relocated to Paterson from their native Georgia. Both Elena and Eugene’s fathers are in New Jersey for work and the hope of prosperity, and both Elena and Eugene’s mothers experience unhappiness with the new setting, albeit for different reasons and in different ways. Eugene’s parents express their disaffection through isolation, while Elena and her family—particularly her mother—build friendships in their new community. The white family’s isolation curdles to hostility during Elena’s meeting with Eugene’s mother, who openly expresses her aversion to Elena and the other residents of El Building. Cofer thus illustrates the culture shocks that both sets of parents have experienced, as well as the habits, traditions, and biases they have brought with them to a place they are reluctant to call home.

The children’s experiences differ from those of their parents. Eugene does not seem to share his mother’s prejudices and would likely be happy to create a new life for himself in New Jersey. However, his parents’ racism and his own regional identity conspire to isolate him; his peers make fun of his accent, and his mother thwarts his friendship (or possible romance) with Elena—the only person to have reached out to him and shown him kindness.

Related Titles

By Judith Ortiz Cofer

Plot Summary

logo

An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio

Judith Ortiz Cofer

An Island Like You: Stories of the Barrio

Judith Ortiz Cofer

Study Guide

logo

Call Me Maria

Judith Ortiz Cofer

Call Me Maria

Judith Ortiz Cofer

Study Guide

logo

Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance Of A Puerto Rican Childhood

Judith Ortiz Cofer, Bernard Cornwell

Silent Dancing: A Partial Remembrance Of A Puerto Rican Childhood

Judith Ortiz Cofer, Bernard Cornwell

Study Guide

logo

The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica

Judith Ortiz Cofer

The Latin Deli: An Ars Poetica

Judith Ortiz Cofer

Plot Summary

logo

The Meaning of Consuelo

Judith Ortiz Cofer

The Meaning of Consuelo

Judith Ortiz Cofer