Judith Ortiz Cofer’s Description of a Young Girl’s Challenges as Illustrated in Her Book, Volar

The narrator in the story “Volar” is a young girl who is facing various challenges associated with growing up. Some young children may struggle with the reality that they do not have as much power in the world when they are young. They are physically smaller than adults, and they also rely on their parents for things like food and shelter. In the story, the young girl copes with such feelings by imagining herself as an adult superhero. She describes climbing up to a high part of their apartment, and describes how her body is also growing as she makes her way up. The following quote describes how she feels as she makes her way up, “Step by step I would fill out: my legs would grow long, my arms harden into steel” (Kraver). She envisions herself transforming into an adult that has super powers. Her ascension to a high balcony can also be thought of as a metaphor. People describe the desire to rise above whatever problems they are facing. The girl climbing up the stairs is a metaphor for the way in which she is trying to rise above her own issues that she is dealing with.

The girl describes living in a small apartment, which is an indication that her family is likely living in poverty. She explains, “In the mornings I’d wake up in my tiny bedroom with the incongruous—at least in our tiny apartment—white “princess” furniture” (Kraver). As a result, the reader can infer that the girl’s family is struggling with financial issues. Their financial problems are also evident based on the fact that the girl later mentions the landlord, and explains how her parents reacted towards him. She states, “Once I saw our landlord, whom I knew my parents feared, sitting in a treasure-room dressed in an ermine coat and a large gold crown. He sat on the floor counting his dollar bills” (Kraver). Her depiction of their landlord indicates that the family is probably having struggles with their finances. Her desire to play a trick on the landlord in the story is an indication that she wants to help her parents with the issues that they are facing. Many immigrant families have a hard time finding high-paying jobs. It is possible that the girl’s parents have low wage jobs and must work exceptionally hard in order to get the bills paid.

The struggle that immigrants face is another topic in the short story. The girl describes looking out over their Spanish-speaking neighborhood. She also talks about her parents “talking softly over a café con leche.” (Kraver). The reader can infer that the girl comes from a Hispanic family. People who are members of minority races often have unique struggles and challenges that they face. The girl makes an emphasis on saying how her hair turns straight and golden when she transforms into the superhero in her dreams. A blonde-haired girl that looks like a Barbie doll is a stereotypical icon of beauty. It is possible that some young immigrant girls struggle to find themselves beautiful when they compare themselves to American standards of beauty. The girl also mentions how she spends time spying on boys that she has a crush on, which indicates that she is also using her superhero image in order to cope with her growing desire for boys.