Speaker 1: The Changeling - Judit Ortiz Cofer

This poem leaves a very strong message to me. The speaker's point of view makes it very intriguing. First off, this would be completely different if it were told by a little caucasian girl. The speaker being of probably Cuban descent makes this story what it is. The speaker is this little girl that can only get her father's attention by pretending to be a boy. She changed herself to impress her father. She went into her "brother's closet" and changed into his "dungarees". This action hinted that her father gave her brother attention, and the only way she could win his attention was if she was like her brother. She would tell her father of the "tales of battles and brotherhood" which she would no nothing about because she is a young girl. She would have to be this changeling that tried to win approval.

Her mother didn't approve of this because she, from what the speaker hints, wants her to be "invisible". The mother doesn't want her daughter to be seen by anyone and the only way to do that is to make her be a young girl. This scene defines what kind of culture this little girl is in. It is when women were not equal to men, and they were to just be invisible and forgotten.