When do you stop giving when do you start giving when do you…

Young narrator from a short story “The Moths” by Helena Maria Viramontes is asking these questions of herself. She is fourteen years old and stands at the crossroads. At this juncture, she is on the verge of becoming a woman and she has many questions. Should she give in to physically abusive father and inept mother and take on the norms of the family and accept the catholic faith. Should she give up her distinct personality and become like her sisters, “do the girl things” and maybe acquire through practice a “cute waterlike voice”. In other words, should she comform? At this point in the text as the question repeats itself over and over again, she is confused. But “the sun is defiant” and she is defiant. She wants to give to herself, to self formation and determination.

Inna