Only Daughter

“Only Daughter” Response Questions

1. What distinction does Cisneros make between being “the only daughter” and “only a

daughter”?

·         Cisneros makes a distinction between being “the only daughter” and “only a daughter” because many parents treat their children differently based upon gender. Her father made a point to tell people that he had seven children but accidently translated it as seven sons. This made Cisneros feel that her father erased her identity.

2. What advantages does Cisneros see in being the only daughter?  In being only a daughter?

·         In being an only daughter in a Mexican-American family she learned to embrace her loneliness by reading and writing books. This helped to establish who she was as an individual as well as an influential writer.

·         Describing herself as only a daughter she was treated as if she would be someone’s wife. Education was expected of her to find a suitable husband and this allowed her to become the educated woman that she is today.

3. Cisneros quotes her father several times…what do we learn about him from his words?

·         Mr. Cisneros believes that his wife should be nothing but a wife to a man that she should meet in college. He approves of her choice to attend because this improves her chances of finding a more suitable husband. When she doesn’t find her husband in college he introduces her as “only his daughter, who teaches and not even as a professor.” He mainly expresses his disapproval in his daughter until she publishes a story in Spanish.

4. Do you think Cisneros intends to convey a sympathetic or unsympathetic impression of her

father?  Explain.

·         Cisneros unintentionally conveys an unsympathetic impression of her father. As a child and an adult she is continuously trying to gain his approval.

·         In describing her scenarios she portrays Mr. Cisneros in only her point of view. Her six brothers probably had a different aspect of their father while growing up.

5. Only Daughter” ends with the line: “Of all the wonderful things that happened to me last year,

that was the most wonderful”…what “wonderful thing” is Cisneros referring to?  Why do you

think this “thing” means so much to her?

·         The “wonderful thing” that happened to Cisneros was that her father finally approved of an accomplishment that she had made.

·         Mr. Cisneros’ approval means so much to his daughter because she finally feels that he will distinguish her differently than “just his daughter.” This may mean that he doesn’t feel that she needs a husband for him to establish that she has made positive choices in her life and used his advice on working with her brain rather than her hands.