Working thesis: The story Piropo by Leticia Del Toro depicts the inner strength of Carolina who was about to give up but continues to struggle by taking care of her father, her child and herself though indulging in manual works such as balancing bricks.

Summary of the Story

The story is about a writer Leticia Del Toro “Piropo” who is living in an area known as El Cerrito. The narrator of the story is called Carolina, is facing a problem with taking care of her, father, her child and herself. She then opts to present herself just like men do in search of money. She decides to change her appearance and disguise her female identity so that she can search for work. Carolina is restless as she has to look for something so that she can feed and take care of her family members. At one time, she complains about the pressure to deliver food on the table and is about to give up altogether. Nevertheless, all hope is not lost as Carolina continues to struggle with her father and boy before they travel into another world that Is much comfortable she could not even imagine.

Summary and Relevance

In this book, the Leticia Del Toro provides a detailed explanation of how Carolina finds himself facing personal and family challenges as she through tragic and awe moment that test his capabilities to survive. Her interaction with different family members helps her in his quest to regain herself. The author describes how it was hard to find a job as a writer in Mexico and is forced to look for a job so that she can feed her family.  Throughout the story, Caroline’s relationship with her family members helps to develop his own. She can depict the challenges that women go through such as poverty and marginalization. She is also described as a hardworking and caring person as she can go and look for work that is only done by men so that she can feed her family.

Troyer, R. A. (2008). Dialogue and Discourse Structure: Analysis of Piropo by Leticia Del Toro. In The State of Stylistics (pp. 303-331). Brill Rodopi.

Summary and Relevance

Troyer provides a detailed description of what other minorities just like Carolina go through to get a good job More often than not, they have to forgo some of their gender ideologies so that they can adjust to their new cultural setup. Notably, they tend to get lost and even lose their sense of identity. Carolina has to forgo the fact that she is a woman and disguise herself as a man so that she can get a job and feed her family members. Typically, it would have been the men who are going to look for work, but they are not willing. This forces, Carolina to go and look for the job so that she can feed her family members. Just like other immigrants, Carolina lives in the un-idealistic and dilapidated home. She struggles with her condition and is almost giving up as she sees that the situation is not changing. Through all these challenges, she can show the resolve and exhibit the resilience in her quest to find redemption.

O’Shaughnessey, M. (2010). Leticia del Toro short stories

Summary and Relevance

O’Shaughnessey gives a detailed account of what Carolina go through in their daily lives.

Through her strong character, Carolina can engage the reader based on her will power to continue struggling even though there are many challenges. Form the story, we understand that. Carolina is restless as she has to look for something so that she can feed and take care of her family members. At one time, she complains about the pressure to deliver food on the table and is about to give up altogether. The author depicts Carolina as a character that is capable of moving beyond his cultural and gender caricature and develop her own identity.