Literature Circle Blog Repsonse #2

Question: What are the consequences of sacrificing your pride in order to overcome your struggles?

Response: Sometimes people have to sacrifice their pride which in my opinion is the same as dignity. In the text "Rain of Gold" one of Dona Guadalupe's daughters is forced to sacrifice her pride and is forced to beg her husband Don Tiburcio to help provide the food for her mom. Sophia Don Tiburcio’s wife tells this to her sister Lupe who thinks that Sophia has disappointed her family because she told her other sister Maria to tell Esabel to steal her. Sophia admits that she gave the advice to Maria because she knew that at that time they were all struggling for food. Sophia wanted Lupe to understand that they had to set their pride aside and do whatever it took them to obtain food. Sophia was not willing to lose her family from starvation; she had rather sacrificed her pride to save her family whom had been next to her since little. She had rather see her sister mad at her then seeing them dying from starvation. On page 186 Sophia says “Is it begging for me to ask Don Tiburcio to not charge Mama for the staples he brings you people?” and later she says “We’re all doing the best we can, querida.” This proves that Sophia is indeed doing it for “all you people” which means for her family. By saying “We’re all doing the best we can” Sophia shows that she is willing to sacrifice whatever she needs or has to. So the consequences about sacrificing her pride had to humiliate herself in front of her husband and also to having to disappoint her sister Lupe who thought highly of her. This all did not matter to Sophia since she did not care what others said or thought and she was determined to help her family in any way she could.

Question: How does sacrifice influence /impact the family?

Response: The way Don Tiburcio’s sacrifice to give his life for Lupe’s is that now his wife Sophia is depressed and it affects her entire family because they all do not want to see her cry. His sacrifice will not only affect the family but also the kids that he has left. With his departure to heaven he impacted Sophia’s family by making them feel unsafe and lonesome at the Canyon. This pushes them towards the decision of leaving the Canyon. This situation affected Lupe and the entire family because now Sophia did not feel safe and besides Don Tiburcio told her to go north with their children. This hurt Lupe’s family even more. Sophia sees her family before departure and says “I’ll be waiting for all of you across the border. Oh, how much I wish Mama would accept part of my treasure and you could all come with me now. (Pg.199)”This shows that Sophia is hopeful that she will someday see her family again and she wishes that she could come with her, but she is too attached to the Canyon and is too proud to accept the gift from her daughter. Sometimes people may think that if they sacrifice something it will only impact their life, but they forget that sometimes their choices also have an impact in other people’s life. Don Tiburcio only thought of saving Lupe’s life he did not think how his decision could later affect his family. He sacrificed himself for Lupe in Lupe’s eyes he was a brave man who saved her life, and her family did not really recognize his bravery or at least they forgot to.