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Toi Derricotte's essay and Julio Ramon Ribeyro's fictional short story
Introduction
In Toi Derricotte's essay "Beginning Dialogues," author Daisy Hernandez's "Latin
American Women: The Magic and the Real," and Julio Ramon Ribeyro's fictional short story
"The Wardrobe, the Old Man and Death," the characters depicted all go through struggles and
hardships. They each have special challenges that they must adapt to or survive, and these
challenges are what shape their lives. This paper will investigate the struggles that the authors
and their family members, or the characters within the story, confront and how they handle or
adapt to them. Each person is confronting distinctive impediments, but they all share the
common encounter of overcoming difficulty. Analyzing these works will give us a more
profound understanding of how these people adapt to their challenges and survive despite
confronting troublesome circumstances. The authors and characters in these written works all
face unique challenges such as grief, identity, and family dynamics, and they cope with or handle
them in different ways, ultimately leading to growth and development. Their struggles shape
their lives and reveal the resilience of the human spirit.
Toi Derricotte's essay "Beginning Dialogues"
In "Beginning Dialogues," Toi Derricotte reflects on the loss of her mother and its
ongoing effects on her life. Her battles rotate around the absence of her mother and the feelings
related to it. Derricotte's mother played a significant role in her life, shaping her into the
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individual she is today. Therefore, losing her mother could be a constant struggle, one that she
has learned to manage over time. She clarifies that her visits to her mother's grave are not for her
mother's purpose but for her own, as she looks for a connection and a sense of closure that she
believes her mother may still be able to supply (Derricotte 116). Her battle with her mother's
death could be a blend of enthusiastic and mental challenges, which she must learn to oversee to
move forward.
One of the main challenges for Derricotte is the feeling of guilt for not feeling sufficient
anguish over her mother's death. She speaks about not experiencing the "pains of anguish" that
many other women who have lost their mothers undergo. This highlights her struggle with
processing and dealing with her mother's absence and the societal expectation of what a daughter
should feel when her mother dies.
Derricotte's guilt stems from the fact that she did not have a typical loving and nurturing
relationship with her mother. Her mother was emotionally and physically abusive, which alters
the way Derricotte perceives and copes with her grief. She says, "Yet here no one is hearing these
stories with expectancy; everyone has faced that which at one time was unthinkable." These
words demonstrate Derricotte's struggle with the idea that her relationship with her mother was
not ideal and that she must grapple with the fact that she does not grieve the same way as others
do. This internal conflict is reflected in her inability to fully relinquish her guilt and her desire to
fulfill her mother's expectations even after her death (Derricotte 114).
Another challenge that Derricotte faces is her fear of abandonment and separation. This is
evident in her fear of being confined from her mother's memory and unable to put through with
her after her death. She clarifies that her mother's story of being beaten by the white and black
children on her way to school made a fear within her and a sense of doubt towards others. This
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fear of separation is additionally reflected in her battle with mental health issues, particularly the
"torturing voices" that torment her and assault her self-worth. It takes her friend's question, "Why
not inquire about the tormenting voices from where they get their data?" to assist her in
understanding that her fear and sentiments of insufficiency stem from her mother's childhood and
not her deficiencies.
Julio Ramon Ribeyro's fictional short story "The Wardrobe, the Old Man and Death."
"The Wardrobe, the Old Man and Death" by Julio Ramon Ribeyro presents a different set
of struggles for its characters. The main character is the narrator, who reflects on his father's
struggle with losing his beloved wardrobe. The father's relationship with the wardrobe
symbolizes his relationship with his past and ancestors. For him, the wardrobe is not just a piece
of furniture but an update of his family's legacy and the desires set upon him. After his father's
passing, the wardrobe becomes a consistent update of his father's presence and the battles he
confronted throughout his life (Ribeyro & Penuel 399).
One of the father's main challenges is the pressure to live up to his family's desires. The
narrator clarifies that the wardrobe is acquired from his father's family, representing the bequest
his father must carry forward. The weight of his family's history and honors hangs on each move
as he continually reminds himself of his ancestors' accomplishments. This pressure is highlighted
when the father looks at himself in the mirror, not only seeing his picture but also the images of
his predecessors superimposed over his own. His ceaseless comparison with his predecessors
could represent his battle to live up to their desires and legacy.
Another struggle the father faces is his fear of death and its connection to the wardrobe.
The wardrobe is described as a "house within a house" and becomes a sanctuary for the father.
He sees his picture and the images of his precursors in the mirror, and as he looks at them, he
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reflects on their deaths and the certainty of his own (Ribeyro & Penuel 398). The wardrobe
becomes his secure space, where he can think back about the past and get comfort.
The characters face deeply personal and emotionally challenging struggles in both works.
Derricotte struggles with the loss of a loved one and the resulting impact on her own sense of
self, while the main character in Ribeyro's story grapples with his own mortality and legacy.
Both ultimately cope with their struggles in different ways, with Derricotte finding peace and
acceptance and the character in Ribeyro's story relying on denial and obsession. These struggles
and coping mechanisms make the characters more relatable and human, as readers can see
themselves in their struggles and find comfort in their resolutions.
In "Beginning Dialogues" and "The Wardrobe, the Old Man and Death," the characters
deal with their struggles differently. Derricotte finds comfort in revisiting her mother's grave and
singing her favorite song, while the father finds solace in the sanctuary of his wardrobe. These
contrasting coping mechanisms emphasize the individuality and uniqueness of each person's
struggle.
Conclusion
In conclusion, Derricotte and the father in Ribeyro's story both face distinct challenges
and personal struggles and handle them in their distinctive ways. Derricotte's struggle revolves
around the loss of her mother and the emotional and mental turmoil accompanying it. On the
other hand, the father in The Wardrobe, the Old Man and Death" is pressured to live up to his
family's bequest and the fear of his mortality. Through delineating these battles, both authors
exhibit the complexities and singularity of human encounters as each deals with their challenges.
Work Cited
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Ribeyro, Julio Ramon, and John Penuel. "The Wardrobe, Forefathers, and Death." The Antioch
Review (2003): 398 -576.
Derricotte, Toi. "Beginning Dialogues." Creative Nonfiction 26 (2005): 114–130.