Judith Ortiz Cofer
Judith Ortiz Cofer (1952-2016), who wrote Quinceañera, was a Puerto Rican American author critically acclaimed for her poetry, short stories, essays, fiction, and autobiography. She was born in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico, in the family with a military father, J. M. Ortiz Lugo, who took his closest relatives, including his wife Fanny Morot Ortiz, to Paterson, New Jersey to advance his career (Acosta-Belen). Most of Ortiz Cofer’s childhood was spent traveling between the United States mainland and Puerto Rico. The constant moving back and forth developed both American and Puerto Rican cultures in Ortiz Cofer, which became a crucial part of both her fiction and poetry.
When Judith turned fifteen years old, her family moved to Augusta, Georgia, where the girl subsequently earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from Augusta College. She liked Georgia because it was rich in colors and vegetation as compared with the always gray weather and cold concrete buildings of Peterson. Later, Ortiz Cofer earned a Master’s in English from Florida Atlantic University and completed a graduate course at Oxford University through a fellowship (Gale 18). In 1984, Ortiz Cofer joined the University of Georgia faculty in the role of the Franklin Professor of English and Creative writing (Acosta-Belen). Having dedicated twenty-six years to teaching undergraduate and graduate students, she retired from the University of Georgia in December 2013.
The writer said that she had inherited her skills of storytelling from her grandmother, as suggested by the appearance of the strong and powerful character of a grandmother in The Line of the Sun as well as other narratives. Ortiz Cofer said that her Abuelita was always telling stories to her grandchildren, and they were learning a lot from them. Such a way of teaching enhanced the development of storytelling as an empowerment form since women in Ortiz Cofer’s family were dedicated to transferring power from the older generation to younger ones through stories and fables. In this way, the women tried to teach each other how to cope with their lives and deal with restrictions that came along their way.
Thus, it is not surprising that the most prominent characters developed by Ortiz Cofer are Puerto Rican women who wanted to break free from the restrictions of their cultural and social conventions to develop strategies of dealing with sexism in their own lives.
While Ortiz Cofer is known for her creative nonfiction work, her career in writing started with poetry that, in her opinion, contained “the essence of language” (qtd. in Poetry Foundation). Her chapbook Peregrina published in 1986, was awarded at the Riverstone International Chapbook Competition. The author also published poetry collections such as Terms of Survival (1987), Reaching for the Mainland (1995), and A Lover Story Beginning in Spanish (2005).
The key theme in most of Ortiz Cofer’s work is the exploration of the gaps and splits that develop between the cultural heritage of an individual. The author’s immersion into both American and Puerto Rican cultures allowed her to develop a multi-genre approach to writing, in which all fiction works, prose, and poetry were combined into one style. Ortiz Cofer’s work The Latin Deli, which one of the nominees for a Pulitzer Prize, explored the range of genres through combining the author’s personal narrative with poetry and short fiction. In addition to this, Ortiz Cofer also wrote children’s books.
“Quinceañera” Analysis
Quinceañera by Judith Ortiz Cofer is a poem that focuses on the feelings of a girl that is turning fifteen. The celebration of Quinceañera (fiesta de quince años) is a traditional ceremony held on a Catholic girl’s fifteenth birthday and is celebrated widely throughout the Americas. The fifteenth birthday is usually celebrated differently because the tradition holds that at this particular age, a child becomes a woman. Historically, prior to turning fifteen, girls were taught how to cook, weave, as well as that they would have to have children and become wives. However, Ortiz Cofer wanted to show that there are feelings that transcend the tradition of Quinceañera and that young girls are highly sensitive to them turning fifteen, as this means that everything would change irrevocably.
In the poem, a girl who is about to turn fifteen is mourning the fact that her childhood had come to an end and is extremely wary about her becoming an adult. It is a complicated time for the poem’s protagonist as the choice of words points to the feeling of ambivalence and doubt about the entire process of transition. The skillfulness of Ortiz Cofer as a writer is reflected in the use of literary elements that reinforce the key theme of the poem (Tarrant County College 472). For instance, the element of simile was used for comparing putting away childhood toys with a burial:
“My dolls have been put away like dead
children in the chest I will carry
with me when I marry” (Ortiz Cofer 11).
Such a simile reinforces the unspoken fears of the girl that her new stage of life would bring joy since all the fun and exciting things associated with childhood would be far gone. As the girl ponders about losing her childhood and moving into adulthood, she is reminded that womanhood as a compulsory stage in her life was forced upon her. For example, as the girl reaches under her skirt to feel her slip made of satin, “it is soft as the inside of my thighs,” she understands that the coming of age now meant that she would have to dress like a lady (Ortiz Cofer 11). In addition, this simile method also underlines the growing sexuality of the girl who becomes aware of her body and its sensuality.
While the transition to womanhood is an exciting process, the uncertainty and dread prevail in the girl’s feelings. Ortiz Cofer reinforces these emotions through the use of death-like metaphors in order to inspire aversion to the girl’s forced entering into adulthood. “My hair has been nailed back with my mother’s black hairpins to my skull,” “as if fluids of my body were poison,” “is not the blood of saints and men in battle beautiful? Do Christ’s hands do not bleed into your eyes from his cross?” (Ortiz Cofer 11).
Such words as skull, poison, blood, and battle are associated with death and suffering and create the essence of hopelessness and that nothing can be turned back. Comparisons between the preparations for Quinceañera and a death ritual suggest that the girl is no longer in control of how she looks and must look perfect for the celebration. It is notable that no one asked the girl about her preferences, which is another sign of the loss of control of herself and the requirement to obey her future husband.
The girl is left to mourn that she would be the one to wash her sheets and clothing “from this day on” (Ortiz Cofer 11). It is evident that none of the adults cared to explain to her that being older means having more responsibilities, which is why she thinks that her menstrual blood is “shameful” for some reason and is destructive to her identity as a female (Ortiz Cofer 11). The girl’s words show that her mother and, most likely, other relatives have shown little to no empathy for her problems and did not provide guidance on how to overcome the doubt and the fear of the future.
The narrator questions why some blood is honored while some must be washed in private, away from everyone’s eyes. The negative emotions of the narrator are reinforced through the use of references to battles and religious imagery; in addition, the Catholic background of the girl is apparent from the poem. Like any other teenager at the stage of adulthood, the protagonist of the poem accepts her mixed feelings about the new stage in her life. The opposition of emotions is strengthened with the help of the simile that ends Quinceañera:
“I am wound like the guts of a clock,
waiting for each hour to release me” (Ortiz Cofer 11).
To conclude, Judith Ortiz Cofer brilliantly explores issues that trouble young women at their coming of age. The lack of attention to the emotional state of Quinceañera’s narrator suggests that the girl is left on her own to deal with the established tradition and had no say in deciding her future. The theme of women battling against cultural and social norms is prominent in Ortiz Cofer’s writing, which is why the poem is a valuable representation of the author’s work.
Works Cited
Acosta-Belen, Edna. “Judith Ortiz Cofer (1952-2016).” New Georgia Encyclopedia. 2019. Web.
Gale. A Study Guide for Judith Ortiz Cofer’s “Hour with Abuelo.” Cengage Learning, 2017.
Ortiz Cofer, Judith. Terms of Survival. Arte Publico Press, 1995.
Poetry Foundation. “Judith Ortiz Cofer.” Poetry Foundation. Web.
Tarrant County College. Text to Text Writing about Literature. Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2017.
Solar Energy And Its Impact On Environment
Executive Summary
Solar energy is a sustainable source of energy because low levels of environmental pollution are associated with its use. The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of solar energy on the environment. The major positive impact is the minimal emission of greenhouse gases. However, negative upshots include emission of toxic wastes, large water, and land use requirements for cooling and installation, respectively. These problems can be reduced by proper waste disposal strategies, dry-cooling technologies, and rooftop installations.
Introduction
The sun is a valuable source of energy for living organisms, given that it makes it possible for autotrophs to manufacture food via photosynthesis. The energy emitted by the sun is resourceful in the generation of hygienic and sustainable electricity devoid of toxic wastes and emissions that cause global warming (Kabir, Kumar, Kumar, Adelodun, & Kim, 2018). Furthermore, it is an economical way of producing energy because there are no high recurrent costs after the initial installation. Solar energy can be harnessed through two main ways: photovoltaic (PV) cells and concentrating solar thermal plants (CSP) (Khan & Arsalan, 2016).
However, the use of these technologies can also lead to unforeseen negative consequences. The purpose of this paper is to determine the impact of solar energy on the environment. The positive and negative effects of solar energy will be considered.
Research Methodology
A literature search was conducted on databases such as PubMed and Google Scholar to find information on the topic. The search phrase impact of solar energy on the environment was used. To ensure that current information was obtained, the search was limited to articles published within the last five years. Relevant articles were obtained by reading through the abstracts followed by the retrieval of full-text versions. Information from the publications was then summarised as indicated in the findings section.
Findings
The long-term use of solar energy is beneficial to the environment because it replaces or cuts down the use of other energy sources with detrimental environmental effects (Wang & Lu, 2016). Nonetheless, solar energy use has negative effects that can be classified under four main categories of land use, water utilization, hazardous chemicals, and global warming emissions. Facilities that generate solar energy for large-scale use degrade the land.
Additionally, clearing land to pave the way for the construction of power plants destroys the habitats of plants and animals. The actual land needed depends on solar generation technology, topography, and solar energy demands. PV systems are estimated to require between 3.5 and 10 acres of land per megawatt of energy (Aman et al., 2015). The key shortcoming is the same piece of land cannot be used for agriculture and solar projects simultaneously.
CSPs are thermal electric plants that need large volumes of water for cooling. The precise water needs are determined by the exact construction, location, and cooling system. It is estimated that wet-circulating technologies use between 600 and 650 gallons of water for each megawatt-hour of energy generated. On the other hand, once-through cooling systems require even more water, but they conserve water because it is not lost to the surroundings as steam (Ahjum et al., 2018).
The manufacture of PV cells uses several dangerous chemicals to prepare and sanitize the semiconductor surfaces. Examples of such chemicals include acids such as sulphuric, hydrochloric, and nitric. Other chemicals used are acetone, hydrogen fluoride, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane. The exact volumes of these chemicals are determined by the magnitude of silicon wafers, the extent of cleaning, and the cell. Conventional silicon PV cells use less noxious chemicals than those needed in thin-film PV cells. These substances include cadmium-telluride, copper-indium-gallium-diselenide, and gallium arsenide (Hosenuzzaman et al., 2015). Poor handling and disposal of these chemicals pose environmental and public health threats.
Even though the production and usage of solar energy from the sun does not emit greenhouse gasses, other stages in the life-cycle of the process produce global warming emissions. For example, manufacturing of components, conveyance of materials, setting up, maintaining, and disassembling procedures. Approximations of life-cycle emissions of PV systems range from 0.07 and 0.18 pounds of carbon dioxide for every kilowatt-hour (Gong, Darling, & You, 2015). CSPs have slightly higher levels of emission.
Conclusions
The data have addressed the initial goals of pinpointing the negative and positive effects of solar energy. The findings show that solar energy use has positive and negative effects on the environment. The positive upshots include clean energy, sustainability, and minimal emission of greenhouse gases. Conversely, the undesirable outcomes encompass the excess use of land resources, the requirement of large volumes of water for cooling, and the use of hazardous materials in the manufacture of solar components. The negative consequences can be used to develop recommendations to solve them to reap maximum benefit from solar energy.
Recommendations
Based on the identified negative environmental aftereffects of solar energy use, the following recommendations are suggested to mitigate them:
- The land impacts of using solar energy can be reduced by installing solar panels at locations with low demand, for example, brownfields, deserted mining land, or accessible carriage and transmission corridors.
- Commercial buildings and homes can take advantage of small-scale solar PV arrays that can be installed on rooftops to minimize the land use impact.
- Adverse effects on water use can be lowered by using dry-cooling technology as opposed to wet-cooling. It has been shown that this know-how cuts down water use at CSP factories by about 90% (Hu, Li, Jiang, & Du, 2018).
- Manufacturers of PV cells should adhere to relevant regulations concerning the use of toxic chemicals through the proper disposal of waste products and protection of workers.
- Valuable and rare materials used in the manufacture of solar cell components should be recycled instead of being discarded.
References
Ahjum, F., Merven, B., Cullis, J., Goldstein, G., DeLaquil, P., & Stone, A. (2018). Development of a national water‐energy system model with emphasis on the power sector for South Africa. Environmental Progress & Sustainable Energy, 37(1), 132-147.
Aman, M. M., Solangi, K. H., Hossain, M. S., Badarudin, A., Jasmon, G. B., Mokhlis, H.,… Kazi, S. N. (2015). A review of Safety, Health and Environmental (SHE) issues of solar energy system. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 41, 1190-1204.
Gong, J., Darling, S. B., & You, F. (2015). Perovskite photovoltaics: Life-cycle assessment of energy and environmental impacts. Energy & Environmental Science, 8(7), 1953-1968.
Hosenuzzaman, M., Rahim, N. A., Selvaraj, J., Hasanuzzaman, M., Malek, A. A., & Nahar, A. (2015). Global prospects, progress, policies, and environmental impact of solar photovoltaic power generation. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 41, 284-297.
Hu, H., Li, Z., Jiang, Y., & Du, X. (2018). Thermodynamic characteristics of thermal power plant with hybrid (dry/wet) cooling system. Energy, 147, 729-741.
Kabir, E., Kumar, P., Kumar, S., Adelodun, A. A., & Kim, K. H. (2018). Solar energy: Potential and future prospects. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 82, 894-900.
Khan, J., & Arsalan, M. H. (2016). Solar power technologies for sustainable electricity generation–A review. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 55, 414-425.
Wang, C., & Lu, Y. (2016). Solar photovoltaic. Web.
Senior-Year Students Exploring Career Options
The senior year of high school is an overwhelming time for many students. They have to prepare for going to college, which usually involves leaving their friends and family, as well as for deciding on what they want to study. In addition to that, they still need to attend classes in school, do homework, and find time for socializing and pursuing their interests. Because many students focus on their schoolwork, they have no time to prepare for college and consider their future career options, which leads to them switching majors or entering a career that they do not enjoy. Given that it is often hard for students to balance studies and college preparation, it would be beneficial for schools to reduce the class time for senior year students and allow them to focus on exploring various careers and interests outside of school.
Firstly, it is essential to note that many students go to college not knowing what they want to do in the future. There is significant pressure on high school students to decide on a career that they would like to pursue. However, as noted by Torpey, most students are still unclear about their future at the end of high school. Although they might have some subjects or activities that they find interesting, they may have doubts about whether or not it would be worthwhile to focus on them. Additionally, given the cost of college education in the United States, most students feel the need to choose popular and financially stable career fields. This might explain why so many students decide to study management, accounting, finance, and similar majors.
After a semester or two in college, these students realize that they have chosen a major that they are not interested in and switch majors. According to a recent study, “only 36 percent [of ACT test-takers] chose a major that fit their interests” (Sheehy).
Moreover, research shows that a third of college students change their major at least once while in college (Lederman). This can be problematic because switching majors means that students lose the time that they could have spent studying subjects they truly enjoy. Moreover, switching majors might require students to take additional classes, which contributes to college costs and increases their student loan.
Choosing the wrong major and deciding not to switch to a different one later on, can be just as harmful because it leads people to enter a career that they do not like. Studies show that many Americans have a job they hate and that the majority of workers are not interested in performing well. For example, a 2017 study by Deloitte showed that only 13 percent of working people in the United are passionate about their jobs.
Further, 23 percent “score high on an index of engagement indicators, but do not have all three attributes of worker passion,” but 64 percent of workers reported feeling disengaged and unhappy (Deloitte). These statistics are rather worrying because people’s levels of engagement and passion for their job affect performance. If a person hates their job or feels indifferent about it, they are less motivated to succeed at it and complete most tasks half-heartedly. They can also develop psychological conditions, including depression, substance abuse, and anxiety because of being unhappy at work (O’Donnell).
As a result, poor engagement harms both employees and companies equally. On the one hand, companies’ financial and operational performance suffers, leading to poor chances to stay in business and grow. On the other hand, workers who do not perform well have fewer opportunities for career development. They could either stay in the same job for years or even decades or quit the job and start another career. Both of these options prevent people from having an income that increases over time and fulfills their needs.
The main reason for all of the adverse outcomes described above is that many students have talents and interests that they don’t get a chance to pursue because of school. The number of subjects that students can study in school is limited, and thus they have to make time for their hobbies outside of school. And even for students who are interested in areas covered in school, the class time is not enough to explore the subject in detail and understand whether or not it is truly something that they want to do for the rest of their life. During the senior year, students are particularly busy, which means that they cannot devote as much time to their hobbies as they need. This means that they might miss the chance to explore career opportunities that they could be passionate about, leading to poor choices in future studies and work.
Allowing more time for students to pursue their interests and learn more about various career options would help students to get more direction in life. Torpey states that in order for students to choose the right path, it is essential for them to understand their interests and abilities, identify matching careers, and get some experience by the end of senior year. This can be done through internships, after-school jobs, volunteering, and many other work-related activities.
Additionally, it could be beneficial for students to take courses related to their career of interest because this would help them to understand whether or not they want to choose this major in college. As a result of these changes, senior year students would be equipped with the knowledge to make an informed choice about their future studies and career. Moreover, it will minimize the probability of them wanting to switch majors in college or being unhappy with their job.
Undoubtedly, the key argument against the proposed change is that schools will have to decrease class time or reduce the amount of homework. Thus, students will learn less in some or all subjects by the end of school. While the information obtained from classes can help them in becoming smarter and more knowledgeable, it is often irrelevant to their future life and career. Students will learn a lot more meaningful information by choosing the right major in college than by doing their homework or spending a few extra hours in class in the senior year. Therefore, the benefits of reducing school time for senior year students would far outweigh the costs.
All in all, research shows that many students go to college not knowing what they want to study and do in the future. This has an adverse effect on their academic and professional life because students have to switch majors or enter a career that does not interest them. In order to prevent this, it is critical to give students more free time during senior year to explore their interests and related careers. While these changes would reduce school time, they would promote meaningful learning in college and help students to create a foundation for their future careers.
Works Cited
Deloitte. “Deloitte Study: Only 13 Percent of the US Workforce Is Passionate About Their Jobs.” PR Newswire. 2017.
Lederman, Doug. “Who Changes Majors? (Not Who You Think).” Inside Higher Ed. 2017.
O’Donnell, J. T. “I Spent 15 Years Studying Why People Hate Their Jobs. This Is the Top Reason.” Inc. 2018.
Sheehy, Kelsey. “Study: High School Grads Choosing Wrong College Majors.” U.S. News. 2013.
Torpey, Elka. “Career Planning for High Schoolers.” Bureau of Labor Statistics. 2015.