Stephanie Ng

Professor Sipin
October 3, 2014

Role Model

Parents play a large role in the development of their childrens views of a relationship. In
the short story Never marry a Mexican by Sandra Cisneros, the narrator, Clemencia is a
woman whose only guidance in a relationship is to not marry someone like her father. Where as
in a YouTube video, Best first date, the video shows a daughter being given an example of a
date, by her father. Though Clemencia father was a bad example for a partner, and Best first
date was and excellent example of a healthy relationship, each character was given their father
as an example for what to expect in a man by their appearance, positive affirmation, and respect
for women.
When you take care of your image and appearance; youre showing that you care. In the
story Never marry a Mexican, Clemencia states that her father left behind a life of being a big
show off to eating with legs wide open in the yard, or in the kitchen hunkered over
newspapers. (54) Clemencias father was described to be a well-kept ladys man before he
married her mother. She never saw that side of him while she grew up, leaving her to believe that
it was the norm for men to not maintain their physical appearance. Whereas, in the beginning of
the video Best first date, the father is getting dressed in a suit and tie preparing for his date
with daughter. He seems to be nervous and conscious of how he looks, checking to make sure his

tie was straight and that his freshly shaven face looked good in the mirror. The way his daughter
viewed him was important.

Positive affirmation establishes self-esteem, giving someone a sense of worthiness and

belonging. In Never Marry a Mexican, Clemencia talks about her father being on his death
bed and how gory the vision was to see her father in this state. Throughout the story, she never
had any flashbacks of a loving relationship, positive affirmation, or gave any indication that they
held a strong bond with one another. On the other hand, the father in Best First Date lets his
daughter know she is loved and vocalized to her you look so beautiful and I love you when
he first sees her. He gave her a big hug and held her hand towards the back yard, leading her to
her dinner chair. The father in the Best First Date showed his daughter what it was like to be
courted unlike the non-existing relation in Never Marry a Mexican.

A strong since of self-respect can develop a belief that you are worth being treated well.
Clemencias is only told to never marry a Mexican, because of her father. When her mother
marries a white man shortly after her fathers death Clemencia says, her mother was so busy
feeling sorry for herself, that she didnt have time for their family. (57) She was educated to
find love, happiness, respect, or anything positive that would allow her to gain any respect as a
woman. In the YouTube video, the father is asked where he is taking his daughter to have
dinner, he says excitedly, I set up a nice dinner on the back porch. She wont expect it at all.
(Best first date) He has prepared and planned everything out for this special occasion. He pulls
out her chair and pours her water, allowing her to see how it feels to be respected and taken care
of. The effort and time that this father took to teach his daughter will give her the tools to
compare the feeling she has to be loved and cherished as much as she is by her father.

Parents in our society today are not taking the time to provide their children with tools
they need to have a healthy relationship. The father in Never marry a Mexican is trying to
break the mold and going out of his way to show his child that he cares about her future
relationships. His daughter will benefit from the education that was given to her. When you
continue to read the short story Never marry a Mexican youre given several examples of the
effect her upbringing put on her relationships with men. She is not able to hold a healthy
relationship and has given up on marriage. If she was provided with the guidance and knew her
self-worth, she would not have been as satisfied having a relationship with a married man. She
would have known that she deserves so much better and that there is happiness without any race
label given to it.

Works Cited

Cisneros, Sandra. "Never Marry A Mexican". New York. 1991. (51-69).

BeCause of Camilito. Best first date. You Tube. N.p. June 13 2014. Web. September 20,
2014.