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Derek Ortega

Professor Batty

English 101

8 May 2017

The Ups and Downs about in Life

Still Water Saints, a book by Alex Espinosa, has so many different characters that the

reader can talk about and analyze. Yet, theres this character that caught my eye. Her name is

Nancy Perez. Shes an interesting character. Although this fictional character goes through so

much in her young life and in her adult life, and she never gives up. This character from the book

is very saint like because she has been a rebel when she was a teenager with her father, causing a

break in their father/daughter relationship. She has this giant weight that is so heavy on her

shoulders, as if she was carrying the entire world, which is becoming the first person in her

family to go to college and graduate with a degree and help her family as well with anything they

need. Yet, she is faced with another problem in her personal life, her interracial marriage with

another person who isnt of Latin/Hispanic descent. Her father didnt approve of the marriage to

this particular person. Although, Nancy has faced many problems during her teenage life dealing

with her father, she never gave up while attending college, and she was able to overcome

obstacles due to her interracial marriage and keep going in life, making her a stronger individual.

A relationship between a father and daughter usually shows the father providing love,

protection, and guidance for his young child. Yet, in this particular instance its nothing like this

between Nancy and her father ever since she was a teenager to her adult life. Nancy and her

father never saw eye to eye when she was a teenager growing up, because her father wanted to
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control her and not let her have any sort of freedom at all. This led to major issues between the

both of them she would rebel against him and he didnt like it because he saw this as

disrespectful and he didnt tolerate this from his daughter. The father was also an alcoholic as

well because he had health problems, yet Nancy would try to help her father out because she felt

bad for him. As much as they fought she loved him to some extent in her life. The types of

unhealthy relationships between a father and daughter can become a psychological problem

between the two of them. The father can go into a downward spiral emotionally because he

would realize the damage he caused to his daughter this could eventually lead him into alcoholic

problems. The daughter will also grow up without her father because she would need the love

and affection from her father, as well as protection from her father too because they depend on

the toughness of their fathers. From Still Water Saints, Nancy says, I was born with this defiant

streak in me, something I could never suppress. I can say that now. But what mattered to me

when it came to my parents especially my father, was that I got my way. (Espinoza 115-116).

Basically Nancy is telling us that although she was born defiant in her, the father would think

that she would always get her way at the end. According to the HuffingtonPost.com, from a

many individuals personal story, And as they spoke, the subject of fathers stirred the most

emotion. Some talked about how their fathers were alcoholics, others that they were absent, or

angry, and yes, some were loving to some extent. This can stir up a lot feelings and people like

Nancy who grew up in an environment like this can relate to her from this book. While Nancy is

facing problems with her father at home she is also embracing another stressful predicament,

which is being the first of her family to attend school and graduate with a degree.

Having this burden, the feeling of the entire world pressing on your shoulders can be very

overwhelming and stressful, especially becoming the first and only daughter in their family to go
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to college and graduate with a degree. According to a post from Educationpost.org, Being the

daughter of two immigrants who didnt have college degrees, there was an expectation in my

home that I was going to go to college, I was going to do very well there, and I was going to

figure out how to pay for it. College was the path to success, and my parents made sure that was

clear( "On Being First). Nancy, had this expectation on her shoulders because her parents were

both undocumented people and were uneducated because they came here to the states for a better

life for their children. From Still Water Saints, Nancy, says My father promised to pay part of

my tuition and told me hed be sending a check every month. He was proud of me, I could tell.

Proud that I had made it all the way to college. Pg(116). Despite the fact that Nancy and her

father in the past had problems he managed to help her with part of the school tuition. Something

like this was very helpful to Nancy. There was a high presumption from her parents to live their

dream within Nancy, because they knew there was little to no hope since they were uneducated

back in their homeland. Once she graduates from college and gets her degree, she goes on to a

new job and now she makes her parents extremely proud of her because she did something her

parents couldnt do. She helps her parents out since they helped her and pushed her to finish

school. Despite having so many problems she has faced, this is leading to another problem she

has to face with her father yet again.

Nancy is able to overcome the problem she faces because of her interracial marriage.

Love comes in all forms of shape, color, and no prejudice against the opposite person you fell in

love with. Although you have others who dont see it that way, they see it as an omen a sort

racism because they dont see behind the barrier they put in front of themselves. We live in a

society now that love has no color or race behind it. This is just another form of Miscegenation

between two different cultures and backgrounds that care complete opposite from each other.
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According to CNN.com, Their stories highlight a divide not between the races, but between the

generations. Both teens participated in an Anderson Cooper 360 study on children and race.

Many students reported discouragement of interracial dating from their parents, or those of their

friends, with reactions ranging from wariness to outright forbiddance (Hadad). This is

something similar Nancy had to go through because she was getting married to an African-

American she met in college. Her father didnt approve of this just because the man she loved

was black and it goes to show that it doesnt matter who we are there is still racism within each

other and its very sad. At first her father didnt approve of the marriage because he thought

that she wasnt ready for marriage, but she felt it was at this time it felt right because she met the

man of her dreams. Second her father didnt like the type of man she was going to get married to

just only because he was African-American. This shows a stench of ignorance because it doesnt

matter who she wants to marry. Thats up to Nancy and what she does in her own personal life.

Nancy isnt blind like her father, she knows no matter what color or race you are as long you are

a good person she will love that individual no matter what. Love conquers all at the end.

Although we may face many obstacles in our lives yet we manage to overcome these

problems with our own power or the help of friends. We see Nancys own personal problems in

this book, how she was a rebel as a teenager against her father and it cause a friction between the

both of them not seeing from each perspectives eye. Having the pressure of her parents of

pushing her to finish college and get her degree and try to help them out once she has a good job

because that is expected from you. Being married to another person of different culture and race

is a problem because her father never gave the blessings to the man she loved it was to a

breaking point that she finally stopped loving her father. All of these are real life experiences that
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many people may go through in their own personal lives. People who want to read this book can

relate to it and see themselves like Nancy.

Works Cited

"On Being First in Your Family." Education Post. N.p., 29 May 2015. Web. 09 May 2017.

Shultz, Melissa T. "How To Fix The Damage From A Bad Father/Daughter Relationship." The

Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 04 Nov. 2013. Web. 09 May 2017.

Hadad, Chuck. "Interracial Dating Exposes Divide between Teens and Parents." CNN. Cable

News Network, 05 Apr. 2012. Web. 09 May 2017.

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Derek, you have some great points here. Your thesis could be easier to find and stated more

clearly. How does her having various problems make her saintlike exactly? Perhaps this

has something to do with how she handles these problems. You do sort of say this when

you mention how she never gives up, but this is not where I would expect your thesis to

be stated. You need to spend more time setting up and explaining your quotes. Since you

are discussing very different issues in this essay that Nancy is faced with, you need to

create more transitions between your paragraphs so that there is an overall flow. You need

to include a counterargument as well. I like the connection you make in your last body

paragraph between the CNN article and Nancys life. Make sure that each body paragraph

relates back to your thesis about Nancys admirable quality/qualities (what makes her

saintlike). Try to avoid cliches; the following sentence has two cliches: she goes through

so many trials and tribulations in her life, yet she always finds a way to come out on top.

You are missing in-text citations, and you need to fix the works cited page. Be sure to

proofread carefully.

Holly Batty, May