Judith Ortiz Cofer was a bilingual author and poet, born with Puerto Rican roots but raised in the United States and therefore fluent in English and Spanish. As the daughter of a U.S. Army soldier, Cofer moved around a lot during her early childhood. Her father was stationed in Panama when she was born and so didn't get to see her until she was two. From then on, Cofer got used to moving from one place to another (Pagán, 2). She first moved to New York City and then made numerous trips back and forth between New Jersey and Puerto Rico during her childhood. Many aspects of Cofer's life also have a visible thematic connection to his poems. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay "Volar" by Judith Ortiz Cofer is a first-person narrative told from the point of view of a young twelve-year-old girl, the daughter of Puerto Rican parents, growing up in a poor neighborhood and struggling with her self-image and the emotional challenges that a girl of that age experiences. In the story, the girl is an avid reader and collector of comics, especially superhero-focused comics, her favorite being Supergirl. She finds herself at a difficult age between childhood and adolescence, finds herself physically at odds with her comic book superheroes, and is limited in her experiences due to her family's financial circumstances. Cofer uses symbols to enhance the setting of “Volar” by capturing the impact of poverty, imprisonment and media stereotypes on the difficulties of the daily lives of young girls who desire to be as confident and carefree as the images of women portrayed in the books. and magazines they can only dream of being. One of the strongest symbolic elements in this tale is the title, “Volar,” which means 'to fly' (Cofer 203). There are at least two references in the story of the desire to fly away from life in the small apartment in the barrio. These references give a good idea of ​​the social context in which the story takes place. The young woman remembers: “In those days I had a recurring dream: that I had long blond hair and I knew how to fly” (Cofer 204). The girl describes her dream world in which she transforms into a superhero with the power to fly over the city and observe the lives of friends, teachers and other people she might admire or even hate. This symbolizes his desire to escape his own life or compare his life to that of others he encounters. Later, the girl talks about how her mother looks out the kitchen window at the only view from their apartment of a "sad alley full of garbage" and wishes aloud that she could fly away: "Ay, si yo pudiera volar" (Cofer 205). Here, the girl's feelings are linked to those of her mother to signify that the dream of escaping poverty is shared by both the girl and her mother. This symbolizes the living conditions the family lives in and their desire to escape the current reality for something better. You may also be interested in ASA Citation Machine The young girl's dreams are also symbolic of the effect of media stereotypes on girls who may look different from the images portrayed in magazines or, in this case, comics. For this girl, the superhero she admires is strong, powerful, and has beautiful hair, all qualities she desires. When she dreams of having “long blonde hair,” it is evident that she feels this is a sign of beauty and power. Later in the same paragraph, the girl talks about waking up from her dreams of Supergirl, to find her physical appearance as disappointing as it was when she fell asleep: "...back in my.