Today I will be discussing the short story “My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn” by Sandra Cisneros, from her book Woman Hollering Creek. As I am working on a lesson plan that involves reading this short story, I’ve felt it important to include my thoughts here as an example/reference.
First, HERE is the selection to read.
Here are some questions to consider while reading:
Is the narrator the same race as Lucy?
What are the differences between the speaker’s family and Lucy’s family? What are the similarities?
Does the narrator look up to Lucy? Why or Why not?
One way to read “My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn” is to see the children Cisneros speaks of as poor and deprived. The narrator describes the shoes worn by her and Lucy as “aqua flip-flops just like mine that we bought at the K-mart for only 79 cents same time” as well as explaining that Lucy has nine sisters, a screen door with no screen, and “Only girls and one father who is never home hardly and one mother who says, Ay! I’m real tired.” These create images of an impoverished family and, which the narrator sees as endearing and similar qualities that make them “sisters. ” The story is a casual description of two young Chicana girls who are best friends.
The very human image of these girls is what I appreciate about the story. While, as a reader, we can see the signs that they are deprived and living in poverty, and that, as minorities, they face many challenges. However, neither the narrator or Lucy ever acknowledge these challenges or the deprivations inherent in poverty. These children do not feel oppressed or deprived, they are experiencing the richness of childhood; they are enjoying life while they are still young enough to enjoy it. They are completely human. Cisneros so perfectly captures the voice and view of a child in this story.
Ideas and Literature 