A Review of the Moths by Helena Maria Viramontes (Book Review Sample)

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The Moths; Helena Maria Viramontes
The Moths is a story narrated by a fourteen year old girl who gives an account of her teenage life is and how factors surrounding her such as family and social norms challenge her quest for personal identity. The narrator compares herself to other girls her age inclusive of her sisters and finds herself not be as girly or nice as compared to her sisters. She always finds herself in the wrong and is always getting punished for it which further worsens her relationship with her mother. This leaves her feeling oppressed but her grandmother provides her with an escape from all this pressures as she is more attentive to her as they take care of each other.
The narrator’s grandmother is diagnosed with cancer and the narrator is her care giver; as her grandmother falls more ill, the narrator becomes more responsible in taking care of her until her grandmother’s death. After her grandmother dies from cancer, she bathes her in the tub rocking her back and forth as she says the moths have been released off her grandmother (1324). According to what her grandmother had taught her; the moths “lay within the soul and slowly eat the spirit up (1324)”. At point of death, the moths have been consequently released from her grandmother’s souls and she can finally rest in peace. The narrator continuously rocks her grandmother back and forth as she sings to her until her sadness transforms to relief.
There are several themes depicted in the story; among them is the theme of re-birth. Prior to the narrator’s grandmother’s death, she tends to yearn for a better relationship with her mother. Since the beginning of the story, we observe conflict between the narrator and her mother who constantly finds her in the wrong and whops her. The narrator is of the opinion that her mother whops her since she is not as since as her sisters and is perceived to always be in the wrong. After the grandmother dies, the narrator says that the sun cannot shine forever, sunset of her relationship with her grandmother births sunrise of a new relationship with her mother (1324). The theme of oppression is also brought out in the story; the narrator seems to be oppressed based on the fact that she is not like her sisters. She is constantly punished by her mother but her grandmother takes her in and softly manages to change her ways. Her father forces her to go to church every Sunday which further injures her self-identity as she is not able to rebel against her father. She finds solace in her grandmother who she’s tasked to take care of; her grandmother softly teaches the narrator how to tend to the garden and also teaches her how to prepare ingredients from the garden and prepare meals which in return changes the narrator into a better person (1325). The narrator also touches on the issue of women oppression within her Chicano culture; she is of the opinion that women are imprisoned by traditions, family and cultures.
The theme of feminism is also depicted in the story; this can be observed through her grandmother’s teachings. Her grandmother aims at preparing her for womanhood, she makes her responsible for tending to the garden and also teaches her how to prepare ingredients, cook meals and also clean up (1325). This shows what the Chicano culture expected from women, it shows that women were more inclined to household chores and taking care of their families. There is minimal mention of school and education within the story and we can only observe her being prepared for motherhood. Her father forces her to go to church every Sunday and she cannot rebel showing that father’s had control of their families and all had to do as instructed by their fathers and husbands.
Symbolism is applied in the story; the sun is used to symbolize her grandmother’s life, the narrator says the sun cannot shine forever (1325). This means that her grandmother cannot live forever and there is nothing she can do to bring her back to life. Sunset is followed by sunrise; this symbolizes the end of her relationship with her grandmother after her death and the re-birth of a new relationship with her family after her grandmother’s demise. The moths are symbolic of the virtues and norms that pin down women in the Chicano culture, this are inclusive of feminism, family and also traditional and cultural norms. The story seeks to represent a way to fight and overcome this oppression through the narrator’s life. In the story we observe her “peel the skins off and put the flimsy, limp looking green and yellow chilies in the molcajete and began to crush and crush and twist the heart out of the tomato. The clove of garlic, the stupid chilies that made her eyes cry, crushed them until they turned into liquid under her bull hand (1325)” this symbolizes how she tries to let out her anger and frustration, how she tries to overcome her father’s pressure and find her own identity.
There is irony in the story; the narrator’s grandmother does a lot for her, more so she offers her love and compassion, she protected her from her insecurities and nurses her back to life. On the other hand, there is nothing the narrator can do to her grandmother to help her back to life, she helplessly watches her die from cancer and has to grief to get over it. The narrator says that she feels alone at church (1324) but feels safe ...