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    A Study Guide for Judith Oritz Cofer's "Aunty Misery"
    A Study Guide for Judith Oritz Cofer's "Aunty Misery"
    A Study Guide for Judith Oritz Cofer's "Aunty Misery"
    Ebook37 pages26 minutes

    A Study Guide for Judith Oritz Cofer's "Aunty Misery"

    By Gale and Cengage

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    About this ebook

    A Study Guide for Judith Oritz Cofer's "Aunty Misery," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Short Stories for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Short Stories for Students for all of your research needs.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherCengage Learning - Gale
    Release dateJul 15, 2016
    ISBN9781535818902
    A Study Guide for Judith Oritz Cofer's "Aunty Misery"

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      A Study Guide for Judith Oritz Cofer's "Aunty Misery" - Gale

      10

      Aunty Misery

      Judith Ortiz Cofer

      1988

      Introduction

      Judith Ortiz Cofer's short story Aunty Misery tells the tale of a mean, lonely, old woman who zealously guards her pear tree from the neighborhood children. In the course of this seemingly innocent tale, the eponymous hero is granted one wish, a wish that results in Aunty Misery simultaneously protecting her pears and ultimately cheating Death. The brief story has all of the elements of a fable, a story featuring an anthropomorphized figure (Death, in this instance) and a succinct moral. Notably, fables can be fairy tales or folklore. Ortiz Cofer's Aunty Misery is a retold Puerto Rican folktale. As such, the story has a rich cultural history steeped in the oral tradition (stories typically predating the written word, or without a known author, that are handed down orally through the generations). In addition, the story explores the nature of Death (mortality and immortality), while also touching on themes of loneliness and even the nature of charity. Certainly, the story is a deceptively simple folktale that contains a wealth of deeper meaning. For this reason, the story has been widely anthologized, particularly in classroom texts directed toward middle school students.

      While the exact original publication information for Aunty Misery is unknown, the earliest identified publication occurred in 1988, when the story was featured in Pig Iron, No. 15: Third World, an anthology of fiction and poetry by multiple authors. A more recent version of the story can be found in the 2003 book Choices: 17 Stories of Challenge and Choice, with Units for Mastering Language Arts Skills.

      Author Biography

      Ortiz Cofer was born Judith Ortiz on February 24, 1952, in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico. Her father joined the U.S. Navy soon after she was born, and thus the family moved to the United States in 1954. The family settled in Paterson, New Jersey (part of the New York City metropolitan area), but often traveled back and forth to Puerto Rico. Ortiz Cofer was raised in both countries, experiencing a bicultural and bilingual childhood. As a young adult, Ortiz Cofer attended Augusta College, earning a bachelor of arts degree in English there in 1974. While a student, she married Charles

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