La Mariposa

Jimenez, Francisco. La Mariposa. Boston, Massachusetts: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1998.

La Mariposa is the story of an immigrant child who moves from San Pedro, Mexico to California. When he begins school in America, he has a very difficult time fitting into the classroom, as he does not understand a word of English. Day after day, Francisco listens attentively to his teacher, but after hours of sounds that make no sense to him, he acquires headaches by the end of each day.

After meeting another boy in his classroom that spoke a little Spanish, he felt less timid about school. Francisco finally had someone that could relate to him and play with. However, when their teacher overheard their conversations, “She would say “NO ” with her whole body. Her head turned left and right a hundred times a second and her index finger moved from side to side as fast as a windshield wiper. “English English ” she repeated” (Jimenez). After this incident, Francisco’s friend Arthur avoided him whenever their teacher was around.

Forced back into silence, Francisco took an interest in a jar with a caterpillar in it next to his desk. Next to the jar lied a book with pictures of caterpillars and butterflies. Under each picture, a description of the stages a butterfly goes through were written, but in English. Francisco tried to figure out the words based on the picture, but he could not understand the words. During art lessons, Francisco did not understand the directions given to the class, so his teacher allowed him to do as he chose. Francisco drew several sketches of butterflies, and his teacher even hung one on the board, which flattered Francisco.

After several weeks, Francisco’s drawing disappeared from the board, but it was returned to him some time latter with a blue ribbon on it. Francisco was so proud of himself Eventually, he began to pick up on more English words, such as “okay” and “thank you”.

The process of assimilation for immigrant children is a long, hard road. Not only do they have to make new friends and get used to being a part of a new atmosphere, they must do it solely on reading others by their faces and reactions. This is due to the fact that they are unable to understand a single word that is being spoken. It is important for teachers to find ways to include their students, no matter what language they speak Also, the way in which the teacher reprimanded Francisco and his friend for speaking in Spanish was a terrible way to encourage Francisco to learn English. By scaring away his only friend that could interpret this strange new world Francisco was living in, she prolonged his learning of the English language even longer. I believe assisting English-learning students however possible and taking advantage of other bi-lingual students is the proper way for teachers to handle situations as in La Mariposa.