Between Star and Perfecto a constant reminder is always being brought up, "I'm not your father." Estrella's father left the family while she was still young which in turn made getting food on the table very difficult for her mother, so she found another man to be the provider for the family. In a sense Perfecto, having his nickname for doing a job well done on any task assigned to him, is going a good job of caring for the family by giving them the money he earns. Estrella holds on to the memory of her real father even though she understands he left her behind. But Perfecto and Estrella resist each other and deny what their relations are, as Perfecto as adopted father figure. "Perfecto Flores was not her papa" (28). When in arguments they remind one another that they have no blood ties.
Perfecto and Estrella do have a silent truce when it comes to him teaching her about all of the tools in his tool chest. The tools in the tool chest were an allegory for her trying to learn how to read and write in her education. "The curves and tails of the tools made no sense and shapes were foreign and meaningless to her as chalky lines on the blackboard, (25)" Perfecto took the time to teach her all of the "tools". When he took the time to teach her and wait patiently for her to understand she was then able to read. Reading is important in Star's life because she is able to read to Maxine. An odd friendship grows out of this practice until Maxine brings up Perfecto causing Star to be very upset and get into a fist fight with Maxine (35). Also distancing the relationship between Perfecto and Estrella.
This theme of an odd father character seems to pop up in much of the literature we have been reading. I think its very interesting to see how every different family structure morphs to try to fill this gap. For this family Perfecto is added. I also loved that scene with the tools being compared to letters. While at school Star was given a hard time by her teachers but Perfecto is able to help her by providing her with an outlet that allows her to learn things in a way she understands. The importance of literacy is another important theme in many pieces of literature and the fact that Perfecto was able to help provide Star with this empowering knowledge is huge and creates a bond between them will be very difficult to break (even if they aren't blood related).
ReplyDeleteI agree that the strained relationship between the father and daughter figures is one we've continuously experienced because, even though these can be the strongest relationships, they can also be the most fragile. A father and a daughter are irreplaceable in the other's life, so when someone steps in to take on such a role it's hard to embrace that on the other end. I don't think either Perfecto always means that he isn't her father in a negative way; if anything he just doesn't want her to forget her real father no matter how poor of a role model he was.
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