The narrator and her parents

In your exam question, you are asked to write an analytical essay regarding “Okeechobee” by Claudia Zuluaga focusing on the narrator and her parents and discussing elements such as point of view, setting, contrast and main theme.

As you have seen, the story is told by a child narrator and is about an episode which is illustrative of the conflicts and tensions between her parents.

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Point of view

“Okeechobee” is a first-person narration told from the perspective of a young girl. The author succeeds through this story to introduce us to child psychology. As all children, the narrator does not want to seem affected or take sides in her parents’ conflict. 

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Setting

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Contrast

In the short story, the author uses a lot of contrast to enhance the idea of conflict and tension. The first contrast is between the way the father and the mother of the narrator are dressed.  The father is dressed carelessly, while the mother has obviously paid much attention to her clothes:

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Main theme

As we have discussed in the section dedicated to themes, the main topics of the text are marriage and the effect conflicts between parents have on children. When you analyze the narrator and her parents, it is good to note how the troubles in the parents’ marriage reflect on the narrator’s behavior and attitude.