Themes

“Okeechobee” by Claudia Zuluaga is the story of a single event in the narrator’s life - a family visit to a trailer park where the friends of the father are. However, this event is an illustrative episode of the tensions and conflicts built up between the narrator’s parents. Consequently, we can say that the main themes of the story are marriage conflicts and the way they reflect on children.

Marriage

In the short story, there are two examples of marriage: that of Dorabelle and Eddie, and that of Bingo and Louise.

Dorabelle and Eddie are a couple in conflict. Their marriage is not a happy one, and probably never was.

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The effect of conflicts between parents on children

Since the short story is told from the perspective of a child, it is obvious that the author intended to draw attention on the effect conflicts between parents have on children. As you have seen, the narrator seems detached at first, as if she is used to quarrels between her parents. However, her sister’s silence is the first indication that the narrator is not as detached as it may seem:

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