Candler 1

Candler Michael

Professor Jensen

English 101

11/26/19

Family Issues

Any man can father a child, but it takes a special person to be a good father figure, just as

any woman can birth a child but only some can be good mothers. Parents are usually the first line

of defense for a child from the harsh realities of the world and the dangers within it. Although it

not being the main theme of “Sabrina and Corina”, Kali Fajardo-Anstine made it apparent

through vivid imagery and subtle personality flaws that the influence of both parental figures in

one’s life is an important one be it direct or indirect. Throughout her writings Kali Fajardo-

Anstine highlights the effects of parenting on one’s life both positive and negative. Many of the

women she wrote about either had an outstanding loving mother or father but some had none at

all in their lives. With this commonality being presented throughout the book some of the

characters had some sort of traumatic event occur due to either, the direct intervention of a

horrible parent or toxic and self-destructive personality traits learned from the absence of one of

their parents.

The short story “Sugar Babies” highlights the relationship between young girl, her

estranged mother, and loving father. Sierra’s mother’s sporadic absences have caused her to view

life from a slightly jaded stance which is often corrected by her father who she is very close with,

Sierra is described as a tomboyish daddy’s girl. This is evident when her mother states that she
 Candler 2

has developed a potty mouth, she unconsciously has a boyish slang to her way of speaking which

is expected from someone has only had their father as a positive influence in her life. “Its hotter

than a pig’s armpit” … “You have such a foul mouth” (Kali Farjardo-Anstine,17). Sierra became

a “Daddy’s girl” not by choice but from the lack of a positive mother figure in her life. Through

out the short story we get glimpses of how much respect she holds for her father and how little

she expects of her mother. This caused her to lack the maternal skills necessary for her class

while Roberto took on the role of the caring parent. Because of her absence Sierra holds little to

no respect for her mother, referring to her as Josie instead of “Mom”. When Josie would come

back into Sierra’s life everyone would act as if nothing happened and her mother never left. This

would often confuse Sierra into believing that her mother was staying for good. Kali Fajardo-

Anstine made this apparent when Sierra decides to stay home after discovering Josie has left her

yet again. This bothers her so much that Sierra forgot about the class project that she just starting

to commit to.

“Sabrina and Corina” is a story that contrast the the lives of two cousins, Sabrina their

untamed family beauty whose father had abandoned her before she was born and Corina the

successful cosmetologist whose father was active in her life. Corina’s father would give her hard

time for always being around Sabrina, they were inseparable but led very different lives.

Corina’s father decided that instead of her “running around like the other women” in her family

he would pay for her to go to cosmetology school. Sabrina was the more untamed or wild cousin

due to not having a strong father figure who could have been the guiding force to keep from

dropping out, working dead end jobs and arriving to family get togethers smelling like a Bar

floor. It seems as if her father leaving has led to abandonment issues within Sabrina leading to
 Candler 3

her only being attracted to thick necked blonde-haired blue-eyed men that resembled her father.

Kali Fajardo-Anstine was able to show the extreme contrast in an upbringing that having a strong

father figure and not having one in their live can have on a person. Corina was able to graduate

from school and get a decent job in her field with the help of her father while Sabrina is more of

an unguided free spirit just flowing where ever the wind takes her.

The story Sisters follows a young artistic woman with an eye for beauty named Doty and

her sister Tina. Doty’s mother had left her and her sisters for a new husband after their father

drank himself to death. Doty is very cautious of others due to her step father getting handsy with

her and Tina before they had moved away. Doty is a very closed off woman not allowing anyone

to get to close to her other than Tina who is the only person in her life to not leave her in one

way or another. “Who said anyone deserves anything” (Kali Farjardo-Anstine,58). Doty doesn’t

like Joey, the boy Tina set her up on a couple of dates with but will deal with him because she

doesn’t want to be alone. Even though she strongly believes that it isn’t hard being on her own

with only Tina around, her fear of being abandoned again caused her to see the handsy Joey who

later ends up causing her to be blind after an altercation. All of the men in her life have either

died or have touched her inappropriately.

“Remedies” follows the life of a mother struggling to help her daughter have a life with

her half brother who is the result of an affair between her estranged husband and the boy’s

mother. Clarissa’s father left her and her mother shortly after her ninth Christmas, causing her

mother to move them into grandmother Estrella’s home. Estrella hated Clarissa’s father for what

he did to her daughter Millie that she even hated his other children and often would compare him
 Candler 4

to drug addicts and alcoholics on the “Jerry Springer show”. Clarissa’s father’s absence bothers

Millie so much to the point that she subtlety questions Clarissa’s brother about her estranged

husband, ranging from if he sends gifts to Harrison or if he sends money to his mother. “Why

does my mom have to take care of you, anyway? Whats wrong with your own mom?” (Kali

Fajardo-Anstine, 54). Losing her father to another family cause Clarissa to say mean things, act

spiteful towards Harrison, and treat him like she can’t even stand to be around him. Clarissa’s

father leaving didn’t only affect her life it caused a strain on multiple lives. Millie was left to

fend for her child while worrying about the offspring of her estranged husband’s affair causing

her to undergo a mental breakdown. Through compassion and motherly instincts Mille would

care for Harrison while his mother was sleeping off what ever drugs or alcohol she consumed.

This really showed Millie’s strength as a parent she picked up the slack of a physically absent

father and mentally absent mother. Harrisons mother rarely cared for him, his clothes were worn

out and covered in stains and he often smelled of urine. Clarissa’s father created a huge hole in

many lives after he left. After letting go of all the burdens left behind by her husband Millie was

finally able to escape the hole of depression and stress.

The sad story of Julian Plaza follows a young woman named Alejandra whose father,

Ramón works as a janitor for a convalescent home and mother, Nayeli has cancer. Alejandra’s

father is one of the few good fathers from the stories in the book “Sabrina and Corina”. Ramón

would steal from the deceased tenants at his job and sell them for money to pay for his wife’s

treatment. Alejandra held her father in such high regard that she was shocked to find out about

his stealing and didn’t want to believe it. “You know, he steals all that stuff,” she said. “From the

dead old people “That’s not true. Papa wouldn’t do that.” (Kali Fajardo-Anstine,93). Ramon did
 Candler 5

everything he could to help his wife stay alive. Cora, Alejandra’s sister was influenced the most

by her father’s determination so much that she attempted to carry her mother out of the

convalescent home. “It’ll be easy remember when papa did it. He lifted her like a baby.” (Kali

Fajardo- Anstine, 101). This story shows us how far a father and husband is willing to go for the

women they love. Kali Fajardo-Anstine used this story to subtly contrast the family dynamics in

her other stories, before Nayeli was diagnosed with cancer the family had a happy life. This is

the only story in “Sabrina and Corina” with this type of dynamic.

The short story “Cheeseman Park” follows the life of a young woman named Liz who

was born in Denver Colorado that moves in with her mother after literally and figuratively

hitting a wall in life. When they met in their twenties her parents were party people who drank

regularly and did cocaine often. Liz grew up with an abusive father who would either beat or

throw things such as jars at her mother often hitting her. Liz’s father left her mother and her for

another woman when she was thirteen. Liz’s mother would make excuses for her husband’s

behavior usually blaming it on his upbringing. Liz’s father indirectly takes after his own abusive

father who shot his mother before turning the gun on himself. This cycle causes Liz to seek out

toxic relationships with abusive men and toxic people to surround herself with. Liz became a

party girl like her parents, she was usually around drug addicts and moved quickly between

boyfriends often keeping one on the side. This lifestyle usually left Liz feeling empty and alone.

Partly through the story Liz becomes the “other woman” in an affair which ended up with her

being thrown in to a wall by her lover. Liz seemed to be searching for a man like her father, she

would enjoy the relationship until it became violent. When she finally sees that Liz’s face is

bruised up from her altercation with her lover her mother barely reacts reminding the reader of

how she handled the abuse. After going through what was basically hell and back Liz and her
 Candler 6

mother rightfully have a jaded idea of men.” “He’s a nice man,” … “He cares about other

people.” ... “Most men don’t know the pleasure.” (Kali Fajardo-Anstine,129).

There are many parents whose negative patterns of behavior are consistent and dominant

within a child’s life. Within the short stories analyzed within this essay Kali Fajardo-Anstine

gives the reader a glimpse into the lives of 10 women who have been affected by their parents

actions or lack there of. Through descriptive writing Kali Fajardo-Anstine was able to express

the pain and hardships suffered by latin women in the rocky landscape of Colorado.
 Candler 7

Works Cited

Fajardo-Anstine, Kali. Sabrina & Corina: Stories. One World, 2019.