Reflectiion Paper - Essay Example

Indeed, the psychological paradigms of Dina’s personality become important issues within the social setup, especially social class and racial divide. The reflection on past events by Dina becomes the major factor that is able to help her to reconcile herself with the past and look forward to future. Dina was brought up within a stifled environment of a disturbed family where her mother loses her will to live and ultimately dies. She is wary of human relationship because she has seen her mother was trampled by her father.

She not only carries the stigma of being poor but also is hugely distrustful of whites. Her defiance is actually her defense to shield herself from the imagined bullying by white students and teachers. That is perhaps the reason that during orientation games in Yale, she is provoked into stating that she would like to be a revolver! While revolver might be representative of violence, for Dina, it was a shield that could probably give her the emotional and physical security that she craves. The revolve might also be symbolizing the social violence within our society that the narrator voices when she says that her mother ‘would never be able to get where she wanted to go’.

The poignancy of Dina’s thoughts and her behavior reflect the constraints of social conditioning. Dina’s character is intense and highly volatile but hides a softer human touch which she is afraid to show to the world. Her relationship with Heidi, a white girl is scintillating example of unpredictable human behavior which is easily swayed by love and trust. Heidi’s persistence bears fruit and Dina joins the rest of the students in the college canteen and also enrolls herself to become dishwasher.

Subsequently, her interactions with others reveal the changing attitude of Dina and show the strength of her character that is more inclined towards justice and freedom, promoting