A Dancers Power

In every book, no matter the genre, style, audience, or author, there is a common issue that has to get resolved. There is often a hierarchy that causes problems for the characters throughout the whole time, but this greater being is not always as obvious as one might think. In the book When the Stars Go Blue by  Caridad Ferrer, the problems lie within the plot itself. Being a dancer has been Soledad’s dream since she was four years old, but she does not have the stereotypical dancer body like so many of her delicate friends do. Her forte is not the soft ballet songs, it is the songs where she can be larger than life onstage and fill up the entire performance space with her presence. When she gets an offer from a boy named Jonathan to express her and feel her kind of music washing over her for an entire summer, she is conflicted. In the duration of this time, many hidden enemies and problems emerge due to this one job offer, and I think Soledad will see her path once all of the fog has cleared.

            Not having the skinny body that most ballerinas have was a hierarchy that was very unfair to have to overcome. Being yourself and having ambitions should not be a crime that people judge you on. This power that the typical ballerinas had was very unjust because even though Soledad has a goal in her mind, this difference between her and them is so great that anyone who was in that situation would feel alone sometimes like her. This goal of hers is becoming foggier and foggier as she becomes closer to Jonathan. He has a power over her because of the feelings she has towards him. The emotions and her dream are getting mixed, which is causing these changes in her plans. I believe that this is a just problem because they have control over it and what happens to it. Once everything with Jonathan gets sorted out and once she has a new goal set in her head, the path will be waiting for her to dance down it.

            Overall, Soledad’s dilemma is that she needs to make up her mind about where her path in life is going to take her. For me, my plans are still unclear but with every choice I make about studying for a test or doing my homework to the best of my ability, I am taking another step to my future. Once these power problems are resolved, there will be nothing more holding her back to make up her mind about how she wants to live her life. The just moments and the unjust moments are all a part of the life that we have paved for ourselves; down this bumpy road.