This document provides a reading guide for the short story "The Moths" by Helena Maria Viramontes. It summarizes the plot, which follows a young girl and her relationship with her family, particularly her grandmother. As the grandmother's health declines, the girl begins to take on more responsibility. The story also explores themes of Mexican-American culture, family relationships, and female adolescence. It provides background on the author and context about the work.

1. Reading Guide on THE MOTHS by
HELENA MARIA VIRAMONTES 1985
Name: Laura Victoria Pinzón, Luis Felipe
García, María Camila Estepa, María
Fernanda Tibaquira
E-mail:
THE MOTHS
PLOT
This is the story of a
young girl and her
relation with her family.
She feels different to her
sisters because she is not
the girly girl as the other ones. Then,
the doctor tells her grandmother that it
is question of days to die. So in that
moment this girl starts to behave in a
better way by looking after her Abuelita.
Finally, the girl begins to do things in a
more responsible way and even more
when her grandma´dies.
MAIN CHARACTERS
The narrator: She is an immature 14
year old girl. She is not the girly girl
that her sisters are. A girl that is not
connected to her family
Abuelita: An old woman, the narrator's
grandmother a generous woman.
IMAGERY AND SYMBOLISM
 Chile, Abuelita, Ama, Menudo and
Chayotes: These aspects represents the
Mexican culture by mentioning referring
to its gastronomy customs.
 Moths: In the story
represents death. Because
it is said that these animals
came out of her Abuelita's mouth and
that Abuelita wanted to be with these
moths until her death.
 Sun Movements: In the story
when the sun hides it represents the end
of something with life.
Scenery: Abuelita's house – porch –
bedroom – bathroom
GLOSSARY
Sprouting: (of a plant, seed, etc) to
produce (new leaves, shoots, etc)
Chapel: A place of Christian worship in a
larger building, esp a place set apart,
with a separate altar, in a church or
cathedral
Tablecloth: A cloth for covering the top
of a table, esp. during a meal.
Faucets: A tap fitted to a barrel

2. Wax: Also called beeswax. A solid,
yellowish substance made by bees when
building their honeycomb.
Whipping: A beating with a whip or the
like, especially as punishment.
Abuelita: Spanish for “grandma”;
common familiar and affectionate term
for grandmother.
Tío: Spanish for “uncle”
Amá: Common familiar term for “mother
in Mexico.
SEMANTIC LEVEL: Viramontes changes
diction levels to achieve
characterization.
STRUCTURAL LEVEL:
Topics:
 It deals with the relationships in
Mexican -American Families.
 Its purpose is to frame how
Mexican - Americans feel about death
and how they behave in this context.
 It also explores the theme of
female adolescence, because of the girl
who does not fulfill the conventional
expectations of femininity.
 The story focuses on hands and
sewing as a symbol of women’s work.
THE AUTHOR AND HER TIME
HELENA MARIA VIRAMONTES
Helena Maria Viramontes is a
Chicana writer; she was born in
East Los Angeles, California, on
February 26, 1954.
She began to write some poetry
and fiction in college and
started to be recognized.
She is the author of works such as “The
Moths, and other short stories”, “Their
dogs came with them”, and “Requiem for
the Poor” with which she received his
first award in a literary contest.
She also won many awards and honors
and some of her work is used in study
for classrooms and universities.
Viramontes focuses on the struggles and
sufferings of Chicana women with their
households, their culture, and their
society for write her stories.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The book The moths and other short
stories was an American novel published
in United States in 1985. This book
explores women’s struggles to
overcome the dictates of family, culture
and church. Prejudice and the social and
economic status of Chicanos often form

3. the backdrop for these haunting stories,
but their central, unifying theme deals
with the social and cultural values which
shape women’s live and which they
struggle against with varying degrees of
success.
In “The Moths” Helena Maria
Viramontes recounts the turmoil of her
home life and the love and protection
her grandmother provided.
REVIEW (COMMENT BY CRITICS)
 “The Moths” emphasizes the
narrator’s oppression by her
household’s religion and by the social
structures associated with it, juxtaposed
by the freedom for development
available within the native curandera
custom taught by her grandmother.
-Anonymous-
 It is clearly apparent that "The
Moths" is not only the title, but also an
important piece of the story which
embodies its central theme. The moths
become the catalyst that gives identity
to the grandmother and her
granddaughter, bringing revelation,
security, rebirth, and the desire to be
reunited. The grandmother, in becoming
a moth herself, leaves some of herself
behind with her grandchild.
-Anonymous-
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Viramontes, Helena Maria. "The Moths."
Growing Up Latino: Memoirs and
Stories. Eds. Harold Augenbraum and
Ilan Stavans. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
1993. 32–37. Print.
REFERENCES
Story Text
-"The Moths," The Moths and Other
Stories (1985)
-Helena Maria Viramontes, "The Moths"
Author
-Helena María Viramontes
-Research and Expertise Across
Cornell: Viramontes, Helena Maria
WORKSHEET
1. Do you know anything about
chicanos? What do you know? Identify
some sentences that define Chicanos’
style life.
2. Identify the specific Chicano
content of the story
3. What is the purpose of using
some Spanish in the story?
4. Identify the cultures in the story,
American and Mexican culture, ¿what is
the difference between them, taking into
account the text?