The Pura Principle

This short story was quite a surprise for me when I first started reading it. When I saw the directions before I read the story to discuss about the illness and how it helps hinder/help to get the message across, I thought that the story would be more of a motivational type of story. However, as I started reading, shocking statements of cursing were revealed. I believe that this beginning sets the tone for the short story. In this short story, it illustrates the life of the narrator, Yunior and his mother and how they have to tend to his older brother Rafa and his situation with cancer. Throughout the story, Rafa portrays a rebellious personality. No matter how much love his mother seems to give to him, there seems to be no breaking through. I would think that a cancer patient would have a completely different outlook on life, but I was shocked at how Rafa dealt with his life. He attempted to keep a job, go partying, married a woman that he barely knew, and even stole from his own family.
I actually had mixed feelings for the meaning of this story. One thought that I have is of how loving Rafa's mother was even to the end of the short story toward Rafa. I understand that he is her son, but I don't understand why Rafa just doesn't get it. I also thought about how Rafa just never seemed to change at all during the story. He didn't even change or have any sign of changing at the end. I had a feeling that Rafa would try to do something to Yunior, and I was right at the end when Rafa threw a lock at his face. Having this as a short story kept me interested and helped me keep reading. I was able to understand it better because it had a plot and story to it.