PLZ HELP excerpt from "First Love"
Judith Ortiz Cofer

I fell in love, or my hormones awakened from their long slumber in my body, and suddenly the goal of my days was focused on one thing: to catch a glimpse of my secret love. And it had to remain secret, because I had, of course, in the great tradition of tragic romance, chosen to love a boy who was totally out of my reach. He was not Puerto Rican; he was Italian and rich. He was also an older man. He was a senior at the high school when I came in as a freshman. I first saw him in the hall, leaning casually on a wall that was the border line between girlside and boyside for underclassmen. He looked extraordinarily like a young Marlon Brando—down to the ironic little smile. The total of what I knew about the boy who starred in every one of my awkward fantasies was this: He was the nephew of the man who owned the supermarket on my block; he often had parties at his parents’ beautiful home in the suburbs which I would hear about; this family had money (which came to our school in many ways)—and this last fact made my knees weak: He worked at the store near my apartment building on weekends and in the summer.

Refer to Explorations in Literature for a complete version of this narrative.

Which statement best explains how Cofer shapes the theme that love does not come easily to everyone in this passage?

She explains that her one goal is "to catch a glimpse of my secret love."

She explains that she had, "of course, in the great tradition of tragic romance, chosen to love a boy who was totally out of my reach."

She explains that "[h]e worked at the store near my apartment building on weekends and in the summer."

She explains that "[h]e was not Puerto Rican; he was Italian and rich."