Enchanted Air: Two Cultures, Two Wings

The narrator/author is the speaker and the main protagonist of the memoir. She is intelligent and studious and skips grades in school, which contributes to feelings of isolation from her peers, reflected in poems such as “Different.” Engle’s perspective controls the narrative, despite the consistent appearance of characters such as Mami, Dad, Mad, and Abuelita. The author’s two primary characteristics are a love of nature, especially the tropical island environment of Cuba, and a love for poetry. These characteristics work together in the Enchanted Air, Wings, and Flight and the Storytelling and Poetry motifs, as Engle uses natural imagery and symbolism to represent the freedom of expression and voice poetry provides as the author comes to terms with the events of the Cold War.

Another important aspect of the author’s characterization as a narrator is the insecurity she demonstrates in response to Cultural Dichotomy and Belonging. As a child with a diverse racial background, Engle demonstrates insecurity regarding her appearance and her place in the family in poems such as “My American Dad,” when she laments her “blue-green-gray” eyes that are unlike her Mami and Mad (20).