The story “The Challenge” written by Gary Soto is about a teenager named Jose trying to get the attention of a girl named Estela at his middle school because he thinks she is cute and he likes her. He thinks a lot of different ways to get Estela’s attention, such as tripping in front of her, wiping out on his bike, or pretending to be James Bond's voice. He even got a full score on a history test just to amaze Estela but Estela did not even look at him. One day during lunch, Jose approaches her and says that he wants to challenge her to a racquetball game, a game Jose has never played before. Estela accepts the challenge of the racquetball match. Jose thinks it would be a piece of cake to win over Estela because he thinks Estela is a girl and girls are not as good as boys in sports. Unfortunately, Jose underestimates girls and loses the game with twenty-one to nada. He even gets hit in the back. Jose bikes back to his uncle’s home. He lifts weights to mend his broken heart. Just in case, Estela might look for another victory from Jose.
People should not have stereotypes of men being superior to women, as it can cause misunderstanding and discrimination toward women. Compared to men, women could be mistaken for weak people because of their physical limitations. But women may be as good as men, even better than men at certain things, such as sports or careers. At first, Jose thinks that he is able to beat Estela without practicing. This is confirmed by Jose’s dad. When Jose asks his dad “Has a girl beaten you at anything?” his father says, “No, I don’t think so”. But Jose has an internal conflict because Uncle Freddie advises “She’ll probably whip you twenty-one to nada.” In fact, Jose really loses the game to Estela with twenty-one to nothing. Jose is told by his father that men are superior to women. But Uncle Freddie suggests different views toward women: not all men are better than women other than talking. Through the fact that he loses the game to Estela, Jose finally realizes that he should not underestimate girls. Stereotypes about how people view men and women are unfair to women. People should get rid of thoughts of gender discrimination.
During adolescents, it is very common for teens to potentially experience psychological growth, especially in the issue of boy-girl relationships. To get the attention of a person he or she appreciates, psychological growth can help teenagers know more about themselves, which in turn, motivates them to become better. Jose knows that Estela is very smart academically so he wants to impress her by boosting his scores. Jose tries his very best and he gets a full score on a history test, which he has never done before, to amaze Estela. Similarly, Jose knows that Estela plays racquetball, so he challenges her to a game. Although he loses the game badly, he realizes that his ability in sports is not sufficient and he needs to improve it. I support the idea of liking someone during adolescence because it teaches teenagers what they are capable of and what areas they need to work on. It also helps teenagers learn how to interact with girls or boys as well as how to manage the love feeling inside them. So it is not a bad thing for teenagers to explore boy-girl relationships as long as they respect others. Appreciating someone or having experiences in love could actually help teenagers become more mature.
People shouldn’t bite off more than what they can chew when making a decision. That being said, people should think carefully about what they can do and what they cannot do before making decisions. To get attention from Estela, Jose pretends that he knows everything about racquetball. He even says that he wins several tournaments. But in fact, Jose never plays racquetball before. Such exaggerated behavior not only causes Jose an injury on his back but also doesn’t win the respect of Estela. It is better for people not to do something that is too difficult for them. When people are trying to accomplish an impossible challenge, not only it would bring negative consequences but also it costs their energy, time, and effort, or even hurt themselves. When people set up or accept a challenge, they should think thoroughly about what their current ability is and choose the challenge that matches their current ability. People shouldn't take on more than what they can bargain for. If they take too much, they will overexhaust themselves.
The whole story talks about how Jose feels about Estela. Through the eyes of Jose, we as the audience learn about gender discrimination, psychological growth in teens, and don’t overestimate ourselves. Don't treat women as weak or soft people just because of their natural body figures. Sometimes women could do a better job than men at certain things other than talking or housework. Having experiences in boy-girl relationships could help teenagers to learn how to interact with girls or boys, how to manage love feelings, and learn more about themselves. It is okay to dream big, but it is not okay to accept impossible challenges to achieve dreams; otherwise, people may waste energy and time or even hurt themselves.
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