In Sandra Cisneros's short story "Never Marry A Mexican," family dynamics are displayed throughout two families. The first family is composed of a mother, father and two daughters(one of which is the author). The other is made up of a mother-father and son. The family dynamics in this story begin within the first family, where the mother marries an older man who falls dreadfully ill and she becomes unfaithful to their marriage before his death. This act passed down a lifelong impact onto her two daughters. One of the daughters (who's also the author) is named, Clemencia. She is deeply affected by her mother's actions and carries them around as a heavy burden for most of her life. The weight she is carrying was built by her mother committing adultery and marrying an older man while she was still young herself. Clemencia then takes this weight and throws it around, smashing it into other families. There is one family in particular that she becomes attached to in her demolishing ways, and that is the second family of this short story. The second family is accompanied by Drew, his wife, Megan, and their son. Clemencia takes this burden she is carrying, and directs it towards Drew's family. I believe she has a miscued moral perspective on life, which was passed down to her through her mother's actions. This creates the framework of the first families dynamics. Also it has started the "butterfly effect" passing the cycle of the first families values and beliefs, onto the second family that is introduced into Clemencias' world. The base of this entire story is driven by the relationship that Clemencia has had with her mother. The first line reads "Never marry a Mexican, my ma said once and always."(109) The author did not start with this line coincidentally, she is really trying to get the point across that her mother had passed down this information to her. What her mother wanted it to mean was, never marry too young before you really know yourself as a person, and don't be drawn into a relationship by flashy apparel or smooth talk. Rather soul search and find out who that person truly is and what beliefs they're really made of. Due to poor moral choices of her mother the me