The Marijuana Party by Mary Helen Ponce
"The Marijuana Party" by Mary Helen Ponce revolves around Petra, a Mexican American housewife in Los Angeles who seeks excitement on her fortieth birthday. Feeling constrained by her daily routine of household responsibilities, Petra decides to invite two friends, Tottie and Emily, to celebrate in a more adventurous manner. In a moment of spontaneity, she pulls out a marijuana cigarette she found after a visit from her nephew and proposes sharing it with her friends as a form of rebellion against her mundane life.
As the gathering unfolds, Petra's playful and uninhibited side emerges, creating a contrast with Emily's more conservative views, leading to moments of tension and humor. Throughout the celebration, unexpected interruptions from family and neighbors heighten the situation, exposing the conflicting dynamics of suburban life and the stigma surrounding marijuana use. The narrative ultimately challenges perceptions of propriety and motherhood, exploring themes of friendship, societal expectations, and the quest for personal freedom. The story concludes with a blend of humor and uncertainty, leaving readers to reflect on the complexities of adult life and the choices individuals make for a sense of liberation.
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The Marijuana Party by Mary Helen Ponce
First published: 1992
Type of plot: Domestic realism
Time of work: The late twentieth century
Locale: Los Angeles, California
Principal Characters:
Petra , a Mexican American housewife celebrating her fortieth birthdayTottie , andEmily (Amalia) , her friends and neighbors
The Story
It is the fortieth birthday of Petra, a lower-middle-class Mexican American housewife living in Los Angeles. The plump, graying mother of two school-age children, she lives a life filled with cooking, cleaning, shopping, and caring for her family. Looking for excitement to mark this significant day, she wants to do something dangerous and prohibited—something that her children would call "far out." The only thing that she can think of, however, is to go shopping, which would scarcely provide the excitement that she craves, particularly because she has just done it the day before. Petra decides, therefore, to invite two good friends, Tottie and Emily, to join her celebration, even though Emily, the younger of the two, is "Goody Two Shoes." Before calling them, she bakes pumpkin bread and dusts her already spotless house. While dusting, she rediscovers the marijuana cigarette that she found in the patio after a recent visit from her nephew, a rock musician, and decides that sharing the joint with her friends will provide the perfect celebration.
While waiting for her friends, Petra carefully applies makeup and dresses in a blouse and K-Mart polyester pants. Tottie and Emily appear almost simultaneously, each curious about what surprise Petra plans to share with them. Petra, stalling for dramatic effect, first serves them chips, salsa, and wine. Although outwardly a prim and responsible housewife, Petra drops all of her inhibitions and uses raunchy slang and makes repeated references to sex, calling her birthday "the birth of the biggest sexpot in history!" Emily, embarrassed, tries to change the subject by discussing the new PTA drug awareness committee; however, Petra swiftly cuts her off by leading her friends into the bedroom to see her surprise. When her friends wonder what the strange, wrinkled cigarette is, she calls it a miracle drug from Lourdes. Emily smiles her approval, but when Tottie cries out that it is marijuana, Emily is shocked by the idea of using an illegal substance. She is even more horrified to discover that both her friends have watched porno movies that Tottie once found in her son's car. She runs from the bedroom to get another glass of wine but quickly returns.
As the friends attempt to get high on the marijuana cigarette, unexpected visitors interrupt their party. First the mail carrier knocks, expecting to have a cup of coffee and chat as he often does. Then Petra's obstreperous daughter storms in, having forgotten her lunch. No sooner does her daughter leave but another neighbor shows up, complaining about rowdy children ditching school and smoking pot outside her back fence. Each visitor notices a strange odor, despite Emily's constant, frantic attempts to mask the smell with pine-scented spray; however, Petra deflects their curiosity and sends them on their way.
The final intrusion personifies Emily's greatest fear—a police officer. The officer is patrolling the neighborhood encouraging the residents to be on the lookout for a man in a blue car who is suspected of dealing pot to the local kids. Noticing the strange odor in the house, he insists on investigating, but Petra suddenly remembers having seen a strange blue car cruising the street a few minutes earlier, and she also reports that her neighbor has complained about pot-smoking truants behind her house.
By now, the marijuana joint is spent and the three friends are sure they are high, so Petra suggests that they watch a porno film. Emily, despite earlier professing shock that her friends would watch such things, agrees to join them in order to evaluate the film because she has recently joined Catholic Mothers Against Pornography.
The story ends as Petra invites her friends to return two hours earlier the next Friday, promising to stay on the lookout for a blue car.