Sotomayor's Analysis

In My Beloved World, Justice Sonia Sotomayor chronicles her rise from an impoverished childhood in the Bronx to a successful legal career. Sotomayor offers a simple rationale for her ability to make this improbable rise: the help of mentors. Throughout her life, Sotomayor relies on the advice and help of others, allowing her to first see beyond her poor neighborhood then reach the summit of the legal profession. Sotomayor both seeks mentorship from obvious sources like her mother, her grandmother, and later professors, and qualities in friends and colleagues. Sotomayor makes it clear: her ability to make mentors of friends and superiors allowed her to reach the office she holds today. As she grew up, Sotomayor sought mentors who would allow her to see beyond her impoverished childhood. As a child, Sotomayor “wouldn’t suffer the same lack of
In all her relationships, Sotomayor asks herself “what can I learn here? What qualities in this friend, this mentor, even this rival are worth emulating” (357). At Princeton, Sotomayor leans on others more than ever; for example, when she feels ill-cultured, Sotomayor asks her friend to “guide [her] thoughtfully toward a long lists of classics” (171). When, she fails to successfully complete her psychology experiment, Sotomayor is up front and garners the respect of her professor. He declares that “not every experiment is a success” (166) and takes mercy on her due to her earnest request for help. Even after Princeton, Sotomayor continues to seek the help of others, finding a mentor in José Cabranes. He eventually offers her a job, jump-starting her career. Finally, the help of Dave Botwinik, starts Sotomayor’s judicial career, as he continually pushes her to apply as a judge. Through these experiences, Sotomayor learns “it’s better to accept a gift with ‘Thank you’ than ‘You shouldn’t have”