In Guillermo Lavin’s “Reaching the Shore” contains imagery of Maquiladoras, parental role model, machismo, and addiction. “Reaching the Shore” is about the Mexican culture and economic structure. Through these topics, I believe the idea of Mexican culture and economic structure are expressed. Jose Paul admires his father and wants to be just like him. I believe that as young boy growing up you look up to your father as that male role model you'd like to be when you're an adult. Jose Paul’s father works at the Maquiladoras and is addicted to pleasure chips. As a parent you want your child to have a better life than you've had and for them to be happy and successful. If Jose Paul follows the path his father has taken he will also work in
This collection of short stories focus a lot on things like, sexuality, family, the American Dream and belonging woven together by the story of a young immigrant man and his family. The author of this book, Junot Diaz, is an important figure in the writing
He believes that the “borderlands is a minefield of moral hazards, when approached without caution and with a sense of adventure and greed”. (Broughton 576) Ismael, Emilio’s brother, represents the second masculine stance which is the “adventurist”. Unlike his brother, he “embraces the rough opportunities and challenges that economic integration has fostered.” (Broughton 578) He embraces being an individual and “uses material possessions as progressive markers of merit and success for the migrant.” (Broughton 578) He talks about how he makes his choices for himself and not for Mexico.
There is only one person in our lives who loved and protected us from the moment that we born, our mothers. Thinking about that important person, Willie Perdomo wrote the poem “Unemployed Mami” in 2002 as part of the book Postcards of El Barrio (Poetry Foundation 2015). In “Unemployed Mami” and Postcard of El Barrio the author explores the culture, traditions and even the patriarchy that characterizes Puerto Ricans. Moreover, Perdomo shares the life of a son and the life of his beloved unemployed mother, in a time where women stayed at home without having a job, living from what their husbands earn. In order to enjoy and appreciate the content of this poems it is important to discuss what it means, where it takes place and what it tells about Perdomo’s life.
Latour is contemplative, straightforward, and dignified man who is able to find peace in himself and undergo a self journey along with change. He is able to embrace change by learning how to serve the Native American and the Mexican people of New Mexico. As Latour grows thorough his personal observations and struggles, he shows how strong his faith is by doing more that just build a Cathedral, but by teaching others to grow for their survival. When he arrives to his ‘new home’ Latour is welcomed with more than open arms as his arrival is seen as a prayer by the people around. After learning that there are children to be baptized and marriages to be performed, Latour takes it as a sign that he has made the right choice going to New Mexico.
It appears as though his mother is the opposite of his father as his father likely encourages them to keep following their own path and working hand. While on the other hand, his mother reminisces about the past when her children didn’t have to worry or stress about any of that. Rodriguez shows how the idea of the American dream affected the quality family traditions. He does this by describing an experience while using language and details about different family members and even himself. Although different
The stories of Junot Diaz feature various elements of social and personal issues that are highly prevalent in young Latinx men, primarily the compulsion and adverse effect of machismo, the poignancy of being an outcast in one’s community, and the lack of a father figure in a boy’s life. The first set of short stories prominently feature Ysrael, a Dominican boy whose face was disfigured by a pig when he was an infant. In “Ysrael”, he is the object of Yunior’s fascination, and the victim or Rafa’s (Yunior’s brother) torment.
In the essay "Children of Mexico," the author, Richard Rodriguez, achieves the effect of relaying his bittersweet feeling regarding how Mexicans stubbornly hold on to their past and heritage by not only relaying many personal experiences and images, but also by using an effective blend of formal and informal tone and a diction that provides a bittersweet tone. Among the variety of ways this is done, one is through repetitive reference to fog. The word is used many times in the essay, especially in segments relating to Mexican-Americans returning to Mexico for the winter. One of the more potent uses reads as follows: "The fog closes in, condenses, and drips day and night from the bare limbs of trees.
Through Antonio and Ultima, readers identify the creation of a culture that has been forge by war, discrimination, and common hardships. With Ultima being a powerful curandera, the story shows the importance of the female character within Mexican culture. Today, this is prevalent in many Mexican-American households, as the elderly women are held in the highest respect. Another aspect of Mexican-American Culture is masculinity, which is shown in Bless Me, Ultima when Antonio’s father says, “a man of the llano does not run from a fight” (Anaya, 1999, p.37). There are countless examples of Mexican-American masculinity in this novel, like when it mentions that Gabriel’s two eldest sons are fighting in WWII.
The immigrants entering the United States throughout its history have always had a profound effect on American culture. However, the identity of immigrant groups has been fundamentally challenged and shaped as they attempt to integrate into U.S. society. The influx of Mexicans into the United States has become a controversial political issue that necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their cultural themes and sense of identity. The film Mi Familia (or My Family) covers the journey and experiences of one Mexican-American (or “Chicano”) family from Mexico as they start a new life in the United States. Throughout the course of the film, the same essential conflicts and themes that epitomize Chicano identity in other works of literature
The text is important because not many people know the difficulties of being Mexican-American, especially when it comes to being themselves or the inner turmoil that comes with it; being Mexican-American means following traditions and speaking perfect Spanish, while at the same time having a grasp on American traditions and
“Oranges,” “The Seventieth Year,” and “Avocado Lake,” showcase Soto’s ability to move a reader using an emotional story without the use of rhyme or rhythm. Through Soto’s poetry, he indicates the traits that define Mexican-American community
Cofer addresses the cultural barriers and challenges that Latinos experience through emotional appeal, anecdotal imagery, parallelism and the use of effective periodic sentences. In her article, Cofer assesses the difficult cultural hurdles of Latin Americans with emotional appeal. She provides insight on her cultural barriers by first conveying the way she had to dress and her struggle, as it shows in this piece of text, “That morning I had organized… which to base my decision” (Cofer 5). This poignancy works to stress an agonizing feeling of uncertainty and restraint towards the author.
She poses more questions and introduces more concepts which leave the reader with this bittersweet feeling of nostalgia. In part three she touches on the subjects of genealogy as it pertains to desire. She extrapolates form the ideas of Sigmund Freud’s theory of the Psyche to argue how the Oedipus complex has left its imprint on Chicano/a cultures. She juxtaposes four “cultural bodies”, Selena, La Malinche, Delgadina, and Silent Tongue, which if read from a third space feminist interpretation shifts the perspective to unveil women’s desires through their own agency. She analyses the Oedipus complex and introduce the Oedipal conquest triangle.
Márquez ridicules traditional gender norms and the sociocultural pressures against men and women through repeatedly criticizing gender expectations held by both men and women in the novel. Márquez juxtaposes the role of men with that of women in Colombian society, writing that “brothers were brought up to be men” and “the girls had been reared to get married” (p.30). Contemporary readers may expect the sentence to read ‘the girls had been brought up to be women’ but Márquez wryly mocks Colombian values by challenging the perceptions of gender held by readers. Juxtaposition is utilised by the author to highlight the power imbalance between men and women in Colombian society, effectively satirizing gender roles. Additionally, Márquez shapes meaning in the sentence with diction through the utilisation of the word ‘brought up’ for men, and ‘reared’ for women, a word which is typically reserved for raising animals.
Octavio Paz, a Mexican poet and essayist, is one of the many philosophers with a written piece regarding his understanding of Lo Mexicano. Paz’s “Sons of La Malinche” was first published in the Labyrinth of Solitude in 1950 and is a rather grim interpretation of the Mexican character, however, it captures the crisis of identity that Mexico was burdened with after the conquest. Paz uses the Spanish term “chingar,” (when literally translated means “to screw, to violate”) and its associated phrases to understand the conquest and the effect