Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Essays on chicano literature
Essays on chicano literature
The history of chicano culture
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Catholicism glorifies and represents mothers as the main foundation of the family through the example of the passive and unconditional loving Mary, the mother of Jesus Crist. This idea of the mother as unconditional lover beings has been passed on and reproduced in the Chicana/o community. Gil Cuadros and Reyna Grande through their autobiographical work testify against this predominate idea of the mothers being caring and loving persons. Even though most mothers fall into the norm of a normal mother, normality is subjective, therefore Cuadros and Grande’s work represent the complexities of reality. Grande’s The Distance Between Us and Cuadro’s City of God are autobiographical narratives that incorporate reality as a form of testimonial of existence, an act of healing and resilience. Given that these author’s life experiences can be …show more content…
In this chapter Reyna is reunited with her father, however she is disappointed of their detachment. Even though, she has complicated relationships with both of her parents with the inclusion of this scene the reader learns of the relationship between her and Mago. To Reyna this sisterhood bond is valuable and fundamental to Reyna’s growth. Due to the emotional distance between Reyna and her parents the siblings foster a stronger bond as an act of resilience against their complex relationships with their parents. Taking in consideration the achievements of Reyna Grande as an author, aside of growing up in poverty and the difficult relationship with her parents is an act of personal resilience. By sharing her story Grande can foster community resilience for those that find representation in her work. Also, due to her vulnerability and act of letting the reader into her healing process, her narrative creates a sense of empathy in the reader and for those with similar experiences solidarity and
The book “The distance between us” is the story of immigration written by Reyna Grande. The book recounts her true personal story before and after entering the United States. The story shows how poverty and parenting impacts the family. Grande was 2years old when her dad left her, 4 years old when her mom (Juana) left her and her two siblings (Mago and Carlos) with her grandmother in the Mexico. Since, then she was seeking her parents either her dad or mom in the story. Her illegal and undocumented entry in the United States depicits the struggles and challenges she faced while crossing the border. After she arrived in the United States she found that living in the U.S was not that easy what she has dreamed for and “The man behind the glass” was not like that what she had met before. Her siblings were angry because of their not supportive mother and abusive father which weaken their intimacy in the family. Instead, Mago her elder
Doña Guadalupe is a woman of great strength and power, power and strength which she draws from her devout faith and her deep and loving compassion for her family, and power and strength which is passed down to her children. “‘Well, then, come in,’ she said, deciding that she could be handle this innocent-girl-stealing coyote inside. On going into the long tent, Salvador felt like he’d entered the web of a spider, the old woman was eyeing him so deliberately” (360). Doña Guadalupe is a very protective woman, which is extremely speculative when it comes to her children, this is especially true when it comes to boys, because she has not gone this far only for all of her hard work to be ruined by a no good boy. This shows how protective she is, she loves her family, and especially her kids so much that they themselves must pass her test before being able to pass on to her children. “The newborns were moving, squirming, reaching out for life. It was truly a sign from God” (58). Doña Guadalupe is also a very devout and faithful person. She sees God in everything and in everyone and by that fact, what she sees and who she sees is true, and she tries to be a model of clairvoyance for the family. “Doña Guadalupe put the baby’s little feet in a bowel of warm water, and the child clinging to his mother. He never cried, listening to her heartbeat, the same music that he’d heard from inside the womb” (57). Finally, Doña Guadalupe is very passionate which allows for a great model upon which her children follow. This further shows how she is clearly th...
Sor Juana de la Cruz is born into a wealthy family in 1648 that lived near Mexico City, Mexico. After being a part of the Viceregal court and a lady in waiting, Cruz begins her spiritual journey and joins the convent. Here, Cruz explores both secular and non-secular studies. She is an exceptionally talented writer with a passion for reading, learning, and writing. She is scolded for the information she writes and is told to focus exclusively on religious dogma. Soon after the Bishop of Pubela reads one of her letters, he publishes it (without her knowing), and she responds with a respectful yet sarcastic letter (Lawall and Chinua 155-156). Cruz’s “Reply to Sor Filotea de la Cruz” was written during the period of Enlightenment of Europe (1660- 1770). This era in Europe casted an opaque shadow over women’s rights to educate themselves and self-expression. Sor Juana’s piece however is both inspirational and empoweri...
The Sanchez Family is a large family that emigrated to the United States of America from Mexico. The family is deeply rooted in the Catholic faith and retains their Mexican culture. The family members that this case analysis will focus on are Hector Sanchez and his daughter, Gloria Sanchez. This analysis will provide a review of the family members and how each lens and theory is related to the family member and their presenting concerns.
Reyna Grande 's novel, Across a Hundred Mountains, focuses on the dynamic of the development and rethinking of the concept of a traditional Latino patriarchal family built up around male dominance. In low income and uneducated cultures, there are set of roles that throughout time have been passed by from generation to generation. These gender roles most often consist of the men being the breadwinner for the family. While the women stay home to cook, clean, and raise the children. Women are treated as possessions with limited rights and resources. Throughout the novel, Grandes challenges gender roles in the story of a young woman named Juana who, despite all adversity, fights stereotypes and is able to rewrite her own ending.
Demetria Martínez’s Mother Tongue is divided into five sections and an epilogue. The first three parts of the text present Mary/ María’s, the narrator, recollection of the time when she was nineteen and met José Luis, a refuge from El Salvador, for the first time. The forth and fifth parts, chronologically, go back to her tragic experience when she was seven years old and then her trip to El Salvador with her son, the fruit of her romance with José Luis, twenty years after she met José Luis. And finally the epilogue consists a letter from José Luis to Mary/ María after her trip to El Salvador. The essay traces the development of Mother Tongue’s principal protagonists, María/ Mary. With a close reading of the text, I argue how the forth chapter, namely the domestic abuse scene, functions as a pivotal point in the Mother Tongue as it helps her to define herself.
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
Delgadillo, Theresa. "Forms of Chicana Feminist Resistance: Hybrid Spirituality in Ana Castillo's So Far From God."Modern Fiction Studies. 44.4 (1998): 888-914. Delgadillo, Theresa. "Forms of Chicana Feminist Resistance: Hybrid Spirituality in Ana Castillo's So Far From God."Modern Fiction Studies. 44.4 (1998): 888-914. .
...s Antonio, and she teaches him to look beyond what he first sees. She shows that everything connects, that even his parents’ different live styles rely on each other. Her recognition of this connection “profoundly changes a boy who has lived in fear of his environment” (Novoa 4). This lesson is repeated throughout the novel.
In the book “Bless Me Ultima”, by Rudolpho Anaya, there were two families represented, the Marez family and the Lunas family. These two families were very different, but were brought together by the marriage of Gabriel Marez and Maria Lunas. Through the eyes of their son Antonio one may see the comparison of the two. The differentiation of these two families is very clearly noticeable, such as in their personalities, the expression of their religion, and their everyday ways of life.
Family is one of the most important institutions in society. Family influences different aspects of a person’s life, such as their religion, values, morals and behavior. Unfortunately, problems may arise when an individual’s belief system or behavior does not coincide with that of family standards. Consequently, individuals may be forced to repress their emotions or avoid acting in ways that that are not acceptable to the family. In the novel The Rain God, written by Arturo Islas, we are presented with a story about a matriarchal family that deals with various conflicts. One major internal conflict is repression. Throughout the novel the characters act in strange ways and many of the family members have internal “monsters” that represent the past that they are repressing. In his article, “The Historical Imagination in Arturo Islas’s The Rain God and Migrant Souls”, Antonio C. Marquez’s implicitly asserts a true idea that The Rain God is a story about repression. Marquez’s idea can be supported from an analysis of secondary sources and a reading of the primary text.
...l Castillo, R. 1994. La Familia: Chicano Families in the Urban Southwest, 1848 to the present. Notre Dame: University of Notre Dame Press.
Many reviews have been written on Julia Alvarez since she is a Dominican Diaspora, a Jew who lived outside of Israel, who wrote in a Latina perspective in the country of Uni...
They wrote these pieces to show the hardships that a women may endure in life but how they can overcome them with internal strength and perseverance. The goal of these works were to not only convey the issues at hand but how women can overcome them, which creates a sense of hope and triumph for the audience. With their many metaphors and symbolisms and hinting at personal experiences, the authors present a deeper meaning to their works which in turn gives a greater impact to
Joaquin Temistocles Freire, from Rio Grande of the North, officer of the military Police of Pernambuco, spiritualist, though not member of religious groups, good, intelligent, capable of loving: my father. Edeltruvis Neves Freire, from Pernambuco, Catholic, sweet, good, just: my mother…With them I learned that dialogue that I have procured to continue with the world, with men, with God, with my wife, with my kids. The respect of my father for my mother’s beliefs taught me, from infancy, to respect the opinions of others…The economic crisis of 1929 obligated my family to move to Jaboatao, where it seemed less difficult to live…In Jaboatao I lost my father. In Jaboatao I experienced what hunger is and understood what hunger for the rest is. In Jaboatao, still a child, I became a man thanks to pain and ...