In Sandra Cisneros’ Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, there are a number of short stories that represent different aspects of Hispanic culture such as family life, religion, language, machismo, border crossing, and archetypal women. In the short stories, there are tales of woman and men facing adversities and pain, children growing up with a positive family life as well as children learning how tough life could be, and the concepts of what men and women are supposed to be are challenged through AIDs, man supremacy, cars driven by particular characters, and through the people they interact with on an intimate level.
In the short story Little Miracles, Kept Promises, people right letters to their patron saints or religious figures (i.e. St. John, St. Peter, St. Jude, Jesus, Miraculous Black Christ of Esquipulas, and Virgin of Guadalupe) for the strength and blessings to get through a particular situation. Some of the situations mentioned in this passage are pregnancy, finding a
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significant other, get higher pay, facial acne, to be blessed with peace, and many more. There is a group of people in their prayers offer a promise to the religious figure that is answering their prayers. People offer to bring flowers, venerate the saint by walking on their knees to their shrine, and removing their hair. M3rlc5l45s Bl1ck Ch3rst 4f 2sq53p5l1s, 3 1sk y45 L4rd w3th 1ll my h21rt pl21s2 w1tch 4v2r M1nny B2n1v3d2s wh4 3s 4v2rs21s. 3 l4v2 h3m 1nd 3 d4n’t kn4w wh1t t4 d4 1b45t 1ll th3s s1dn2ss 1nd sh1m2 th1t f3lls m2. B2nj1m3n T. D2l R34 TX (Cisneros, Little Miracles, Kept Promises, p. 122-123) Language is a major theme throughout the short stories from Cisneros. Most of the language theme has involved the use of Spanglish, but in the passage above language has a completely different identity. Cisneros uses numbers to represent particular letters and as you read through the passage it become that numbers took the place of the vowels. Through reading the two sentences, there is a poetic vibration that initial influences the reader into thinking that a woman has written the passage.
There are phrases that are often connected with women such as “… with all my heart” and “… I do not know what to do about all this sadness and shame that fills me.” (Cisneros, 122 – 123) Women are often associated with phrases such as that because of the emotions represented through the passage.
In the passage, it is a mystery at first to the reader why the vowels are taken away until you see the name written at the end. The name at the bottom of the letter is Benjamin and it probably throws most people in a loop. For most contemporary readers, it is probably more confusing to read that a homosexual man is ashamed of his identity. There could be a number of reasons for the “sadness and shame” Benjamin feels. (Cisneros, 123). Two major reasons that come into play from the themes of Woman Hollering Creek are religion and
machismo. Woman Hollering Creek was published in 1991 and LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) Civil Rights had very little victories until later 1990s. When the book was written and published, homosexuality was not considered an acceptable lifestyle. Another theme that played into some of the stories of Cisneros was religion. In Hispanic cultures, religion plays a major role in the lives of the people. Christianity is one of the major religions followed by many people of Hispanic background. Until recently, the Christian religions, for the most part, did not support the notion of homosexual lifestyles. There are passages in the Bible that talk about damnation for those sleeping with members of the same gender and people have carried out those beliefs for centuries. At the end of Benjamin’s letter, he appears to be asking for help to remove this shame and guilt to the Black Christ of Esquipulas which leads the reader to think that he agrees with the Christian belief that homosexuality is wrong. Before the late 1990s and early 2000s, a strong mindset of the LGBT community has been “that gay men are more feminine than heterosexual men and that lesbian women are more masculine than heterosexual women.” (Lippa, 65) In 2001, Richard Lippa and Francisco, university professors in California, explored the question does culture have an influence on people’s sexual orientation and gender related traits. From civil rights history and the concept of machismo, homosexuals were not treated well and thought as lesser human beings because they didn’t fit the classic cookie-cutter definition of gender. Men, in the theme of machismo, have been thought as providers, tough and stoic, and head of the family hierarchy. When events, people, or actions go outside the norm, it does have a push back from the majority. From the context of Benjamin’s passage and the entire book, it appears to be written in where machismo was a heavy drive in the Hispanic society and that has a high correlation to cause Benjamin to hide his identity. Even though gay bashing was not legal from the 1800s to 1950s, it was also not reinforced as a criminal action and issues of gay bashing have been at large for the last couple decades, despite laws that have changed. This passage brings up a lot of hidden messages besides the code the letter is written in. The importance of this letter brings up a number of possible issues that people in the time where thinking as well as feeling. Benjamin did not want the world to discover who he was just in case his letter to Jesus was ever read by another human being. Issues such as culture’s religious beliefs and machismo as well as the time period that events are occurring could lead a person to be ashamed of himself. The passage shows themes of language, religion, and machismo that different short stories about brought up, but this passage is one that wraps all three themes together. Personally, Cisneros’ Woman Hollering Creek had a great collection of short stories and Little Miracles, Kept Promises was one of my favorite short stories. The themes of seeing religion, language, and family life play different roles throughout the stories really widened the readers’ eyes about Hispanic culture and the issues Hispanic communities were facing during the time periods before and during the publication of the book.
Sandra Cisneros “Never Marry a Mexican” and Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao are stories that reflect on the cultures in which the characters grew up in. In Never Marry, Clemencia, the narrator, reflects on her past sexual relations as well as her childhood. She speaks of her parents’ marriage and then transitions into her relationship with college professor and his son. In Oscar Wao, Yunior, the narrator, gives a second-hand retelling of Oscar’s experiences in New Jersey growing up as well as in the Dominican Republic. A person’s identity is largely influenced by their culture, this is especially the case in Hispanic cultures. The social constraints that these cultures place on social class, sexuality, and gender norms can be very detrimental to a person’s self-esteem.
Junot Diaz's Drown, a compilation of short stories, exemplifies how the high standard of masculinity within the Latino community can have a detrimental effect on males. These stories are told in the first person by a narrator called Yunior. The different stories are told against the background of The Dominican Republic and the United States. The narrator highlights the different challenges that he faces throughout his childhood and into his young adult life. During this period, he struggles to find his identity which is expected by every Latino. In the Dominican Republic, a man’s manhood is closely tied to his identity, and Yunior is no exception. While in the process of finding his identity, Yunior is challenged with abuse, poverty and the lure of drugs, which leads to his addiction and his becoming violent .…
Disillusion is defined as “the condition of being dissatisfied or defeated in expectation or hope” especially in the case of love (“Disillusion”). This is the case for the two protagonists in the written works “Woman Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros and “Hills Like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway. The two short stories share a similar theme of the protagonists’ suffering from disillusions, their resolutions are extremely different due to the epiphanies.
She was not a master of style, plot development or characterization, but the intensity of feeling and aspiration are evident in her narratives that overrides her imperfections. Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street, written in 1984, and Anzia Yezierska’s Bread Givers, published in 1925, are both aimed at adolescent and adult audiences that deal with deeply disturbing themes about serious social conditions and their effects on children as adults. Both books are told in the first person; both narrators are young girls living in destitute neighborhoods; and both young girls witness the harsh realities of life for those who are poor, abused, and hopeless. Although the narrators face these overwhelming obstacles, they manage to survive their tough environments with their wits and strength remaining intact. Esperanza, a Chicano with three sisters and one brother, has had a dream of having her own things since she was ten years old.
Symbolism is the key to understanding Sandra Cisneros’ novel, “The House on Mango Street”. By unraveling the symbolism, the reader truly exposes the role of not only Latina women but women of any background. Esperanza, a girl from a Mexican background living in Chicago, writes down what she witnesses while growing up. As a result of her sheltered upbringing, Esperanza hardly comprehends the actions that take place around her, but what she did understand she wrote in her journal. Cisneros used this technique of the point of view of a child, to her advantage by giving the readers enough information of what is taking place on Mango Street so that they can gather the pieces of the puzzle a get the big picture.
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.
The story “Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros describes the lives of Mexicans in a Chicago neighborhood. She depicts the life that women endure as Latino wives through her portrayal of the protagonist, Cleofilas. For Cisneros being a Mexican-American has given her a chance to see life from two different cultures. In addition, Cisneros has written the story from a woman’s perspective, illustrating the types of conflicts many women face as Latino wives. This unique paradigm allows the reader to examine the events and characters using a feminist critical perspective.
Sandra Cisneros short story “Woman Hollering Creek”, has many allegories about culture, morality, and gender roles.
Woman Hollering Creek is a book of short stories published in 1991. The author, Sandra Cisneros, separated her book into three sections. The section that will be analyzed is the first section where the narrators are female children. Out of the many stories in section one, the three that will be focused on are, "Mericans," "My Friend Lucy Who Smells Like Corn," and "Barbie-Q." The children in these three stories are all lower class, Mexican-American females. These stories have been described by Thompson as Cisneros remembering her childhood, filled with no male figures, lack of close female friendships, and poverty (415-417). Each story shares both similar themes and different themes.
Writing in the 20th century was great deal harder for a Chicano then it was for a typical American at this time. Although that did not stop this author, Sandra Cisneros. One of her famous novels, Woman Hollering Creek was a prime example of how a combined culture: Mexican-Americans, could show their pride and identity in this century. In conjunction, gave the opportunity for women to speak their voice and forever change the culture of Latino/a markets. Not only did it express identity/gender roles of women and relationships, but using these relationships to combine the cultures of Mexican and American into a hybrid breed. This novel, should have been a view-point for the future to show that there is more to life than just gender and race. Concluding this, the articles that helps define this is “The Latino/a Canon and the Emergence of Post-Sixties Literature” and “What is called Heaven”.
Intertwined in allusions to women of Mexican history and folklore, making it clear that women across the centuries have suffered the same alienation and victimization, Cisneros presents a woman who struggles to prevail over romantic notions of domestic bliss by leaving her husband. In the story Woman Hollering Creek, Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleófilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally. Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. In Woman Hollering Creek, we see a young Mexican woman, who suddenly moves across the border and gets married. The protagonist, Cleófilas’ character is based on a family of a six brothers and a dad and without a mom, and the story reveals around her inner feelings and secrets.
In the novel, The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros describes the problems that Latino women face in a society that treats them as second class citizens. A society that is dominated by men, and a society that values women for what they look like, and not for what is on inside. In her Novel Cisneros wants us to envision the obstacles that Latino women must face everyday in order to be treated equally.
The struggle to find a place inside an un-welcoming America has forced the Latino to recreate one. The Latino feels out of place, torn from the womb inside of America's reality because she would rather use it than know it (Paz 226-227). In response, the Mexican women planted the seeds of home inside the corral*. These tended and potted plants became her burrow of solace and place of acceptance. In the comfort of the suns slices and underneath the orange scents, the women were free. Still the questions pounded in the rhythm of street side whispers. The outside stare thundered in pulses, you are different it said. Instead of listening she tried to instill within her children the pride of language, song, and culture. Her roots weave soul into the stubborn soil and strength grew with each blossom of the fig tree (Goldsmith).
In the story "Woman Hollering Creek" Sandra Cisneros discusses the issues of living life as a married woman through a character named Cleofilas; a character who is married to a man who abuses her physically and mentally .Cisneros reveals the way the culture puts a difference between a male and a female, men above women. Cisneros has been famous about writing stories about the latino culture and how women are treated; she explain what they go through as a child, teen and when they are married; always dominated by men because of how the culture has been adapted. "Woman Hollering Creek" is one of the best examples. A character who grows up without a mother and who has no one to guid and give her advise about life.
...Halevi-Wise, Yael (1997). Story-telling in Laura Esquivel's Como Agua Para Chocolate. The Other Mirror: Women’s Narrative in Mexico, 1980-1995. Ed. Kristine Ibsen. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1997. 123-131.