During an interview in 1983, printed in the New Yorker just last year, Reinaldo Arenas was asked, “Does a writer have a duty to himself and to society?” Arenas replies that it is indeed the job of the writer to write their best, but defines that as “when a writer writes, he’s always referring to a social and historical context.” Arenas was a Cuban writer, exiled for being openly homosexual and rebelling against the Cuban government through his written works. He was also very autobiographical in his work, and as it would appear in his New Yorker interview, this is where his passion and writing flourished. Reinaldo Arenas used his own marginalized voice as openly homosexual man in Cuba and commentary on Castro’s regime to challenge the persecution of the individual in Cuba.
In 1961, Fidel Castro, Cuba’s dictator, introduced the Marxist-Leninist ideology to the Cuban people, “by grafting it onto the images, symbols, values, and concepts of Cuban nationalism” (Medin 53). This ideology was promoted through what Medin describes as a world where there are no "in-betweens," but instead only "good and evil", and any straying from that perceived norm was seen as counter-revolutionary and must be removed so they wouldn’t corrupt the process of developing a “homogenous revolutionary social consciousness” (Morales-Diaz 1). “The notion of ‘counter-revolutionaries’ and the connection to capitalist nations epitomizes the revolutionary government's contempt for anyone who is not on the side of the communist revolution" (Medin 40). In that way, Castro was creating enemies of any Cubans who weren’t up to his standards. According to Arenas, this new idea of unifying Cuba came at the expense of the persecution of a large segment of the population an...
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...ower he has to leave his readers uncomfortable.
In the conclusion of his interview with the New Yorker and answering the question, “Does a writer have a duty to himself and to society?” Reinaldo Arenas said, “If someone is a true writer—not an opportunist who wants to be in favor with the government of the day—that person is always going to be for freedom. Because the simple truth is that without freedom, the writer cannot exist.” Arenas was a huge advocate for not only the freedom of homosexuals in Cuba, but the individual. In 1990, after battling AIDS, Arenas committed suicide. In a final letter he wrote, "My message is not a message of failure," he declared, "but rather one of struggle and hope. Cuba will be free, I already am.” The writer worked hard to reclaim the "marginalized voice" by rebelling against the norms Castro established and lift up the individual.
On July 26, 1953, the war for Cuba’s independence began, and for 6 years many Cubans fought for their freedom. The most famous of these revolutionary icons being Fidel Castro, who led the main resistance against the Cuban government. On January 1, 1959, Fidel Castro and the rest of the Cuban's succeeded. This revolutionary war went on to affect the entire world and Eric Selbin believes it is still affecting it. Throughout Eric Selbin's article, Conjugating the Cuban Revolution, he firmly states that the Cuban revolution is important in the past, present, and future. Selbin, however, is wrong.
Richard Rodriguez author and journalist wrote a short piece “Scholarship Boy” to explain to his audience of underprivileged children wanting a better future, the scarifies he endured as a young child: the loss of family ties and knowing himself in order to succeed a better self. Another great author who faced huge sacrifices is known as none other than abolitionist leader Fredrick Douglass, “Learning to Read and Write” giving his found audience a look into the various dangerous tasks he took to give himself a better chance of survival. The two pieces show how one boy sacrificed so much in order to free himself and the other coming from less harsh circumstances but understand sacrifices just as well. All to be able to have a better and brighter future.
Manuel Munoz discusses topics that may be considered controversial to many people, but this doesn’t stop him from creating brilliant pieces of writing.
In the 1950s, a ruthless tyrant took over the power of a once free nation in Cuba. This tyrant is called Fidel Castro. Castro separated families, destroyed Cuba’s economic prosperity, and denounced religion and the religious rights of his people. He imprisoned, tortured, and killed thousands of Cubans that stood up against him. However, those that weren’t killed were forced to leave the country and to never return. Due to the vicious and savage actions performed by Fidel Castro, mankind is inherently evil.
The Dominican Republic was not a very good place to live in during the 1950s. Dictator Rafael Leonid, better known as Trujillo made an effort to associate the country with white Americans in 1939. This caused a generation of Dominicans to hate the nearby Haitians. He banned many traditional rituals and deplored the Haitian people by rewriting history with Haitians being the villains. Eventually, in 1959, Trujillo blamed Cuban dictator Fidel Castro for the Dominican discontent and was assassinated (Bailey). Julia Alvarez’s poem “Exile” is about a girl and her father’s departure from the Dominican Republic to New York, most likely as a reaction to the political uproar in their home country. In “Exile”, Alvarez uses a flashback, characterization, and symbolism to show the internal conflict of a young girl experiencing the American dream while losing her old behaviors.
Rendon, Mario. "The Latino and His Culture: Chronicle of a Death Foretold." American Journal of Psychoanalysis 54.4 (Dec. 1994): 345-358. Rpt. in Short Story Criticism. Ed. Jelena Krstovic. Vol. 162. Detroit: Gale, 2012. Literature Resource Center. Web. 12 Jan. 2013.
Many writers focus their works of written art on life situations. They focus on drugs, poverty, stereotypes, young adults living in a difficult world, and of course a topic that has been present for many years, male domination. Abraham Rodriguez Jr. in “The Boy Without a Flag” captures all these themes and more in his Tales of the South Bronx, that relate to the lives of many Hispanics and minority residents of the United States.
In 1910, the first social upheaval of the 20th century was unleashed in Mexico. Known as the Mexican Revolution, its historical importance and impact inspired an abundance of internationally renowned South American authors. Mariano Azuela is one of these, whose novel, "The Underdogs" is often described as a classic of modern Hispanic literature. Having served as a doctor under Pancho Villa, a revolutionary leader of the era, Azuela's experience in the Revolution provides The Underdogs with incomparable authenticity of the political and social tendencies of the era between 1910 and 1920. The Underdogs recounts the living conditions of the Mexican peasants, the corruption of the government troops, and the revolutionary zeal behind the inspiring causes of the revolution. In vivid detail and honest truth, Azuela reveals the actuality of the extent of turmoil that plagued Mexico and its people during the revolution. However, before one can acknowledge The Underdogs as a reflection of the Mexican Revolution one must have an understanding the political state of Mexico prior to the Revolution and the presidents who reigned during it.
The First decade of Castro's Cuba, 1969, [S.l.] : [s.n.], Location: Kimberlin library, Pamphlet 972.91064/FIR
In Cuba many citizens have a strong sense of Nationalism. Jose Marti had a strong impact on Nationalism in Cuban society. He states “If the republic does not open its arms to everyone and move forward the benefit of everyone, the republic will die” (Krauze 17). This statement shows how Marti believed that every Cuban was equal and that no matter of race or ethnicity they are all together in their soon to be republic. This shows how Marti believed that all people of Cuba are together and this strengthens their Nationalism. His push for independence from Spain shows that he believed Cubans were strong enough to become a strong, connected country independent of any outside influence. Marti’s belief that all people living in Cuba are Cubans plays an important role in Cuba’s fight for independents. Weather they are black, Spanish, indigenous or white they are all Cubans and should be free from others control. This idea of Nationalism laid the foundation for what is now modern day
all four of these selection demonstrate that a prisoner’s literature can affect many people such as family, which was shown in soledad brother. the general public can also be affected this was show with the publications of all of these pieces of work. movements such as the civil rights movement were affected by dr. Kings letter and also
Fidel Castro was a man who had a target on his head. Lots of people from all over the world wanted him dead. Fidel Castro wasn’t a capitalist person, he was a Communist.
Esquivel was born the third of four children, and when growing up storytelling was very important in childhood (Esquivel, Laura). She grew up in Mexico City with her father, Julio Caesar Esquivel, who worked as a telegraph operator, Her mom, and three other siblings (Esquivel, Laura). Esquivel and her father would make up stories together and record them with his reel-to-reel tape recorder (Esquivel, Laura). She grew up in a Catholic household, but she describes her religious background as “eclectic” (Esquivel, Laura). In addition, the feminist movement of the 1960s and 1970s greatly shaped Esquivel’s perspective on gender relations and artistic expression.
...ave satirized the Boom, defining it as the most exclusive club that the cultural history of Latin America has known." ) Clearly, modern Latin American writers live in the shadow of these men and their prodigious work. However Latin Americans may feel about the Boom and the legacy which it left, there can be no doubt that it also paved the way for Latin American writers in many ways by making them visible to the rest of the world.
The power of the written word has been utilized across the span of human history and the conflict between Bill the infamous novelist and Jean-Claude or the prisoner who is a writer of almost no renown is my focus here. In Bill we see a writer trapped by his success, a man who would have gladly traded his fame for ambiguity and the freedom it entails except that this would compromise his name and his legacy. The written word has facilitated all of Bill’s dreams while crushing him beneath the weight of their meaning to others. Jean-Claude is a prisoner of a Maoist extremist group in Beirut led by a man who believes they are the beginning of a “world revolution.” (233) Jean-Claude is introduced already imprisoned