El Norte

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There are two major themes that are associated and unique to Nuyorican and Dominican-American literature. The first is that of an identity crisis. Although Mexican-American/Chicano literature also addresses the theme of an identity crisis, there exists a major difference between these two ethnic groups. A majority of Mexican-Americans and Chicanos were willing to give up their culture and manipulate their identity to assimilate into society better. El Norte is an excellent representation of this difference. The two main characters in the film, Rosa and Enrique, illegally immigrate to the United States of America for a better life. Once they cross the border, they do their best to shed off their former life. In order to do this, they practice …show more content…

The first is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, written by Junot Diaz. In this story, Yunior, a young man from the Domincan Republic, is living in New Jersey. Despite this, Yunior has no characteristics of a Dominican Republican. He is not a machismo man like the other Dominican Republican men. Furthermore, he doesn’t have a physique like a Dominican Republican nor is he really into girls like a Dominican Republican. However, because he is a Dominican Republican and a Nuyorican, he feels a strong connection to it. The story always alludes to, or reverts back to, life in the Dominican Republic and the Era of Trujillo. Yunior, like every other Nuyorican, was caught in between wanting to be both an American and a Dominican Republican, but not knowing how to do so.
Another story that addresses the theme of an identity crisis is “The Boy Without A Flag,” written by Abraham Rodriguez. In this story, a young boy from Puerto Rico is told of several injustices that the United States of America has accomplished from his dad. However, when the young boy protests the flag due to this revelation, his dad does not come to his rescue. The young boy is torn, and has no idea whether or not to continue his protest against the flag because of his love for Puerto Rico, or to stop it in order to become more American. Once again, an identity

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