Gloria Anzaldua's 'The Homeland Aztlan'

111 Words1 Page

When Gloria Anzaldua writes in The Homeland Aztlan “this land was Mexican once, was Indian always and is and will be again” one can assume or conclude that she recognizes that the land was taken away from the Indians by Americans. Therefore, you can say that she catecterize the border as Indian Land. To my way of thinking,Gloria Anzaldua blends poetry, personal narrative and history to present the view and experiences of people affected by living in the borderlands and to establish credibility to the poem. On the other hand, this chapter and the two poems present a connection because the three of them express the drwabacks of being Mexican- American.

Show More
Related

  • Identity And Empowerment In Juan Felipe Herrera's Poem 'Borderbus'

    362 Words  | 1 Pages

    In a story of identity and empowerment, Juan Felipe Herrera’s poem “Borderbus” revolves around two Honduran women grappling with their fate regarding a detention center in the United States after crawling up the spine of Mexico from Honduras. While one grapples with their survival, fixated on the notion that their identities are the ultimate determinant for their future, the other remains fixated on maintaining their humanity by insisting instead of coming from nothingness they are everything. Herrera’s poem consists entirely of the dialogue between the two women, utilizing diction and imagery to emphasize one’s sense of isolation and empowerment in the face of adversity and what it takes to survive in America.

    Read More

  • Mexican Lives by Judith Adler Hellman

    1248 Words  | 3 Pages

    The author of Mexican Lives, Judith Adler Hellman, grapples with the United States’ economic relationship with their neighbors to the south, Mexico. It also considers, through many interviews, the affairs of one nation. It is a work held to high esteem by many critics, who view this work as an essential part in truly understanding and capturing Mexico’s history. In Mexican Lives, Hellman presents us with a cast from all walks of life. This enables a reader to get more than one perspective, which tends to be bias. It also gives a more inclusive view of the nation of Mexico as a whole. Dealing with rebel activity, free trade, assassinations and their transition into the modern age, it justly captures a Mexico in its true light.

    Read More

  • Themes And Symbolism In The Film: Refiguring Aztlan

    939 Words  | 2 Pages

    What exactly does Aztlan mean? There are various definitions, such as the ancestral homeland of the Aztec people and their descendants or everyone’s individual Aztlan which is ones’ personal sanctuary. A place one creates in their own image consisting of features that show what kind of person they are, while at the same time still recognizing their ethnic culture. We all have this place though not everyone’s is the same. Your hobbies, interests, the way you dress all make up this special place. Without it, we would be metaphorically lost. For example, in the essay “Refiguring Aztlan”, it says, “Through Aztlan we come to better understand psychological time, regional make up, and evolution. Without any one of these ingredients, we would be contempo-rary displaced nomads, suffering the diaspora in our own land, and at the mercy of other social forces. Aztlan allows us to come full circle with our communal background as well as maintain ourselves as

    Read More

  • The Ethnicity of Mexians in the United States

    1752 Words  | 4 Pages

    ...n, Gonzalez states his identity; "I am Aztec Prince and Christian Christ." This combination of culture is the basis of his poem, which can be found at http://www.pbs.org/chicano/joaquin.html, and is representative of the heritage of Mexican Americans. The concept of Aztlan is explained in Chicano!, and the mural ‘Corazon de Aztlan,’ found in Chicano Park (http://chicanopark.org/murals/north/n8.html ), reinforces the importance of this image in the lives of Chicanos. The myth of Aztlan symbolizes centuries of culture and struggles of Mexican Americans who went through incredibly difficult times throughout history, but never lost hope and always stayed strong, determined to one day be treated equally as citizens of the United States of America.

    Read More

  • Taming Anzaldua’s Contact Zone Analysis

    998 Words  | 2 Pages

    Anzaldua grew up in the United States but spoke mostly Spanish, however, her essay discusses how the elements of language began to define her identity and culture. She was living in an English speaking environment, but was not White. She describes the difficulty of straddling the delicate changing language of Chicano Spanish. Chicano Spanish can even differ from state to state; these variations as well as and the whole Chicano language, is considered a lesser form of Spanish, which is where Anzaldua has a problem. The language a person speaks is a part...

    Read More

  • The Mother Tongue by Demetria Martinez

    2546 Words  | 6 Pages

    Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.

    Read More

  • Reginald Horsman’s Race and Manifest Destiny

    1961 Words  | 4 Pages

    Weber, David J. Foreigners in Their Native Land: The Historical Roots of Mexican Americans. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1973.

    Read More

  • Grandmother's Victory by Maya Angelou

    751 Words  | 2 Pages

    and make fun of black elders. And would talk to them any kind of way.

    Read More

  • "Fiesta" for Whom? by Junot Diaz

    1017 Words  | 3 Pages

    Junot Diaz displays in his short story “Fiesta” how an abusive father can cause a family

    Read More

  • The Chicano and The Black Power Movements

    3047 Words  | 7 Pages

    Moraga, Cherrie. “Queer Aztlan: the Reformation of Chicano Tribe,” in The Color of Privilege 1996, ed Aida Hurtado. Ann Arbor: University Michigan Press, 1996.

    Read More

  • Analysis Of How To Tame A Wild Tongue

    1107 Words  | 3 Pages

    At the beginning of the essay, Anzaldúa recounts a time when she was at the dentist. He told her, “We’re going to have to control your tongue” (33). Although he was referring to her physical tongue, Anzaldúa uses this example as a metaphor for language. The dentist, who is trying to cap her tooth, symbolizes the U.S. who is similarly seeking to restrict the rights of minority groups. Nevertheless, the tongue is preventing the dentist from doing his job. Likewise, there are several minority groups who refuse to abide to the laws of dominant cultures and are fighting back. Anzaldúa also touches on a personal story that happened at school. When she was younger, she was sent to the corner because apparently, she spoke back to her Anglo teacher. The author argues that she was unfairly scolded because she was only telling her teacher how to pronounce her name. Her teacher warned her, “If you want to be American, speak American. If you don’t like it, go back to Mexico where you belong.” This short story provides an understanding of what Anzaldúa’s life was like. It demonstrates how even at a young age, she was continually pressured because of where comes

    Read More

  • Theme Of The American Dream In The Tortilla Curtain

    1298 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novel The Tortilla Curtain, written by T.C Boyle the reader is presented with two distinctive families who both shared the same dream—the American Dream, without even taken any notice of it. Boyle separates both families by giving them a different form of life styles distinguishing them from one another. In one side living at the top of the hills we have the Mossbacher’s, who live in a wealthy community; at the bottom of the hill the Rincon’s live out in the open—literally. This indicates that the Mossbacher’s represent the wealthy and the Rincon’s represent the illegal immigrants in America. Through the use of symbolism such as the car accident, the coyote and the wall, T.C Boyle unfolds the unattainability of the American Dream for

    Read More

  • The Latino Culture in America

    1081 Words  | 3 Pages

    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).

    Read More

  • The Struggle of Power

    1326 Words  | 3 Pages

    Caminero-Santangelo, Marta. “Jason’s Indiana: Mexican Americans and the Denial of Indifenous Ethnicity in Anaya’s Bless Me, Ultima.” Critique Winter 2004: 45- Academic Search Premier. Retrieved 9 Feb. 2006 http://web27.epnet.com/citation.

    Read More

  • The Lines That Continue To Separate Us Analysis

    1199 Words  | 3 Pages

    As explained by “The Homeland, Aztlán/ El Otro Mexico,” “borders are set up to define the places that are safe and unsafe, to distinguish the us from them” (Alvarado, Cully 392). These group categorizations are the foundation of what trigger the society into creating a divergence from one another. Social affiliations are intoxicated by preexisting stereotypes and labels forced upon different individuals. David Newman also creates guilt and realization towards the public by admitting that “we are all cognisant of the fact that borders create (or reflect) difference” (Newman, 147). Walls, made up of either brick or metal or glass, symbolize privacy, and restriction. This restriction creates stern differences between communities that are oblivious or unfamiliar with one another; correspondingly, these differences create fear and concern. The differentiation between the savage versus the civilized and the wealthy versus the poverty-stricken influences

    Read More

More about Gloria Anzaldua's 'The Homeland Aztlan'

Open Document