I think that Alarcon chose to structure his poem in a distinct way with line breaks placing the word "Mexican" line by itself. Alarcon's word choice and word order to draw attention to illustrate that this minority doesn't have any control over what happens in their lives. In the beginning of the poem Alarcon says that "Mexican is not a noun or adjective but it is a lifelong low-paying job" (Alarcon,1985). Alarcon uses these phrases to show that Mexican's low paying jobs are for their entire lives due to the fact they have hard time getting My reaction to Alarcón’s choice in his poem structure for “Mexican is Not a Noun (2002,pp.542-543)” is that it has a distinct stanza form, with line breaks placing “Mexican” as a whole line in itself. There
‘A Fabricated Mexican’ is a novel by Ricky Rivera in which he chronicles his life as he grows from a child farm worker to a Ph.D. candidate. He takes us through his journey in his search for his personal identity. In the book we find that his journey has not been an easy one. This difficult journey is due to many factors, most importantly the people who have surrounded him during this journey.
The article shows her ideas with a specific focus on the Latino community in English-language country. The writer said “After my first set of lessons, I could function in the present tense. Hola, Paco. De que color es tu cuaderno? El mío es azul”. (Barrientos, Tanya p.64). This is evidence throughout the article that she said such as this sentence and writes some words in Spanish that she don’t know. The writer was born in a Latin American country, and feels like a Latina (the brown-skin) even if she was raised in the United States and does not speak Spanish anymore. In addition, this article also serves as inspiration for people with different backgrounds that suffer from the same problem, helping all the people that face the same problem. I’m also have same experience. I’m growing up in Shandong province, but born in Guangdong province. It is so far from Guangdong to Shandong. And China is an old country, the culture and habit is not similar from place to place. If there are a few mountains between two cities, the language is total different. So every time when I come back to my hometown, the citizen, especially my grandparents, which growing up in tradition, will call me “yuasangia”, which like the writer’s struggles in American. However, the different is that this noun just for others province people who live in or travel to my hometown. Every time when I say my hometown language
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...
Torres, Hector Avalos. 2007. Conversations with Contemporary Chicana and Chicano Writers. U.S.: University of New Mexico press, 315-324.
“We all use stereotypes all the time, without knowing it. We have met the enemy of equality, and the enemy is us,” quoted by Annie Murphy Paul, a journalist. Human beings typically have varied mindsets as they grow up with different cultural values as well as social environment. Author Gary Soto’s “Like Mexican” compares his Mexican life with his wife’s Japanese background, while author Deborah Tannen’s “Gender in the Classroom” contrasts the “gender-related styles” of male and female students. From the two perspectives Soto’s and Tannen’s experiences’ give a universal, stereotypical point how different gender tendencies, conversational styles, and cultural background can result in a miscommunication of one’s behavior.
This poem written by Francisco Alarcon describes the life of an illiterate man who finds himself signing away his freedom by placing his mark on a contract. He is unable to read the contract he is signing or even write his name. Being unable to read he leaves himself vulnerable to be taken advantage of and deceived. Alarcon, who was raised in a Hispanic community, was surrounded by illiteracy. Wanting to change the situation in which he was raised in he went to school to become a teacher and now focuses his efforts on eliminating illiteracy. This poem was written from the experience of watching those he cared about around him being taken advantage of because they were unable to read or write. "The X in My Name" shows the mistakes and ill consequences that illiteracy can bring upon those uneducated. It also sheds light onto how social structure and financial class play into illiteracy, and how detrimental illiteracy can be to those on the low end of the monetary spectrum. Though Alarcon only uses a few words it is easy to understand and see how the illiterate can be effortlessly be taken advantage of.
One of Pat Moras poems that imply blank verse is La Migra. Blank verse sounds pretty much like an everyday conversation, and propagate the reader for a heightened response to effects of language, and image in the poem. Blank verse is favored for reflective and narrative poems, and does not rhyme. Blank verse fits perfectly in La Migra, because Pat Mora is narrating the children game, what they are saying, what they are imagining, and if the reader has a good imagination, they can even imagine the setting and think about what is actually happening. Blank verse is also favored in the reflective way, because what Pat Mora is trying to express in La Migra is that everyone has feelings, it does not matter where people are from, or if they are legal or illegally in the United States, but what matters is that people is made all equaly, and all people has the same rights. Not because someone is a border patrol will have the right to kick or touch an illegal person, as the kid on the first stanza thinks, and says “I can take you wherever I want, but don’t ask questions because I don’t speak Spanish. I can touch you wherever I want but don’t complain because I ‘ve got boots and kick – if I have to”. Blank verse is completely necessary in this poem to make what the author is trying to realize possible, in this case, make people think about other people feelings and make a reflective impact on the
A few strengths in Gloria Anzaldúa’s “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza” is the use of alliteration to further illustrate her point making her point of the “Borderland” and the new Mestiza easier to understand and get a grasp on as an overarching theory. Speaking of the theory’s positives one strength is going against the aryan theory of purity. I believe that Gloria Anzaldúa’s “Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza” demonstrates the way of life that Gloria Anzaldúa lived through as a mestiza and how her life experiences affected her ideas of the “Borderland” and the concept of the “Borderland” itself is an enthralling
Culture is customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or other social group. It includes behaviors, attitudes, beliefs, values, and norms that is shared by a group of people to sustain their lives. Mexican culture is influenced by their familial ties, gender, religion, location and social class, among other factors. Today life in the cities of Mexico has become similar to that in neighboring United States and Europe, with provincial people conserving traditions more so than the Mexican living in the city. In the United States Mexican includes any person of Puerto
By the beginning of the twentieth century Mexican Americans found themselves in situations that closely resembled that of American Indians. According to Healey, both ethnic groups were relatively small in size only about .5% of the total population and shared similar characteristics. Both groups are distinguished by cultural and language differences from those of the dominant ethnic groups, and both were conquered, imp...
Hispanic American language is one that is adorable to many people due to its pattern of communication. In the article, there are many of the languages used in that exist in the United States some of which includes; African Americans, European Americans, Hispanic Americans among others. Some of the communication patterns of these languages have been clearly stated by identifying various factors like; emotions, eye contact, gestures, identity orientation, pacing and pause time, vocal patterns and the volume of their voice whenever they speak to someone. The article depicts Hispanic American languages as one of the best which can be used in public or businesses since it shows the one talking as a very humble individual.
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).
What is culture? Many people ask themselves this question every day. The more you think about it the more confusing it is. Sometimes you start leaning to a culture and then people tell you you’re wrong or they make you feel like a different person because of your culture. I go through this almost every day. Because of the way I was raised I love Mexican rodeo but I was born and raised in Joliet. This can be very difficult trying to understand culture. I live in this huge mix of culture. Culture is personal. People can have many cultures especially in America and because of globalization. Cultural identity is not one or the other, it is not Mexican or American. Cultural identity is an individual relevant thing.
With disconnected allusions, metaphors, and unrealism Rodriguez not only conveys his ideas throughout his essays but also is able to show us part of himself as a writer. He respects people’s role in society. He treasures how assimilation can change a culture. He has a passion for brown for converting color and race. He loves language for it’s continuous changes that it has been through over time. He values transformation, whether it is of color, culture, language, or a nation.
Of the works we had to review for this module, Gloria Anzaldúa's First Chapter (from her book Borderlands/ La Frontera: The New Mestiza) The Homeland, Aztlan invoked thoughts and feelings. Upon reading certain sections, I was emotionally invested (especially in her personal anecdote as she watched her cousin being dragged away by Border Patrol). I've re-read the opening but still have a difficult time understanding it. Why would she mention a portion of Los Tigres del Norte lyrics? How does it tie in with her main argument?