the two stories in the second half that really had an effect on me were "eyes of Zapata" and "bien pretty." Eyes of Zapata really showed the sadness and vulnerability of this woman who is longing for something that she cannot have which is kind of what Bien Pretty is about as well. I just found Eyes of Zapata to be some poetically written and written in a manner that is so vivid one can almost image being in her place. The way this woman describes Zapata as he sleeps has so much detail in it, and you can feel the devotion and her love towards this silent and misterious person who never fully appreciates her. Her description of how they met to her description of where they are now and how he is with other women shows us her emotions over time and filled me ( the reader) with sadness and how this love withers over time , but not because of her losing her feelings towards him, but because of who he is, the situation of mexico during this time, and all the hardships she went through, eventually becoming numb to it all. This story is filled with so much heartache and suffering because of love, that it makes one wonder whether the mistified zapata was all he was led up to be?? it definatley made me question and at times hate him and his motives while at the same time attracted to his character more and more, which is what i think, the woman is going through.
Bien pretty also talks about a woman losing her man. also a man that comes off as mysterious. I liked how it showed the ignorance of this americanized mexicana towards other mexicans. For example when she asked Flavio if he knew any indigenous dances. I think that after he left, and after agonizing for so long, she finally decided to start living her life how it was meant to be lived. Not watching herself live her days but actually living them. She seemed to have been really affected by this mexicano who whisked her off her feet and then disappeared, someone who she thought had the image of a god, not like those americanos she used to date. I found it interesting how she noted that she could never have sex in english again, because the way spanish flowed and all carinitos used.
Anyways all in all, this was an extroardinary book. I loved the way it was written in short stories and the amount of detail and poetism that Cisneros uses. Id love to know where her inspiration came from for each of these little stories.
domingo, 26 de octubre de 2008
lunes, 20 de octubre de 2008
cisneros' craziness!!!
this book is sort of written in a familiar way to that of "y no se lo trago la tierra" in the way that it is also fragmented and is broken up into little sections that talk about random (or are they) events and have various titles. the book is a great read and made me want to read more and more. Im curious as to the fact of who these narrators are and where are they located. i guess sometimes they're in mexico and sometimes in the states???
Also something i found interesting is that all the narrators that ive read so far have been children which is another similarity to "y no se lo trago la tierra." I like that this book is in Spanglish (well more english than spanish,,,but you know what i mean).
The point of view of children (of different ages as well) is a really interesting way to get a good perspective on the different situations they were in. From being in a church to being indifferent of someone's death, i thought that each child narrator brought their own persona forward.
The little stories are very random as well. I started out laughing at many of them to being a little shocked at the others. her style of writing is very easy too. Apart from having lots of short sentences or run on sentences, i liked the amount of detail she used to describe scenes (like the one with the Barbies).
Some of the scenes you could almost relate to. By putting yourself back in the age of that child or even now. The scene with the church and people walking on their knees, brought me back to the times that i was in mexico and had witnessed the same thing.
Cisneros obviously puts out many chicano issues up front for the reader. For example when the foreigners wanted to take the pictures of the children outside the church and then realized they were "mericans." I felt that this passage apart from showing cultural diversity, definatley showed cultural ignorance (at least on the gringo side). Also in the other passages when it starts talking about sex, it made me tie this theme back with religion, how mexican catholic females were brought up and the different stereotypes and consequences that came along with rebelling against this traditionalism. Another theme was poverty, when the narrator talked about the boy in her school who had to dress his brothers, and help his mother, and lived poorly, and dressed bad. I think poverty is a large issue in mexican/chicano life, whether it being in the united states or mexico.
Overall, from what ive read, im really enjoying it and hopefully going to be enjoying it even more.
Also something i found interesting is that all the narrators that ive read so far have been children which is another similarity to "y no se lo trago la tierra." I like that this book is in Spanglish (well more english than spanish,,,but you know what i mean).
The point of view of children (of different ages as well) is a really interesting way to get a good perspective on the different situations they were in. From being in a church to being indifferent of someone's death, i thought that each child narrator brought their own persona forward.
The little stories are very random as well. I started out laughing at many of them to being a little shocked at the others. her style of writing is very easy too. Apart from having lots of short sentences or run on sentences, i liked the amount of detail she used to describe scenes (like the one with the Barbies).
Some of the scenes you could almost relate to. By putting yourself back in the age of that child or even now. The scene with the church and people walking on their knees, brought me back to the times that i was in mexico and had witnessed the same thing.
Cisneros obviously puts out many chicano issues up front for the reader. For example when the foreigners wanted to take the pictures of the children outside the church and then realized they were "mericans." I felt that this passage apart from showing cultural diversity, definatley showed cultural ignorance (at least on the gringo side). Also in the other passages when it starts talking about sex, it made me tie this theme back with religion, how mexican catholic females were brought up and the different stereotypes and consequences that came along with rebelling against this traditionalism. Another theme was poverty, when the narrator talked about the boy in her school who had to dress his brothers, and help his mother, and lived poorly, and dressed bad. I think poverty is a large issue in mexican/chicano life, whether it being in the united states or mexico.
Overall, from what ive read, im really enjoying it and hopefully going to be enjoying it even more.
domingo, 12 de octubre de 2008
re cap...
i really enjoyed reading the three very differently stylized chicano books. My favourite one by far would have to be "y no se lo trago la tierra" just because of the style its written in, the point of view of a narrator who is a young child, and the highly controversial themes that arise throughout the book.
I hope though, that in the novels to come, we touch on issues like chicana feminism and the problems that arise in their lives, in contemprorary USA. i was surpised not to have found a single book or at least an article by Gloria Anzaldua, who is one of the most influential chicana women writers out there. For anyone who is interested in this literature i highly recommend reading her work. She is highly inspirational and has a very unqiue and magnificent style of writing.
Another theme that i feel we haven't touched on as much, and perhaps its because we've been reading about mexico/USA in the 1950's and earlier on, but the idea of space i find is really important when talking about chicanos. Where does one belong when he/she does not belong to either place or belongs to both. Gloria Anzaldua talks about this state called "nepantla", which is like an in between state...kind of like limbo. I think its a really big issues that many chicanos deal with while trying to build their identity...obviously being chicano is a socially constructed identity that gives people from mexico living in the states, some identity. However, the idea of not wanting to fully assimilate to the american way of life and also trying to stay away from the traditional mexican norms (for women, for example) puts chicanos in a place where perhaps neither here nor there is good..which leaves them in this states of nepantla.
I hope the coming up books deals with feminism and space because for our class, these are important grounds to cover. and if we can throw a little Anzaldua in the way,,,that would be fabulous!!! happy thanksgiving!!!
I hope though, that in the novels to come, we touch on issues like chicana feminism and the problems that arise in their lives, in contemprorary USA. i was surpised not to have found a single book or at least an article by Gloria Anzaldua, who is one of the most influential chicana women writers out there. For anyone who is interested in this literature i highly recommend reading her work. She is highly inspirational and has a very unqiue and magnificent style of writing.
Another theme that i feel we haven't touched on as much, and perhaps its because we've been reading about mexico/USA in the 1950's and earlier on, but the idea of space i find is really important when talking about chicanos. Where does one belong when he/she does not belong to either place or belongs to both. Gloria Anzaldua talks about this state called "nepantla", which is like an in between state...kind of like limbo. I think its a really big issues that many chicanos deal with while trying to build their identity...obviously being chicano is a socially constructed identity that gives people from mexico living in the states, some identity. However, the idea of not wanting to fully assimilate to the american way of life and also trying to stay away from the traditional mexican norms (for women, for example) puts chicanos in a place where perhaps neither here nor there is good..which leaves them in this states of nepantla.
I hope the coming up books deals with feminism and space because for our class, these are important grounds to cover. and if we can throw a little Anzaldua in the way,,,that would be fabulous!!! happy thanksgiving!!!
sábado, 4 de octubre de 2008
mas de mis opiniones...
Bueno...me gusto mucho de lo que hablabamos en nuestro clase la ultima semana. Me parecio muy interesante que teniamos tantos diferente analizaciones del mismo parafo en el libro. Pero aunque tenia un opinion muy fija, los otros estudiantes cambiaron mi mente...entonces me parecio que la tema de religion fue muy importante en este libro. El protagonista esta desarrollando como una persona independiente durante el libro. En la segunda parte del libro empieza a questionar todo lo que esta pasando alrededor de el. La parte sobre los pecados del cuerpo me hizo pensar mucho en la corrupcion de la iglesia. Una parte que me hizo sentir muy raro y tambien creo que fue una manera muy sutil en decir que la iglesia tiene sus pecados tambien. "A la monjita le gustaba que dijeramos los pecados del cuerpo" (p.53). La primera imagen que entro mi mente era la violacion de los ninos por los padres. Me parece interesante que el narrador lo dijo con tanta traquilidad como si no fuera algo importante. Ademas la pareja que estaba "haciendo el amor" (o como quiere llamarlo) atras de la iglesia fue otro senal que la iglesia tambien es perversa (en su propia manera)...
Ademas creo que el nino, aunque al final del libro tal vez no llego a la realizacion, pero el empezo a entender que el dios y el diablo tiene poco que ver con lo que esta pasando a su rededor. Eso, le hace pensar mucho en los valores y tradiciones en que crecio, y creo que tambien como trata a ellos que le han dicho lo que ya estan mentiras para el ( tal vez mas dudas que mentiras). Que piensa el sobre todo lo que dijeron sus padres sobre la religion?
ps: sorry for the lack of accents ...dont have accents on this thing.... :)
Ademas creo que el nino, aunque al final del libro tal vez no llego a la realizacion, pero el empezo a entender que el dios y el diablo tiene poco que ver con lo que esta pasando a su rededor. Eso, le hace pensar mucho en los valores y tradiciones en que crecio, y creo que tambien como trata a ellos que le han dicho lo que ya estan mentiras para el ( tal vez mas dudas que mentiras). Que piensa el sobre todo lo que dijeron sus padres sobre la religion?
ps: sorry for the lack of accents ...dont have accents on this thing.... :)
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