Aria By Richard Rodriguez Summary

Assimilation means to adapt into a new culture and become a part of them. “People of different backgrounds and beliefs undergo assimilation when, through living together, they come to see themselves as part of a larger community.” The reason why you see assimilation often in Chicano/a Literature is because many Mexicans try to blend into the American culture. Many Chicanos write stories about what they have lived through the years or stories they have heard from their love ones growing up. Some have had first-hand experience of assimilating into the American culture by trying to blend in and become accepted that they start to lose or deny a part of their identities. In the story of “Aria”, by Richard Rodriguez, being Mexican American was a challenge for him in which he struggled with having two identities. Since he spoke Spanish in an American society,

A Border is a general dividing point between two countries that stop people and things from crossing over. In the case of many Mexican-American borders, the American border crossing is for the safety of the people that cross over to the United States to control what comes in and out. Children that live near the border live with the consequences of losing their identity and suffer. In the story “The Hammon and the Beans” by Americo Paredes he talks about how the children live through the poverty. The story takes place in the early 1920s in a small Mexican town right above the american side United States Border called Jonesville-on the Grand. During The Mexican American war the United States took over Mexico including the town with the military base. Because of the problems between the boundary states that the soldiers came back to old fort jones . “ That must have been about George Washington in school or recited “the song Marion 's men”... But at other times we stuck our tongues and jeered at the soldiers.” this caused a mixed of emotions for the town children to know whether to defend the american side or