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Cultural Imperialism Exposed In The Short Story 'Mericans'

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People often live their lives never really knowing how advanced our world has become. Cultural imperialism has built bridges between people and other worlds. As a result, humans have evolved to become extremely diverse and sometimes certain people can find themselves being a fusion between two or more cultures. In the short story “Mericans” a little girl, along with two brothers, find themselves to be stuck between two very different worlds and the problem is, they struggle to find a balance between the two because of their grandmother. The author begins to open the story by describing the old, Mexican-style church and things that are inside it. “We're waiting for the awful grandmother who is inside dropping pesos into la ofrenda box before …show more content…

“We must stay near the church entrance. We must not wander over to the balloon and punch-ball vendors. We cannot spend our allowance on fried cookies or Familia Burron comic books or those clear cone-shaped suckers that make everything look like a rainbow when you look through them. We have promised to stay right where the awful grandmother left us until she returns. (cisneros pg.94) The story is now describing the “American” part of life and how they are not allowed to be apart of it. The kids seem to lack the experience of the two completely different cultures, yet they are simultaneously being apart of both of them without their realization. This can also be why the main character of the story refers to her grandmother as the “awful grandmother.” The grandmother is responsible for the children and puts way too much restraint on what they can and can't do, regarding the way they live and how they have fun. She keeps them stuck in a world where it’s impossible for them to be comfortable in their own skin, hence the name “awful

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