Identity And Culture In Names/Nombres, And Sandra Cisneros
They both show ways of perceiving American identity and what it means to an individual, particularly of one who is Japanese American or Mexican American. In Dwight Okita's poem, the girl's American identity has to do with her experiences in her life, not where she is originally from. In Sandra Cisnero's short story, the girl's American identity contrasts strongly with her family's culture and heritage. The two texts highlight the importance of individual identity and American identity, not physical appearance and heritage or ethnic background. The main characters in both of the texts relate and connect more to being American than their other cultures.
The poem “Why Am I So Brown?” by Trinidad Sanchez Jr. uses metaphors in order to put across his meaning of Chicano pride. Metaphor is a comparing to completely two different things but someway connected. He compares bronze and roots to skin color. These comparisons give Chicanos pride because they are connected to bronze and roots. Sanchez states, “God made you brown mi’ja color bronce” (Sanchez 2.1-2).
In Rodolfo Gonzales' poem “I am Joaquin”, Gonazales writes to raise awareness of the struggles of Chicano people during the Chicano movement in the 1960s. He discusses the issues that have ceased the Chicano people from earning equality in America. Throughout the poem, Gonzales’ uses the tactic of comparing opposing objects through extended metaphors to illustrate that he is both the oppressor and the oppressed. On many occasions you can see Gonzales’ using the technique of repetition and extended metaphors to solidify the fact that as a Chicano man he is both the oppressor and the oppressed.
In Sandra Cisneros “Mericans” she creates a young character named Michelle who faces cultural differences and nonunderstanding, gender roles and culture stereotyping which can be exhibited in the real world. The author introduces Michelle as a foreigner with in her own culture, with this being said throughout the story Michelle seemed to be uninterested in her Grandmothers ideals and the principles of the Mexican heritage. The evidence behind this statement is; throughout the passage Michelle refers to her grandmother as being “awful” (Cisneros 93). I think a big reason for this is the fact that the grandmother has the children wait outside the church doors as she goes and say her daily prayers.
Dwight Okita 's poem showed us about American identity has more to do with how you experience culture than where your family came from. Details of the texts such as the speaker describing herself as a typical teen girl, seeing that she dislikes chopsticks, something that we associate with Japanese culture, and telling us that she was the typical American meal of hot dogs. In Cisneros 's story, she tells us about the narrator 's American identity contrasts with her awful grandmother’s strong Mexican roots. But the Americans George the narrator based on her looks. Without this liked grandma of first praise for her American children and grandchildren in a barbaric country, which seems to contrast Michele, Keeks, and Juniors love of American culture, cause we can see, based on their heroes and villains game, which takes its references from popular American culture.
The immigrants entering the United States throughout its history have always had a profound effect on American culture. However, the identity of immigrant groups has been fundamentally challenged and shaped as they attempt to integrate into U.S. society. The influx of Mexicans into the United States has become a controversial political issue that necessitates a comprehensive understanding of their cultural themes and sense of identity. The film Mi Familia (or My Family) covers the journey and experiences of one Mexican-American (or “Chicano”) family from Mexico as they start a new life in the United States. Throughout the course of the film, the same essential conflicts and themes that epitomize Chicano identity in other works of literature
As she starts to reflect on her name, and what her environments thinks of it, she explains, “In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting. It is like the number nine. A muddy color… At school they say my name funny as if the syllables were made out of tin and hurt the roof of your mouth” (Cisneros 10 & 11).
Many stories embody the cultural aspects of Mexican-Americans and their struggles with living in a discriminatory society. Stories like With
Richard Rodriguez’s autobiography, Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, depicts his transformation from a socioeconomically disadvantaged first generation child of Mexican-American immigrants to a successful author, academic, and intellectual. During his metamorphosis, however, Rodriguez goes through an arduous process of assimilation that grants him a mastery of the English language and an embrace of American culture at the expense of his cultural heritage. His struggle to find a balance between these two worlds is prevalent throughout his autobiography, demonstrating the complex nature of identity and the manner in which language and culture impact it. In the text, identity seems to be formed at times around perceived similarities,
It is a poem that also emphasized identity and history. This poem describes the multiple identities of a fictional character, Joaquin, including the identities of Indians, Spaniards, and Mexicans, which indicates that Mexican Americans are a diverse community. It also discussed that their history was full of oppression and resistance. The author indicates the history in which they suffered from the oppression of Spanish colonialism, American aggression, and racial discrimination. I believe the author thinks this Chicano Movement is significant and it is a symbol of self-liberation for them.
To many people “I am Joaquin” is more than just an epic poem, it is the anthem of the Chicano movement which embodies our peoples struggles and culture. What made the work become the Chicano Movements anthem is the fact that it is a piece that seems to evaluate the Chicanos and their history from the good to the bad. It also seems to emphasize the Chicanos search and struggle for identity starting from the beginning of the Spanish conquest to our modern times. Basically this poem has become such an iconic work because it attempts and succeeds in encompassing as much Chicano history into it and makes no bias choice as it has both positive historical moments and negative, but they all tie back to Chicanos and their history. One of the main aspect that makes “I am Joaquin” an interesting piece of work and an icon for the Chicano movement is how the work seems to
Being “Different” Pat Mora, the writer of “Legal Alien”, evokes empathy in the audience to bring a deeper understanding of the world by using vivid imagery, juxtaposition, and code switching. Mora addresses cultural tension and identity crisis, explaining she herself, a Mexican- American, is not accepted in either Mexican communities or American communities. Mora illustrates, “Bi-lingual, Bi-cultural/ able to slip from ‘How’s life?’ to ‘Me’ stan volviendo loca’/… a handy token slipping back and forth,” (Mora 1-3/16-17).
Identity in our current times can be a complex conversation to have, especially in the United States. This is something that Latinos struggle with especially when it comes to the conversation of the United States census. The United States census asks, “all Americans to identify their race and separately, whether they are Hispanic” according to John R. Logan in his text “How Race Counts for Hispanic Americans”. The census is distributed to identify the race of and ethnicity of Americans, but this survey misunderstands the Latino population in America. On page 471 Logan states “Hispanic Hispanics are the fastest-growing segment, and very likely they will soon be an absolute majority of Hispanic Americans”, while about half of the Latinos that
In the end, the poem “Identity” by Julio Noboa Polanco talks about how it’s good to be unique, to be yourself. Julio Noboa Polanco uses the literary devices of alliteration, simile, and repetition. I think the message of the poem reflects certain things that happen in life. Like people can be someone but not
Names/Nombres written by Julia Alvarez is a short story regarding a little girl, Hooleetah, moving with her family from the Dominican Republic to New York City in the 1960s. It is extremely clear within the beginning of the story that the girl absolutely despises it when people pronounce her, or her family's’ names wrong, this is proven when she corrects the customs officer under her breath when he mispronounces her family’s last name. “At Immigration, the officer asked my father, Mister Elbures, if he had anything to declare... but I said our name to myself, opening my mouth wide for the organ blast of trilling my tongue for the drumroll of the r, All-vab- rrr-es (Alvarez 1). As the story continues each member of her family is assigned with many different American names, as people found it hard to pronounce their actual names.
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