ipl-logo

Individualism In Sandra Cisneros Straw Into Gold

654 Words3 Pages

American literature is chocked full of values about the idea of individualism, where a person has the capacity to retain self identity, the notion that we are made up of many migrants, and messages that have a vocal outcry that equality isn’t always present in our country. Sandra Cisneros draw numerous values from American literature when growing up and, contains values that we learned in class. Classification of her work could possibly align under more traditional works, as she doesn’t break the mold against society normals with that of a modernist to postmodernist view. Perhaps a realist label classification would be appropriate.
Formerly, In “Straw into Gold” the themes that were present was the discomfort of her fellow “Latino Host” expecting her to make tortillas from scratch. As a result she begins to cascade into a “stream of consciousness” and …show more content…

This is a strong theme in some works such as "The Jilting of Granny Weatherall" by Katherine Anne Porter. Random thoughts would bring flashbacks to another idea and would continue. In “Straw into Gold”, there is evidence of strong individualism. Cisneros believes in a strong female identity and shows it through her stories. Growing up in a house of six boys in addition, to being the only girl led to far greater progression as needing less reliance on siblings. As a result, it left her time to be alone much like some of the earlier philosophies where reflectance was needed. Possible influence that was subconsciously enacted on her as she was often the “outsider”. She emphasized the importance of all her accomplishments. “I’ve gone to a prestigious

Show More
Related
520 Words | 3 Pages

Cisneros felt a split between her Mexican culture or the "old ways" and the American culture or "new ways". Cisneros describes this division by detailing her thoughts and actions when she was younger. Within the story she tells of her experience with the "old ways" and about the customs that her grandmother followed religiously. Cisneros also explains that she wasn't allowed in the church with her grandmother and wasn't allowed to walk the town, which accurately describes how she felt shunned from both sides of her ethnicity and her rejection from both

Read More
1149 Words | 5 Pages

Situated near the U.S.-Mexico border during the early twentieth century is the fictional setting of Fort Jones, the outskirts of which is where Americo Paredes’ short story “Macaria’s Daughter” takes place. Emblematic of the disappropriation of Mexican land, as well as the increased marginalization of the Mexican people, the overbearing presence of Fort Jones reveals the struggle for preservation that characterizes the Mexican-American community of the story. “Macaria’s Daughter” is the tragic account of what happens in a small community when the upholding of Mexican values and institutions, and opposition to Anglo-American culture, become more important than a young woman’s life. In this essay, I will argue that “Macaria’s Daughter” is a text

Read More
1578 Words | 7 Pages

The Power of Hope Gary Soto brings the impoverished, crime filled streets of the Mexican-American communities where he grew up to life by “evoking the harsh forces that often shape the life for Chicanos” (“‘Gary Soto’: Poetry Foundation” p. 1). He combines an archetypal young love poem with the concept of poverty to create the powerful poem: “Oranges” (1985). Soto also works with the notion of old age and the importance of life in his somber poem: “The Seventieth Year” (1986).

Read More
1190 Words | 5 Pages

This story in its universality usually negates the women’s experience, Pérez argues that through the deconstruction of the historiography at play, history can be posed through a feminist lense, which includes rather than negates the perspectives, views, and adversities of women throughout history. Within her argument she also poses several sub arguments aimed at forcing the reader to think outside of the basic lines that surround Chicano/a history. She argues that the use of binaries can no longer be used as modes to determine whether or not someone is a friend or an enemy. She also argues that society has yet to reach a post colonial era based on the simple fact that in order to become a post colonial society, there was be a decolonization of the object, in this case women, to become the decolonial subject. This Pérez states will finally allow society to enter

Read More
548 Words | 3 Pages

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,

Read More
776 Words | 4 Pages

“Straw into Gold” is a short narrative account written by a Latina woman named Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros was a young Latina born in Chicago to Mexican-American parents that did the best they could for her. Cisneros isn’t a stereotypical Latina girl; she wants to become a writer and had a dream, that she was going to leave her house without marriage. In her culture, she could move out only when she is married to a man and is not allowed to leave the house unless marriage. This account is about Cisneros, hard times with her life and struggles.

Read More
858 Words | 4 Pages

The Effects of Belonging to Certain Areas in Cisneros Literature Belonging: “(of a person) fit in a specified place or environment” (www.Dictionary.com 1). Generally, every person goes through a phase of figuring out who they are and where they belong. Using her poetic and relatable writing, Cisneros vividly illustrated what it’s like to question your sense of belonging through Esperanza in the House on Mango Street and Chayo in the Woman Hollering Creek. Both of the characters crave to fit in and find their place in life. The vignette “Those who don’t” relates to the short story, “Bread” in the Woman Hollering Creek because they both emphasize the effects of belonging to Chicana areas.

Read More
1046 Words | 5 Pages

One of the area of conflict that rose in the book involves the usage of the English language in relation of the family’s native language, Spanish. As a Mexican-American raised in the States the exhibition of the English language, whether the use of the tongue is fluent or not, cause a strain in the Mexican culture as the culture takes in consideration of their romance and richness of history in their native tongue (Rothman 204). Language represent the supporting backbone of a person as the progress in life as the ability to communicate without misunderstands, however a person can cause the loss connection to the past romance of the culture and art of cultivation that brings the language to lifes from their inabilities to comprehend the ability/asset to its fullest potential (Rothman 204). To fully understand the true meaning behind a spoken chain of words can be understood by the method of trying to first comprehend the cultivation of the word and the definition behind them. Cisneros embeds the use of Spanish in fragments depicting a sense of reality within a fictional novel, Caramelo, as well with the use of interchangeable dialogues with spanish phrase to express the illustration of Celaya’s family and the culture in which is translate in of importance of pride.

Read More
657 Words | 3 Pages

Gruesz reviews the new Norton Anthology of Latino Literature (NALL). She notes that as Kenneth Warren's argument and the recent history of African American tradition building it refers to can help people appreciate the Latino literature. She states that Norton is “hobbled by the lack of any prior powerful literary-historical narrative with which to contend”(Gruesz). She argues, however, that the NALL “would raise a skeptical eyebrow at the repeated characterizations of NALL as a “treasure” and a “celebration” of the ethnoracial groups whose genius they index”(Gruesz). She argues that the Latino literature is viewed as an instrumental tool into the management into culture, shows a sign of times, and is is accommodating.

Read More
799 Words | 4 Pages

Her thought was going to change, and she thought the matter of trying to exist and trying to improve herself

Read More
649 Words | 3 Pages

Within each book, it questions the message of “culture and gender” (Louelí, “An Interpretive Assessment of Chicano Literature and Criticism”). Clearly, positive figures influenced how the Chicano community acted then and now. Rudolfo Anaya and other Chicano writers

Read More
899 Words | 4 Pages

Throughout “The Mexican in Fact, Fiction, and Folkore” examines the term “Mexican” as it is applied in Southwest literature and argues the Anglo society has made a conscious effort to misrepresent Mexicans (Rios 60). He states the people of Mexican descent are viewed as un-American because they are perceived as filthy, lazy, and dumb. Ricatelli adds to the conversation of Mexican stereotypes by examining the literary expressions of Chicanas and Mexicanas in the literature of both the United States and Mexico. In “The Sexual Stereotypes of The Chicana in Literature” Ricatelli explains how in Yankee literature, the Chicana is referred to as the “fat breeder, who is a baby factory” meanwhile the Mexican is described as an “amoral, lusty hot tamale” (Ricatelli 51). He makes note of these stereotypes in order to highlight the ethnocentric and nativist points of view that dominated Anglo literature.

Read More
693 Words | 3 Pages

Sandra Cisneros is a famous poet from the late twentieth century. Most of her work is popular due to her profound thinking. Her work was very unique and incorporated an extraordinary type of dreamy abstraction. Most observers of her work can agree on this. My Wicked Ways, proved her talent to be “extremely electrifying”, according to the The New York Times Book Review.

Read More
1674 Words | 7 Pages

Julia Alvarez’s “Something to Declare” leaves all readers feeling a sense of familiarity with His-panic Americans, particularly Dominican Americans, and their struggles. While Julia Alvarez and her siblings were fortunate enough to make it into the United States, it is not a walk in the park for even them to assimilate into American society. Thus the question becomes is the United States Alvarez’s real home or is the Dominican Republic her real home? Whatever the real answer is, the technical answer is that the United States is her home. Also, Alvarez manages to make English her own, conveying the stories she wishes to in the world’s most popular language while never really improving upon her native tongue.

Read More
1195 Words | 5 Pages

From the start, it is clear that T.C. Boyle’s Tortilla Curtain aims to shed a light on the topic of Mexican immigrants in the United States. However, by having both a Mexican and an American woman share similar violent experiences with men, Boyle also places an emphasis on the less pronounced theme of sexual violence and discrimination against women, even in polar opposite realities. Early on, an invisible bond begins to form between the two main female characters, America, a recent Mexican immigrant and mother to be, and Kyra a successful white businessman. And while they never actually meet one another, as they endure and recover from their own personal problematic experiences with certain men, they are affected immensely by these events. America tries her best balance her new life of being an illegal, living in the ravine of Topanga Canyon with Candido, finding work and preparing for her baby to come.

Read More

More about Individualism In Sandra Cisneros Straw Into Gold

Related Topics

Open Document