Sandra Cisneros Thesis

The writer Sandra Cisneros was born on December 20, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois. Because of her early life, Cisneros is able to create such compelling characters in her writing. Cisneros, who was Chicago-born, grew up in poverty in a family of seven kids. Cisneros was the only girl, and she often found herself alone. In actuality, her increasing sense of loneliness was a major factor in sparking her interest in writing. Since her mother was the only person in the family who enjoyed reading and was socially conscious, she took special care to raise her daughter to be independent, unlike herself. Cisneros' family had to constantly move between Chicago and Mexico City because her father had a propensity to travel. She found it difficult to maintain friendships because her family was often moving. In her short story "Merican," she discusses the Americanization of

They showed a young girl and her siblings in the story waiting outside while their "awful grandmother" completes her customary church duty. The girl and her brothers are gradually forgetting Mexican traditions. However, not by their grandmother, who still obeys the customs and prays for those who don't. The Plaza, which has influence by American culture, and has vendors selling cheap toys at every turn, is where the kids play rough war games outside. While the church continues to uphold the principles of its founding culture, the disparity between generations and their ideals amplifies these disparate environments. Younger generations don't appear to care about their language or culture, and they are losing more and more of it every day. At the end, two American tourists engage the kids in conversation using their rusty Spanish. Unfortunately, they are unaware that American society has ruined the lovely Mexican culture. When the kids react to them in fluent English, they are rather