Francisco is a Chicano teen who when in elementary school, did not speak a word of English, and would get failed because of it, and made fun of by his teacher. There was a point where the teacher got “fed up” with Francisco speaking in Spanish in class that she burst out: TEACHER: (Blows up.) Get out!! FRANCISCO: Why?
Alvarez and her family have a lot of trauma considering there lives in the dominican republic and living under the dictator,through it all alvarez's parents raised a daughter who would share their story in a fashionable matter that told the story how it was.
Gabriel, a vaquero, who exposes the love of the llano, expresses his way of life and freedom. Their kids, three eldest sons, two daughters, and youngest son Antonio, the protagonist, become
Enrique’s Journey is a real life story based on a son and his mother having to be seperated from one another due to the migration of the mother to the United State. Enrique’s mother Lourdes left Enrique in their hometown of Honduras at the age of 5, Enrique was devastated he could not handle the pain of being without his mother. After being separated from each other for 11 years Enrique was confident and gained all the strength inorder for him to reunite with his mother whether he has to make the dangerous odyssey of crossing through the border. Family abandonment leads to unimaginable repercussions. Lourdes reason behind leaving her family was to provide a better future for her children.
From Mexico to the United States, a very dangerous journey some take to have a better life or to reunite with their family. Even people who are as inexperienced, such as Enrique, go through this dangerous path to reunite himself with his mother. In the novel, Enrique's Journey, author Sonia Nazario uses literary devices such as theme, characterization, and POV to show us how events change a character along the way and reveals how a character truly is. Sonia Nazario uses theme to show us the drastic change in character, characterization to show us how the dangers of this journey has an impact on someone, and POV to show us how the character is someone else’s perspective.
“Mammita’s Garden Cove” by Cyril Dabydeen tells the story of a protagonist Max, who demonstrates nostalgia of an island he once lived on whilst living in urban, downtown Toronto. Relying on the use of, repetition, diction, and juxtaposition Dabydeen successfully conveys the emotion of mild regret and ultimately complex attitude towards place held by the protagonist. Permeated throughout the excerpt are examples of repetition; emphasizing the despairing nature of the protagonist as he searches for a job. Dabydeen highlights the way in which Max’s sullen attitude towards his current place of residence. The author repeats the image of feet kicking into the ground on two separate occasions, “feet kicking hard ground” (line 4) and “His heels pressed
Oscar Casares created a very believable character in “Mrs. Perez” by writing about Lolas passion, bowling, and including flash backs about her younger life and family. He used these flash backs and incorporated her family to go into depth about her past, and let the readers infer why she is the way she is. The bowling ball that is repeatedly mentioned throughout the story contrast her past life. By giving her a hobby, and showing the struggles she has experienced in her past, she becomes like a real person readers empathize with. To begin with, Casares often went back in time to show her seemingly unhappy life with her now deceased husband.
In this explanation, the author employs the relationship of Antonio, a seven year boy and Ultima, a magical woman with healing powers and the various experiences which all along help the protagonist to learn important aspects of the community and designs means of overcoming the challenges with the help of Ultima. The author has done a good job in highlighting the origins and traditions of a culture which seems to be little understood or ignored by historians. The setting of the narrative, which is the author’s hometown and the use of the author’s life experiences does not only make the facts presented valuable but also exciting to read. The story also presents a number of conflicts such as paganism vs Catholicism, American Culture vs Hispanic Culture and the Expectation of parents towards their
Gabriel and Maria’s arguments are portrayed through the lens of Antonio. Gabriel Marez, Antonio’s father, was a vaquero all his life. His last name signifies
Ocho Apellidos Vascos is a quirky love story between Amaia and Anxton (whose actual name is Rafa). It begins in a Sevillan bar where a Basque woman is out with her friends. She’s very drunk, and has obviously been having a pretty terrible time since her husband-to-be left her with a large sum of debt. An Andalusian man, Rafa, is on stage telling rude jokes about Basque women. The Basque woman, Amaia tells him off.
Like Water for Chocolate is a radical novel which illustrates how male and female characteristics are interchangeable in a time period and culture where gender roles are all encompassing. The female characters depict characteristics typical of men such as authority, masculinity, and sensuality. While the male characters portray more feminine roles, therefore accentuating the way gender is presented. Through the reversal of gender roles traditionally represented as masculine and feminine, the author is able to show how gender roles are exchangeable and should not be based off of physical sexual orientation to directly define the personality of the individual. Mama Elena is forced to take on both the mother and father figure of the house.
“Fiesta 1980” father and son. Junot Diaz story “Fiesta 1980” is a story about an immigrant family that came to the US in the hunt for better opportunities. The story includes a myriad number of culturalisms to show that Yunior’s family is still new and that they still conserve their traditions. Nevertheless, Yunior’s family is not so different from many other Hispanic families in the US; a great amount of Hispanics families can be represented by “Fiesta 1980”.
In Guillermo Lavin’s “Reaching the Shore” contains imagery of Maquiladoras, parental role model, machismo, and addiction. “Reaching the Shore” is about the Mexican culture and economic structure. Through these topics, I believe the idea of Mexican culture and economic structure are expressed. Jose Paul admires his father and wants to be just like him. I believe that as young boy growing up you look up to your father as that male role model you'd like to be when you're an adult.
In Isabel Allende’s short story “Two Words”, readers follow the story of Belisa Crepuscalario, a woman who was born to an extremely poor family and sell words for a living. Colonel, a really tough and closed man who does not show his feelings easily and had spent his life serving homeland in the civil war. Late in the story she meets Colonel where the tough and closed man become a totally different person. In “Two Words,” Allende emphasizes the power of words through Belisa’s work to develop both Belisa and Colonel’s character, helping him realize that life is beautiful and enjoyable. To understand the power of words in Belisa’s life, it is important to know a little bit about her background.
Over the years of fitting in, she enjoyed her independence but believed it “…didn’t have to be an exile…” (Alvarez 1304) from her native ways. In regaining her identity, she believes she must reconnect with her favorite childhood “…antojos, guavas…” (Alvarez 1300). In finding and eating the guavas, it is her way of reconnecting with her family and calling back the memories of the once Dominican
