Rivera vs. Rodriguez

Rivera’s “…And the Earth Did Not Devour Him” and Rodriguez’s “Aria” are contemporary texts which touch upon racial conflicts faced by Mexicans during the Chicano movement.

Both texts explore the pain and embarrassment of being an outcast, a feeling shared by the main characters, and their desire to gain a sense of belonging in American society. Most significantly, the characters’ social strife is illustrated in their experiences with public education. In Rivera’s novel, the young protagonist reflects on the events of the past year with a sense of resignation arising from instances of exploitation to himself and his people. “It’s That It Hurts” the protagonist is continually teased at school for being Mexican, and is singled out and punished when trying to defend himself against bullies. Angered by the blatant racism, he is also filled with shame for his heritage and being “different.”

            Similarly, Rodriguez recounts his school years and the discomfort that comes from entering a new environment. Rodriguez found himself lacking proper communication skills and his embarrassment motivated him to learn English. Only through proper communication did he feel he could avoid disadvantages in his education.

            Another connection between the texts was the deep compassion that the mothers had for their children. In Rivera’s “A Prayer,” the mother portrays a stereotypical martyr when begging for the safe return of her son from war. She even goes so far as to boldly offer up her “very own heart” for that of her son.

Though not quite as dramatic, I sensed a similar desire from Rodriguez’s mother as she offered him the chance at a good life. When the nuns came to visit their home and complain of Richard’s lack of fluency in English, his mother didn’t hesitate in requiring that her children practice their English at home. This appeared to be a significant sacrifice because of the intimacy of the Spanish language Rodriguez so often discussed.

            Along those same lines, I also noted a strong desire to maintain community and family in these stories. While each chapter of Rivera’s novel represented an individual memory, overall, the hope and strife of each separate character was shared to some extent with the people around them. Of all the chapters, the two that I felt best portrayed these aspects were “The Little Burnt Victims” and “When We Arrive.”

In the former, neighbor children of the protagonist were killed in a tragic turn of events after viewing a boxing movie and attempted the same career path. I found it ironic that when the Garcia’s deviated from their original Chicano way of life to follow this rags-to-riches “American dream”, they ended up worse off than they were before. “When We Arrive” provided an example of how tight-knit the Chicano community was when it came to their constant migration. Despite the weary self-delusion this chapter radiated, the unity in shouldering their burden together helped the migrants to look to a better future and provide solace to their dismal present.

Like “The Little Burnt Victims,” “Aria” demonstrated the threat to close family ties that can occur when the protagonist began to acculturate himself into American society. As Richard became more fluent in English, so too did he begin to grow more ashamed of his parents and more distant from his native language and the intimacy his family used to share through their conversions in Spanish. As a reader it was sad to watch him transform from reacting joyfully to the language common only in the home to practically ceasing to use it at all in an attempt to fit in.

Question: What are the possible advantages and disadvantages to the bilingual education teaching method?  Is it more important for students to maintain a sense of their heritage, or to be able to fit in and compete in society by acculturating to their environments? Can there be an effective blend of both?

Woman Hollering Creek: Reflection

“In the morning sometimes…Cleofilas thinks, This is the man I have waited my whole life for. Not that he isn’t a good man. She has to remind herself why she loves him when she changes the baby’s Pampers, or when she mops the bathroom floor, or tries to make the curtains for the doorways without doors, or whiten the linen…He is not very tall, no, and he doesn’t look like the men on the telenovelas…this man, this father, this rival, this keeper, this lord, this master, this husband till kingdom come.”

                Of all the passages in “Woman Hollering Creek,” the three paragraphs on page forty-nine were most striking to me. It marked an important turning point in which the protagonist, through reflection, unintentionally reveals her pent up frustration toward her subordinate role. For me, this was the climax in which the themes of female oppression, a longing for freedom, and reality vs. illusion were made clear.

Growing up in a family of men and lacking a maternal figure, Cleofilas came to learn of women’s societal roles through the viewing of telenovelas; dramatic programming that, unlike their soap opera counterparts, come to a conclusive end after about a year. Much like any young girl raised on Disney films today, Cleofilas developed an overly romanticized perception of the world around her, viewing life through a rose-tinted lens that left her blind to the bitter truth that not all endings are “happily ever after.” It is my belief that telenovelas, aside from being dear to the protagonist, are also an allegoric representation of her married life—filled with brief passion that eventually ceases.

While analyzing the above paragraph, I picked up on subtle choices that Cisneros made in regards to language that gives readers the faintest hints of the protagonist’s true feelings, even if she may not be aware of them herself. One such example that is easy to overlook, but powerful when noticed, is the line, “She has to remind herself why she loves him…” For me, this was one of the saddest quotes of the piece. Cleofilas is incapable of effortlessly listing admirable traits found in her husband, and is instead forced to justify her “love” by providing examples of her daily chores, as if to reassure herself that she has worth in his life.

The author applies syntax in a similarly potent manner. The line “this man, this father, this rival, this keeper, this lord, this master, this husband till kingdom come” is ordered in such a way that it forms a sort of spectrum that grows progressively more condescending as the protagonists frustration builds. This quote is also an excellent example of iambic meter, in that every noun following the word “this” has a rhythmic emphasis, as if she’s beating a fist on a table or stomping her foot. It is also interesting to note that, while we know the husbands name is Juan Pedro, Cleofilas constantly refers to him in ways that avoid specifically naming him (“he,” “this man,” etc.), thus creating an emotional barrier between the couple.

While there is an obvious struggle between Cleofilas and her husband, I believe the true conflict of this story is man vs. self. Despite suffering physical harm at the hands of her husband, Cleofilas is at first quick to overlook this abuse because of her “silver lining” view on life. Even after proceeding to list off her husband’s offensive traits, Cleofilas has been so influenced by the telenovelas that she has convinced herself that her role as a house-keeper and child-bearer are proper duties as a woman. Never once does this belief cause her to question whether or not she could survive independently from men. It is not until later that this internal conflict is solved with the help of the stories dues ex machine, Felice.

Though it is unrelated the specific passage I chose to discuss, I wanted to ask if you think Cleofilas’ father said “I am your father, I will never abandon you” out of pure paternal affection, or because, as seen with Juan Pedro, it is expected that the men in their society provide care for the women?