cisneros and her writing

i have enjoyed the variety in cisneros' writing very much... and there is plenty of variety.  this collection bounces from the point of view of a child, a self-absorbed teen, a promiscuous woman, among many others; and that's just who is telling the story.  then there is the way these narrators tell their stories.  we read one woman's stream of conscious describing her lover and their life together; then we read an entire story through the dialogue of two other characters; we read people's letters to saints begging for help; another in six short poetic paragraphs. in doing this, cisneros allows readers to connect with her characters on more levels.  not all readers are going to enjoy the same 'setup' and with her variety, there is more choices for more readers.  

in 'eyes of zapata' the father mentions an old proverb that is one of my favourites: "ojos que no ven, corazon que no siento' (98).  ines goes on to say that her eyes do see, and her heart does suffer.  i really enjoy when authors use native proverbs in their writings because it adds an extra element.  it adds an new perspective, a new way to understand where the character is coming from, i guess.  i don't know why i have always like this proverb... probably because i find it more relevant  than many proverbs, because it's very to the point.  how can you feel if you cannot see?  without seeing what is happening you cannot feel compassion for those suffering; you cannot feel betrayed by what you saw.  ignorance comes from being blind and denying what yourself what your heart needs to know.  a blind heart cannot reach its full emotional potential.  you really need to open your eyes to the truth before your heart can fully accept it.  

eleven, and ten, and nine, and eight...

so when i saw the title of our next book i kind of thought 'oh no, more feminism...'  but have been pleasantly surprised so far.  

my friend lucy smells like corn - who wouldn't be intrigued by a chapter title like that!

i really enjoy reading these stories from a child's point of view.  i mean isn't it more enlightening? the ideas that children have (even if it is an adult writing.. yes this i realize) and the way they view the world gives you a renewed sense of hope.  so far my favourite part is when the young girl in 'eleven' explains how when you are eleven you are also ten and nine.. etc.  I think that this is one of those childlike comments that you don't forget.... at least i didn't.  

while having an overwhelming weekend, i thought about this chapter in the book and how the little girl tells her mama "when she's sad and needs to cry ...[it's because] she's feeling three" (p7).  i definitely felt three this weekend and that part of the book really made me think.  it's childlike comments like this that make you remember that children can teach us as much as we teach them.  sometimes the children that are around us leak out an interesting point even if most of the time they are little sponges absorbing what we have to teach.  

in a children's lit course this summer my prof brought up the difference between childlike and childish and the class was quick to define.  the childlike comments in cisneros book are insightful to how the children are coping with their lives, how they perceive what is going on around them and how they know more than we give them credit for.  the opposing term - childish - can be more applied to characters like those in who would have thought it, like mrs norval who complains and manipulates and has little tantrums when she doesn't get what she wants.  

i'm looking forward to reading the rest of cisnero's stories and seeing how the narration changes throughout and if the childlike teaching continues, or if we see it mature into adult understanding

It's about that time....

it's about that time of the year.... midterms, papers, (blogs...wikis), not to mention all of the readings that go along with these academic endeavors. So far this term we've covered such a variety of readings and i think that i have enjoyed tomas rivera's work the best (convenient since he is also my wiki-subject.... but a coincidence none the less). i think i enjoyed this the most because of its abiguities - it's structured chaos within the very format of the novel. i enjoyed that there were no characters and that you had to jump from one 'chapter' to the next without very much warning.
going back to the beginning with "who would have thought it"; i didn't not enjoy this book, but obviously (and with, from what i can tell from class/blogs) with a class consensus, the books ending was somewhat ________. Despite this blank ending, the characters were vivid and, in my opinion, probably quite accurate with how people in the time and area would have reacted to such scandal.
marti's readings were, on the other hand, difficult and at the same time, rewarding. i struggled to no end with these readings but what i did comprehend from them, i enjoyed very much. marti is a poetic writer with a beautiful fluidity in his writing. he can take something like the brooklyn bridge and turn it into this living creation of the people. i loved that he took the time to describe the people alongside the bridge (even if it was difficult to read...) and how they impacted each other.
finally, i wanted to mention once again, that i enjoyed the movie very much, despite it's dated, and cheesey appearance. i can only imagine what it would have been like at that time to go through what the characters did and the rough, black and white images really enforced what we had read up to that point.

Movie

Just a quick note:

i actually really enjoyed the movie last class and am looking forward to finishing it on monday.  ya okay so it was kind of corny but it's just dated and the message behind the movie was clear and passionately delivered.  

also am enjoying the movie on account of the reading by Rivera. it really puts all the 'stories' into a more emotional perspective; although the book is beautifully written, there is obviously a different effect when you see and hear someone delivering a speech for their rights.

anyways, i'm frantically studying for midterms so i just thought i'd put in some quick input on last class!