everything to date

well, here we are at the last blog!

overall, this has been an interesting class, and i'm not really sure where to start.

i guess the most important theme that we covered was that of identity.  i am planning on writing my paper on something along that line... so i guess i can use this as a way of getting the wheels turning.  we saw so many characters struggle with who they are, where they come from, and why they're out-casted and how to overcome (or be overwhelmed by) their situations.  what still stands out for me a lot in the movie that we watched.  it really concreted, in my mind, what immigrants have to deal with - and especially mexican  immigrants who were displaced in their own land (the whole 'the border crossed us' case).  there we saw the struggles and hardships and racism and internal problems that all of these people faced.  of course, we saw this in a lot of the readings.  

the first book of the course, who would have thought it, i found to be less of a story about chicano/a struggle and more of a story about people (no, not feminism) in an unstable country all trying to do what they thought best.  all of the women and men out for themselves, instead of each other.  this is a contrast from and a body to remember with, where we see all of the characters working for each other - in underground movements, helping with border jumping (embassy gate jumping), support from abroad (not forgetting who they left behind).  

women hollering creek had a diversity to it that helped span a wide array of readers; there was something for everyone.  i enjoyed this book a lot.  it had such a unique style to it; this, obviously, had a huge impact on the themes and the audience.  in changing how she wrote (from story to story), cisneros keeps the reader guessing and keeps them captivated... it is like an additional character, because without it the book would not work - the themes would not be a strong, and nor would the characters that we 'see' (or recognize).

i like the format of short stories, especially for a class like this because it allows for students to see several points of view that, often, in a novel can get lost or confused in a lengthy plot.  by having a few longer short stories that are serious allows the author to get an important part of his/her message across, and then being able to break it up with a lighter story (with no defined characters, or with characters that you don't have to remember...) allows for the reader to not get bogged down with an overload of depressing information.

finally, i really enjoyed hearing carmen rodriguez speak.  it really helped give a face to the story (much like the salt of the earth - ...y no se lo traigo la tierra), and an emotional attachment.  i have read a lot of books by chilean authors, and a lot of books that are connected to the coup; but this is one of the few books that does not incorporate the element of magical realism into, and i thought (initially) that i wouldn't enjoy it as much as a result; luckily this was not the case.  i think that the canadian element successfully replaced the magic with a 'new world' element.  the new world (if it can be called that) redistributes the values of the old world and this contrast helps create its own kind of magic; i guess the most important aspect is the mixing of old and new.

immigrating, overcoming, regretting, missing, weeding

i enjoyed the first part of this book.  i really like reading stories in the form of letters, phone calls; there's something about it, almost like you're reading something you aren't supposed to - like eavesdropping. anyways, just a brief comment of style there.

more importantly, reading the first chapter made me think of my nana.  i am not an immigrant, but like most in our class, some member of my family immigrated to canada (i am a third generation canadian with lots of european family that we are still in contact with) due to one reason or another.  recently, my mum and step-dad returned from europe where my mum got to meet our dutch family for the first time.  when my nana came to canada after WWII, she left everything.  like estela, she left out of necessity; however, unlike estela, my nana had no one who wanted her to return.  leaving her home was very difficult and when she arrived in canada she started to forget all things dutch.

i am lucky that i have not been forced from my home to another country where no one understands my language, my customs, or my needs.  i have been lucky enough to travel and to live in australia, but these were all by choice and temporary.  my nana has repeatedly refused to return to holland, despite my mothers many offers; she claims that she can no longer read/write/speak dutch (her first language), and she claims no desire to return.  the anxiety that estela feels makes me doubt my nana's claims more and more.  estela feels the pull back to her santiago; yet at the same time, she has established roots in vancouver (probably under the belief that because of the blacklist, she would not be able to).  

we have talked a lot about roots in a country and uprooting from a country; can we grow roots in more than one kind of soil equally? or will one end up being a weed that we cannot get rid of?

the Garcia Girls

i really like this book.

i really like the way alvarez describes everything, her language and form is beautiful and captivating.  i forgot how much i enjoyed this book.   

when reading part three i can feel the tension laura is feeling while trying to distract the men away from searching for her husband and while she waits for victor.  

i can feel yoyo's fear and guilt when she thinks it is her fault that the men are there.  

and carlos' anxiety while he waits hidden away - so close, but so far.

i like how she describes the men as "boys in rags bringing down coconuts for el patron" (202); how laura disarms the with charm while actually treating them as the boys they are - serving the cheap beer they are accustomed to in servants glasses.

i like that alvarez uses a bluntness almost to get the reality of things across to her writers, it is almost like a corrupt poetry ... "dicks and dollars are what talk" (205) and although it seems graphic, it is very fitting.  in a country where there is corruption, you wouldn't expect to see a refined dialogue in these tense situations - it's not like politicians are sitting down and being polite in front of cameras, it is officials in their own space - stressed - dealing with situations they don't want, or need.

i like the jumping from one point of view to the next.  from tio vic, to carla and sandi.  victor announcing "operacion zapatos tenis" (208) in all seriousness and "cracks his knuckles and grins" to carla and sandi defending themselves - in all seriousness - about why they are eating at tia carmen's (because mami told them to SCRAM - 208)

i'm almost finished and looking forward to the end.

i really like this book.

some ramblings

I haven't started reading the novel yet because i cannot justify buying a second copy of it from the bookstore when i own a copy already at my parents house.  so i will mention that i enjoyed this novel the first time i read it a few years ago.  the book stood out to me in chapters one day while book shopping with one parent or another and i picked it up read the back and bought it.  this is one of the first books that opened me up to chicano literature.  i love the culture and the story and the characters.  from the time i started taking spanish classes in high school, i have enjoyed chicano literature... some of the only literature where i will willingly try just about anything sans gender prejudice.  although i am a firm believer that books are not feminist or non-feminist novels, but novels about PEOPLE, i tend to lean towards female authors/lead characters because i am female - it is just easier to put myself in their position.  i also really enjoy reading about the culture and being put into the middle of it all via strong characters and i feel that many latino/a authors do that better than lots.  i do wish that we could have read some allende or garcia marquez - even though i can see that they may be a little over read - but i find their stories to contain a pivotal element of latino/a literature being magical realism.  maybe this is more of a south american aspect than a mexican-mexican american view.  anyways, i suppose we have seen a little 'magic' in some of our readings (like the 'witch' in Cisneros')

now i'm kind of rambling.... bottom line is that i am looking forward to discussing alvarez's work in class and to reading this book again.