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.

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.