In Sandra Cisneros “Mericans” she creates a young character named Michelle who faces cultural differences and nonunderstanding, gender roles and culture stereotyping which can be exhibited in the real world. The author introduces Michelle as a foreigner with in her own culture, with this being said throughout the story Michelle seemed to be uninterested in her Grandmothers ideals and the principles of the Mexican heritage. The evidence behind this statement is; throughout the passage Michelle refers to her grandmother as being “awful” (Cisneros 93). I think a big reason for this is the fact that the grandmother has the children wait outside the church doors as she goes and say her daily prayers. Michelle does not understand the reason for …show more content…
It seems as she has no interest in pursuing the Spanish language and refers to English which creates a language barrier. We see this in the passage when the grandmother calls for Michelle in her Mexican name “Micaela” and her brothers refer to her as “Michelle”. (Cisneros 95) The author gives the grandmother a type of resentment attitude towards Michelle because of the constant absence of interest in the culture they share together. In the passage the narrator mentions “The awful grandmother knits the names of the dead and the living into one long prayer fringed with the grandchildren born in that barbaric country with its barbaric ways” (Cisneros 94). At an early age it’s customary that in the Mexican culture, young girls portray the idealistic of the parent to the younger siblings. We see this in the passage when Michelle is the one who goes looking for the grandmother in the church. Even though Michelle is the middle child she is the one who seems to hold the most responsibility when it comes to her brothers. In the article “Mexican Family Culture” by Cassie Damewood she reports “Sisters were relied upon to emerge in the image of their mothers, learning how to cook, nurture children and cater to the needs of the men in the family” ("Mexican Family …show more content…
N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July 2015. Damewood, Cassie. "Mexican Family Culture." LoveToKnow. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July 2015. Lopez, Tracy. "Non-Spanish Fluent Latinas: “Don’t Judge Us” - NEW LATINA™." NEW LATINA™. N.p., 9 Mar. 2012. Web. 12 July 2015. Mckee, Chris. "Interviewer ‘assumes’ NM Boxer Can’t Speak English." KRQE News 13. N.p., 19 Jan. 2015. Web. 13 July 2015. "Non-Spanish Fluent Latinas: “Don’t Judge Us” - NEW LATINA™." NEW LATINA™. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July 2015. Roberts, Edgar V, and Robert Zweig. Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing. Pearson Education, 2015. Print. "Sorry, I Don't Speak Spanish: Hispanics Deal with the Loss of Spanish Fluency." Minero Magazine. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 July
"Mericans" and "Response to Executive Order 9066" both convey the struggles of living in america and being from a different background. Even though, they may have been born and raised in america they aren't seen as Americans. They are constantly faced with generalization and stereotypes. For example, some people are surprised when they speak English. Okita and Cisnero both faced struggles, people generalized all Mexicans and all Japanese to act in a certain way based on their appearance and background.
Cofer tells the audience that “on that day, we were made the negative models by the nuns” (547-548). She and other Latinas were looked down upon for the way they dressed. The use of the word negative makes the audience sympathize with Cofer and stirs up
Growing up in a Hispanic community, I was exposed to the limitations of females and was taught to know my place. I recall many times in which I saw firsthand the belittlement of women. Beginning in my own home, my father expects my mother to cook, clean, and organize his belongings. As a Hispanic female, I have been surrounded by this mentality. In Latin American countries the corresponding roles of women are justified by the term machismo.
In the short story, “Mericans”, written by Sandra Cisneros, there are many underlying conflicts that surface throughout the story. The conflicts, in short, evolve around two very distinguished cultures. Furthermore, the clashing views regarding the two cultures cause a great amount of problems for many individuals in a society. The cultural differences can tremendously affect a society, as the clashing views can lead to a wide array of issues such as ethnocentrism, gender discrimination, stereotypes, as well as the health of many personal relationships. Cisneros begins to develop this conflict when the story’s narrator, Michele, describes the altar to La Divina Providencia in which the “awful grandmother” worships.
Moreover, she reveals that stereotypes mark people as undesirable and separate them from the rest of society, thus impeding their assimilation. Cofer uses another simile when she details her experience with an American boy at her first formal dance: “ … [He] said in a resentful tone: ‘I thought you Latin girls were supposed to mature early’—my first instance of being thought of as a fruit or vegetable—I was supposed to ripen, not just grow into womanhood like other girls” (549). In this simile, Cofer shows how those who stereotype Latino women compare them to fruits and vegetables because both are supposed to mature rapidly. However, she denounces this comparison by emphasizing that it dehumanizes Latino women and reduces them to the status of mere plants while creating a
Barrientos tells of learning to read and write in spanish. One key feature of a literacy narrative is an indication of the narrative 's significance. The aurthorś significance of learning the language is sha wants to feel like she belongs in the Latino community. According to the text the author felt out of place because she did not speak spanish, but she was Guatemalan. “I am Guatemalan by birth but pura gringa by Circumstance?”
The Myth of The Latin Woman Analysis Latin American women face challenges every single day and moment of their lives. They are strongly discriminated against in all sectors of employment, in public places, and even while just walking down the street. In her essay, "The Myth of the Latin Woman," Judith Ortiz Cofer describes her own experiences using illuminating vignettes, negative connotation, and cultural allusion to exemplify how she used the struggles in her day to day life as a Latin woman to make herself stronger. Cofer uses illuminating vignettes to illustrate the different situations she encountered as a Latina while growing up and living in America.
Communication Counselors working with Latino clients will want to take into considerations possible linguistic complications that make take place (Sue & Sue, 2013). As counselors asses Latino clients, they will want to be diligent to be aware of possible linguistic difference that may occur, that may cause them to unintentionally misdiagnose their client (2013). If the counselor feels as if there is a significant language barrier that will interfere with the counseling session, than it would be advisable for a trained interpreter to be brought in for the sessions, but this too can present its own challenges (2013). Counselors also want to be aware that Latino’s often speak in a circular and figurative manner (Frevert, & Miranda,1998) hence, counselors would want to be careful that they do not interpret communication in a literal or linear manner (1998). When
Cofer explains that the myth of the Latin woman is that Americans look at all Latina women’s as domestic, waitresses or any other low class job workers. Media also makes the myth of the Latin women, by making fun of a housemaid in California that mispronounces words and has poor cooking skills. What Cofer is trying to say, is that not all Latinas are the same, there are Latinas with an education and Latinas without one. But the reality is that everyone wants to treat all Latinas the worst, when it shouldn’t be like this. Latin women shouldn’t have to go through all the harassments of getting unfairly treated, just because there’s a myth that says all Latin women’s are inferior to every
She studies their background and circumstances, explaining how “whether living in a labor camp, a boxcar settlement, mining town, or urban barrio, Mexican women nurtured families, worked for wages, built fictive kin networks, and participated in formal and informal community associations” (p. 5). These are the ways, Ruiz found, that helped Mexican American women make them part of the American society. She also talks about the attempts made by groups like Protestants that tried to civilize or Americanize the immigrant women but were unsuccessful due to the religious and community groups as well as labor unions that were formed to give them
In Caballero, Gonzalez & Raleigh belittle the image and abilities of the non-white Mexican worker (peon). By using the narrator to reinforce the negative stereotypes regarding
Rodriguez would speak English in school because to him it was a “public language”, while Spanish was a “private language” (72). Rodriguez
Generalizations take after specific individuals for the duration of their lives. Judith Ortiz Cofer is a Latina who has been stereotyped and she delineates this in her article, "The myth of the Latin lady: I just met a young lady named Maria. " Cofer depicts how pernicious generalizations can really be. Perusers can understand Cofer 's message through the numerous explanatory interests she employments.
In “How to Tame a Wild Tongue,” Gloria Anzaldua argues for the permission to define her own Chicano/ Feminist voice without being hindered by stereotypes and limitations. Gloria argues that, “wild tongues can’t be tamed, they can only be cut out,” but specifically argues that different accents stir up one big culture. She says “We oppress each other trying to oust Chicano each other, tying to be the “real” Chicanas, to speak like Chicanos.” meaning each Spanish is a variation of two languages, and that there’s different ways she speaks to others in certain situations like having two tongues. Gloria also argues that she shouldn’t be embarrassed by her language and accent by saying “I am my language” meaning her language is what makes her special and unique.
The Story of the Vargas Family “Rosa Vargas’ kids are too many and too much. It’s not her fault, you know, except she is their mother and only one against so many” (Cisneros 29). In the novel The House on Mango Street, the author, Sandra Cisneros, touches on the many negative consequences of a single, impoverished mother raising an overwhelming amount of children. Poverty, discrimination, parental and neighborly responsibility, and respect are all issues and social forces that act upon the family; their presence or lack thereof cause several grisly occurrences to take place. Poverty was almost like a curse given to Rosa Vargas by her husband, who “left without even leaving a dollar for bologna or a note explaining how come” (29).