Chicano Literature Essay Research Paper Contemporary Chicano

Chicano Literature Essay, Research Paper

Contemporary Chicano Literature

Four days left to write my final paper. I do procrastinate. I had all semester and I waited till the final four days. I was in the library at the STCC Pecan Campus reading Walt Whitman’s classic poem “Oh Captain, My Captain,” taking a brake from the decision I was confronted with: what subject should I write my final paper on. Whitman’s “Oh Captain, My Captain” happens to be my favorite Whitman poem. I cried the first time I read it. I’ve read works by some of the world’s finest authors: Mark Twain, William Shakespeare, Anne Rice, Stephen King, Hunter S. Thompson, Upton Sinclair, Alex Haley, etc. I suddenly realized that I have never read a work of fiction, or a play by a Chicano or a Chicana. The only two plays I have ever read in Spanish were not written by a Chicanos: Boda de Sangre by Federico Garcia Lorca (in which I had the honor of playing the part of el novio)and El Caballero de Olmedo by Lope de Vega (in which I had the honor of playing the part of Alonzo). I put away the Whitman poem and became lost in my own critical thought. Was there not a single Chicano or Chicana that had ever written a work of fiction. I went to the library’s computerized card catalogue system to investigate this matter. Of course I found Chicano fictional writers; however, not as many as I wish I would’ve found. And so I decided to base my paper on a topic that I don t recall we ever discussed in class: Chicano literature. Myself being an actor and a writer this subject fascinates me. In preparation for my paper, my research consisted of reading several short stories by Chicano authors whom I found to be exceptionally successful. I will attempt to inform the reader of this paper about the Chicano authors’ successes and give an analytical review of the stories which I read. These readings which I tackled upon myself were quite entertaining. I remember reading Octavio Paz’s chapter, “The Pachuco and Other Extremes,” from his book, The Labyrinth of Solitude Life and Thought in Mexico, in which he mentions that a work of art (i.e. literature or paintings) would help to “recreate” the Mexican and “express him” (Paz 10). Paz made this statement in the 1940s when a Mexican author was a rare thing to see. Authors are storytellers, and storytellers are essential in the up-liftment of a culture. Mexican American history was changed by “American scholars who take refuge in patriotism” (Acuna ix). We, Chicanos, need our own storytellers to write our own literature; our own history. We cannot expect white America to write our history and interpret it correctly.

Sandra Cisneros

The first book I read was Growing Up Chicana/o. On the cover the purpose of the book is stated: “Stories of the joys, pains, frustrations and triumphs of a Mexican American childhood – twenty Chicana/o writers explore their search for identity in America.” The first short story that I read from this book was by Sandra Cisneros and its title is “Eleven.” Sandra Cisneros’ “Eleven” first appeared in her book Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, which was originally printed in 1991 and was the recipient of such awards: PEN center USA Was Literary Award (1991), Lannen Literary Award (1991), QPB New Voices Award in Fiction (1992), and the Anisfield Wolf Award (1992). Cisneros also wrote My Wicked Ways in 1980 and The House on Mango Street in 1984, which in 1985 was a recipient of a Before Columbus Foundation American Book Award (Lopez 155).

After reading “Eleven,” which takes up no more that five pages, I realized why Woman Hollering Creek won so many literary awards. It’s a unique, little “growing-up” story unlike any other that I have ever read. Rachel, the main character in the story, turns eleven years of age on the day that the story is set. I will not summarize the story because this paper is not a book report; however, I will let the theme of the story be known in the author’s own words:

“when you’re eleven, you’re also ten, and nine, and eight, and seven, and six, and five, and four, and three, and two, and one. Like some days you might say something stupid and that’s the part of you that’s still ten. Or maybe some days you might need to sit on your mama’s lap because you’re scared, and that’s the part of you that’s five. And maybe one day when you’re all grown up maybe you will need to cry like if you’re three, and that’s okay. That’s what I tell Mama when she’s sad and needs to cry. Maybe she’s feeling like she’s three (Lopez 156)

Rudolfo Anaya

The next story I read from Growing Up Chicana/o was a chapter, “Solomon s Story”, out of the novel Tortuga. The author, Rudolfo Anaya, is a professor at the University of New Mexico in the Department of Languages and Literature. His most prized work is titled Albuquerque, published in 1992, won the PEN Center USA West Literary Award. Anaya has been a novelist since the days of the Chicano movement; his first novel, Bless Me, Ultima, was published in 1972. Although Albuquerque is his most prized work, in the in the book Barrios and Borderlands, Anaya s novel Bless Me, Ultima is identified as his most popular piece of work ever (Heyck 382). His other novels include: Heart of Aztlan (published in 1976), Tortuga (published in 1979), and The Silence of the Llano (published in 1982). Anaya also has written a number of nonfiction books: A Chicano in China (pub