Bitter grounds is a novel that explores the lives of El Salvadoran women who are passionate and strong. The book has three sections and each section is about a different generation and each focuses on two women. One who is a servant from a poor family and the other who is wealthy, well known. This story was so brutal, it had violence and death. Sandra Benitez is an amazing narrator, she presented many themes in this story. There are many themes in this story but the most important ones are betrayal and economic differences. William Blake once said “It is easier to forgive an enemy than to forgive a friend.” One main theme in the story is betrayal, Cecilia betrayed her best friend Elena, they been best friends since childhood. They attended …show more content…
JoyBell C once said “I think that, people are people. That's why the way I treat the lady working in the deli who slices my ham is the same way I treat my friend who drives a Chrysler. That's why the way I treat the guy who packs my groceries is the same way I treat my rich friends. Because people are people. Some are rich and some are poor, and they're all people.” The story is about women from two families, Elena who is from the higher class and Jacinta who is from the poor working class. Sandra presented the rich in such a way that made them so human, and down to earth it was extremely hard to find a villain in the story. Elena’s daughter Magda was so good to Jacinta that she helped Jacinta raise her daughter. Magda wanted their daughters to get the same education and they grew up together. Proving education to a peasant was unlike for the rich, Magda’s sister in law was against her decision of providing Maria Mercedes with the same education as her own daughter Florencia. Magda wanted to send the girls to a private school. Margarita said to Magda that “I think you should reconsider sending that servant girl to school with flor”. Magda said “But the girls are like …show more content…
They were like best friends, to Magda her status and Jacinta’s status did not make a difference. These economic differences were a huge deal in the story, we often see rich people discriminating the poor but in this story Magda turned out to be a person who is down to earth. She was not selfish, she didn’t show off her wealth nor she degregated her workers to maintain her reputation. Society has norms for rich people and for poor people but not every rich person is selfish. Economic differences can be a big deal for some people but at the end of the day we all are human beings. Sandra wanted to show this side of the rich to her audience that there are people like Margarita who discriminate the poor then there are people like Magda who are not selfish. They know how to treat their servants right and they don’t see them as different people. Sandra wanted to uncover this truth and she successfully proved her point. This story targeted the rich people and the poor people to change their point of view toward each other. These were universal themes that applied to everyone regardless of their culture or economic
Modern society believes in the difficult yet essential nature of coming of age. Adolescents must face difficult obstacles in life, whether it be familial, academic, or fiscal obstacles. In the House on Mango Street, Esperanza longs for a life where she will no longer be chained to Mango Street and aspires to escape. As Esperanza grows up on Mango Street, she witnesses the effect of poverty, violence, and loss of dreams on her friends and family, leading her to feel confused and broken, clinging to the dream of leaving Mango Street. Cisneros uses a reflective tone to argue that a change in one’s identity is inevitable, but ultimately for the worst.
Symbolism is the key to understanding Sandra Cisneros’ novel, “The House on Mango Street”. By unraveling the symbolism, the reader truly exposes the role of not only Latina women but women of any background. Esperanza, a girl from a Mexican background living in Chicago, writes down what she witnesses while growing up. As a result of her sheltered upbringing, Esperanza hardly comprehends the actions that take place around her, but what she did understand she wrote in her journal. Cisneros used this technique of the point of view of a child, to her advantage by giving the readers enough information of what is taking place on Mango Street so that they can gather the pieces of the puzzle a get the big picture.
Desert Blood, a book by Alicia Gaspar De Alba, is considered to be a mystery novel that covers a seventeen year crime wave. Specifically, the author has focused on the Juarez femicides issue whereby femicide is defined as the murder of females just because they are women. However, in this case, the Juarez victims are the poor and young Mexican females that were murdered because they were poor. The protagonist of this story is Ivon Villa, a professor that focuses on women studies while the antagonists are Silvia Pasquel, Natalia Stregnard and Zabaleta. This paper will therefore focus on the plot summary and analysis of the novelwhile pinpointing the main parts of the story.
This novel is a story of a Chicano family. Sofi, her husband Domingo together with their four daughters – Esperanza, Fe, Caridad, and Loca live in the little town of Tome, New Mexico. The story focuses on the struggles of Sofi, the death of her daughters and the problems of their town. Sofi endures all the hardships and problems that come her way. Her marriage is deteriorating; her daughters are dying one by one. But, she endures it all and comes out stronger and more enlightened than ever. Sofi is a woman that never gives up no matter how poorly life treats her. The author- Ana Castillo mixes religion, super natural occurrences, sex, laughter and heartbreak in this novel. The novel is tragic, with no happy ending but at the same time funny and inspiring. It is full of the victory of the human spirit. The names of Sofi’s first three daughters denote the three major Christian ideals (Hope, Faith and Charity).
Women’s Escape into Misery Women’s need for male support and their husband’s constant degradation of them was a recurring theme in the book House on Mango Street. Many of Esperanza’s stories were about women’s dreams of marrying, the perfect husband and having the perfect family and home. Sally, Rafaela, and Minerva are women who gave me the impression of [damsel’s in distress].CLICHÉ, it’s ok though. It’s relevant They wished for a man to sweep them of their feet and rescue them from their present misery. These characters are inspiring and strong but they are unable to escape the repression of the surrounding environment. *Cisneros presents a rigid world in which they lived in, and left them no other hope but to get married. Esperanza, however, is a very tough girl who knows what she wants. She will keep dreaming and striving until she gets it. She says, "I am too strong for her [Mango Street] to keep me here" (110). Esperanza learned from all of these women that she was not going to be tied down. She said, "I have decided not to grow up tame like the others who lay their necks on the threshold waiting for the ball and chain" (88). **Especially after seeing that Sally was suffering so much. Sally’s father is making her want to leave home by beating her. Sally "said her mother rubs lard on the places were it hurts" (93). There is not enough lard in the world to be able to cure the pain within Sally’s heart. Sally, "met a marshmallow salesman at a school bazaar" (101). Pretty soon " sally got married, she has her house now, her pillowcases and her plates" (101). Her marriage seems to free her from her father, but in reality she has now stepped into a world of misery. This was supposed to help her heal; " she says she is in love, but I think she did it to escape." (101). Unlike the other women Sally has no escape, no poetry, not even papaya coconut juice, not to mention, " he does not let her look out the window" (102). That is why "she sits at home because she is afraid to go outside without his permission."(102). Rafaela’s situation also involves imprisonment in her own home. Cisneros introduced us to Rafaela, a young beautiful girl whose expectations from marriage were to obtain a sweet home to live in. Instead...
The theme that has been attached to this story is directly relevant to it as depicted by the anonymous letters which the main character is busy writing secretly based on gossip and distributing them to the different houses. Considering that people have an impression of her being a good woman who is quiet and peaceful, it becomes completely unbecoming that she instead engages in very abnormal behavior. What makes it even more terrible is the fact that she uses gossip as the premise for her to propagate her hate messages not only in a single household but across the many different households in the estate where she stays.
“Poverty and exploitation of women in Latin America can never be alleviated because they are rooted in machismo,” meaning that because of the way society was run in Latin American, women can’t advance from the ancient state of mind that they belong in the private sphere and should stay there, because only men are good enough to be out in the public sphere. The reason why society was run in this manner, was because of the machismo feeling engraved in the minds of men and, in some cases, women in society. Alicia, Carolina, and Nancy don’t really have any other choice, than try to survive on their own by doing acts that are not “approved” by the society they live in. Even now, because of their actions, we could even disagree with the way they decided to approach their situation, because even now a day, we could think that selling one’s body or being involved in “off the book”
The themes explored in the novel illustrate a life of a peasant in Mexico during the post-revolution, important themes in the story are: lack of a father’s role model, death and revenge. Additionally, the author Juan Rulfo became an orphan after he lost
This story is about the friendship of too girls from very different families. Carlotta is a darker skinned girl whose family is "new money". She wants to go to Scared Heart Academy for her high school education. Scared Heart does not let in girls of her skin tone. The school has been financially struggling and Carlotta's father donates money to the school, which in turn get her accepted in to the school. Since she is new money she was not "locked up" in her home her whole life. She knows the town and tells her friend Merceditas all about the way things are there. The other girl, Merceditas come from a very wealthy family who has been this way for gene...
Miss Moore tells the children that there is a disparity between the wealthy and the poor, and that those with little income need to step up and fight for what they are owed, “…poor people have to wake up and demand their share of the pie” (Bambara 285). The setting is an important aspect for this message. Not only does Miss Moore take them to a store that is renowned for its unique and expensive toys, but it also occurs during summer. In the summer affluent people have the option to leave and go on holiday, while poor people must continue to work because they do not have enough money to take time off or to go anywhere. Miss Moore takes the children to the shop to open their eyes to how unfair the current economic system is and wants them to feel that they need to act to change it. That they should strive to make things equal. Although the children do not like Miss Moore and think the trip was a waste of time, this message is not lost on them. On the train ride home Sylvia sits and thinks, “What kinda work they do and how they live and how come we ain’t in on it?” (285), this conveys her feelings of confusion and anger at the fact that there is a social hierarchy and that they are at the bottom. Sugar also understands that they are not receiving the same opportunities when she
One of the most important themes throughout `Campos de Castilla' is the relationship between the poet and the external reality. In `La Tierra de Alvargonzález', this is also an important theme, yet this poem differs from the collection, not only in its length, but also its content. There are many different levels of interpretation of this poem: first of all as a simple murder story, secondly as historical degeneration - represented within a family by parricide, and lastly as Cainism. `La Tierra de Alvargonzález' existed in two forms: prose and verse. The prose form was the original form, but it is the verse form which is more well-known out of them. There are some fundamental differences between the two forms. Most notably is the absence of the second narrator - the peasant, in the verse form, which creates a multitude of effects upon the interpretation of the poem. As a result, the narrator of the poem is more involved in the action he is retelling, and there is a greater accumulation of tension, more ambiguity and supernatural aspects. Another difference between the prose and verse versions is the murder of Miguel, the youngest brother. In the prose version, he is also murdered, yet in the poem, Miguel survives which puts more emphasis upon the theme of guilt and retribution. The unseen forces of sin, guilt and retribution are conveyed with an ambiguity made effective through poetic rhythm and imagery which conveys that nature and human lives run parallel, which is emphsised by the landscape's role as a reminder of the brothers' guilt in the final stages of the poem.
The antagonistic nature of man verses woman is illustrated through Allende’s description and reactions of Clara and Esteban. Men and women are at the opposite ends of the spectrum of human nature, women know that men like to think they are in charge, because it gives them power, so women give into this little whim for the peace of mind and happiness that are essential in any relationship. Their instincts make their influence much more threatening and rebellious than the rage of one man who does not get his way. The women of Allende’s world are vibrant, spiritual, sensible and loving, the men are volatile, strong, and passionate, while they may be stereotypical, they help portray the true nature of man verses woman. Women may be physically weaker than men but they can match wits and daring with them any time.
In Federico García Lorca’s La Casa de Bernarda Alba, a tyrant woman rules over her five daughters and household with absolute authority. She prevents her daughters from having suitors and gives them little to no freedom, especially with regard to their sexualities and desires. They must conform to the traditional social expectations for women through sewing, cleaning, as well as staying pure and chaste. While, as John Corbin states in The Modern Language Review, “It was entirely proper for a respectable woman in [Bernarda’s] position to manage her household strictly and insist that the servants keep it clean, to defend its reputation, ensure the sexual purity of her daughters, and promote advantageous marriages for them,” Bernarda inordinately
Unpleasant truth’s that the author has presented to the reader, show that as a result of Briony’s crime, she has no one to atone for, that she is the person who decides outcomes relating to Robbie and Cecilia. Thus, in the stages of the human condition, one finds mortality within the power of words, while others have an ultimate demise. In conclusion, the unpalatable truths of the human condition represented in texts confront readers as they are challenged to recognise life’s obstacles.
Women in general within the novel stand as a representation for economics. Women throughout Crime and Punishment are repeatedly attacked and slandered for their financial standings. Raskolnikov murders the pawnbroker for having stable financial grounding and cheating him out of fair pawnings, feeling financially powerless. He expresses while at Alyona’s house that he wishes to leave her curt interactions behind but has no other place to turn. Raskolnikov’s perception of Alyona’s superior monetary value leads readers to believe that she is very wealthy. In contrast, however, Alyona’s “rags” are described as “completely worn out and yellow with age” (Phillips). Dounia’s sacrifice of freedom is all due to economic vulnerability. If her family were well off, she would have no desire whatsoever to marry Luzhin. Marfa Petrovna holds power over Svidrigailov due to her wealth; this wealth also incurs the wrath of Svidrigailov’s abuse, eventually causing her allowance of Svidrigailov to control the estate and finances. When a woman kindly gives Raskolnikov money, thinking him to be a beggar, he is offended and throws the needed-money into the river. Sonia’s poverty also allows for her attacks by Luzhin and even Raskolnikov. Raskolnikov is poverty stricken, but financial vulnerability does not impact a man in the same way as a woman. While the women’s lives revolve around finding