Sandra Cisneros’s short story “Never Marry a Mexican” deals heavily with the concept of myth in literature, more specifically the myth La Malinche, which focuses on women, and how their lives are spun in the shadows on men (Fitts). Myths help power some of the beliefs of entire cultures or civilizations. She gives the reader the mind of a Mexican-American woman who seems traitorous to her friends, family and people she is close to. This causes destruction in her path in the form of love, power, heartbreak, hatred, and an intent to do harm to another, which are themes of myth in literature. The unreliable narrator of this story was created in this story with the purpose to show her confusion and what coming from two completely different cultures can do to a person, and what kind of confusion it can bring. The myth talks of a woman living in the time of the Aztecs who is caught between her culture and that of Cortez cultures in the time of Hernando Cortes. The woman served as a mediator between Cortes and her people. She was his lover and stood aside as Cortes conquered her people making her seem as a traitor (Fitts).The woman and Cortes had a child; then Cortez abandoned the both of them, and the woman stayed alone the rest of her life. La Malinche means “bad woman” the woman got this name by turning on her people for Cortes by selling them out for revenge from how badly they treated, and ultimately destroys the civilization The author of this short story, Sandra Cisneros used this myth to make herself different from other American writers. She used ideas from things and stories she heard growing up as a Mexican-American woman, living in a house full of boys that got all of the attention (Mathias). Cisneros also grew up in the 19... ... middle of paper ... ...e relationship with men, as nothing but tools she can sharpen and destroy, lives through lust and an uncanny ability to blend into any social class makes her unique. Her character is proven as an unreliable narrator as she exaggerates parts of the story and tries to explain that she is in fact not guilty of being a mistress, but a person caught in a crossfire between two others. Works Cited Cisneros, Sandra. Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. New York: Vintage, 1992. Print. Faris, Wendy B. Ordinary Enchantments: Magical Realism and the Remystification of Narrative. Nashville: Vanderbilt UP, 2004. 24 Sept. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2014. 21 Fitts, Alexandra. "Sandra Cisneros's modern Malinche: a reconsideration of feminine archetypes in Woman Hollering Creek." International Fiction Review 29.1-2 (2002): 11+. Academic OneFile. Web. Mar. 2014.
Some earlier versions of La Llorona use the loss of La Llorona’s children to demonstrate the destruction of indigenous Mexican culture that occurred when Spain conquered Mexico. In fact, these versions use the example of La Llorona to describe what occurred during that time period: the explorers using the indigenous women for sex, the destruction of “ancient marriage patterns,” and the abundance of illegitimate children that were shunned by both the Spaniards and the indigenous people (Butterworth 20). In these examples, La Llorona is La Malinche, who was the lover of the Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes. One version of La Llorona is not historically accurate, but nonetheless explicitly demonstrates this destruction of culture. The story begins
...lm of curanderismo can be misconstrued due to the ideas and images set upon by another culture. Many of the stereotypes that the author Avila mentions in her book, such as “a folkway” (p.4) and “the devil’s work” (p.5), are said to originate from the dominating culture that tried to paint these traditional practices in a bad light in order for the conquered people to practice the traditions of the dominating culture. An example of this can be drawn from the early attempts to push the dominance of the Catholic Church onto many of the natives, forcing them to assimilate and forget about their ancestral roots. Instead of this choice of either or, the idea of black or white, Elena and La Malinche reveal a choice of gray, one in which all of the choices are meshed together not in order to avoid one culture or the other, but to better and broaden their cultural horizons.
La Malinche played a vital role in facilitating the Spanish conquest in Mexico, which through her, represented how colonial histories were also gendered histories. The life of the indigenous woman began when she grew up in a Nahuatl speaking area with the name Malinali, then changed to Malintzin when addressed with respect. Then her father died and her mother got remarried and sold her to Mayan slave traders and that is where she learned to speak Mayan, gaining her bilingual skills. La Malinche was one of twenty slaves given to the Spanish, which then she was immediately baptized and soon recognized as Malinche through their pronunciation. Throughout the conquest, she distinguished herself as being the interpreter and negotiator to the Spaniards;
...wler-Salamini and Mary Kay Vaughan, eds Creating Spaces, Shaping Transitions: Women of the Mexican Countryside, 1850-1990 Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1994.
This saga is an exquisite account of a life-long reverence for a women who Jim has known as a friend and companion since his childhood when he, an orphaned boy from Virginia, and she, a fourteen year old immigrant from Bohemia, travelled to the unsettled, unbroken plains of Nebraska at the turn of the century. The reader follows the mesmerizing tale of immigrant origins, hardships, as Jim celebrates the strength and the beauty of a heroine, Ántonia Shmirida, whose strength to overcome, has won both his love and soul. While Jim lives on his grandparent’s already successful farm, the immigrant family is forced to reside in a grass house carved into the side of a hill. The Bohemian immigrants struggle against nature to learn how to farm, to survive the hardship presented in this foreign, unaccepting land. Although her name is in the title, it is not truly her story. The preposition “my” in the title carries possession, so Jim’s story is his version. The subsequent story is his account, his perspective, of his first
The story written by Sandra Cisneros titled Never Marry a Mexican, pushes the reader to explore and test their moral boundaries almost to the brink of disintegration. The biggest example of this is when the narrator is scorned by her married lover. She pursues and seduces his teenage son for vengeance. “I sleep with this boy, their son. To make the boy love me the way I love his father” (187). She is not only carrying on with the son of her former lover, but the boy is a teenager, and her student. This breaks one of our biggest social norms, the violation of the teacher-student relationship. This alone makes it difficult if not impossible to sympathize with her. If we as readers are supposed to connect with
Faris, Wendy B. "Scheherazade's Children: Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction." Magical Realism. Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995. 163-186.
In the short stories “Women Hollering Creek” by Sandra Cisneros and “Huerfanita” by David Andrew Talamanes, the authors indicate the abuse and responsibility women have to endure and what gender stereotyping leads to. Other writers like Sharon olds, the author of the poem, “crab” emphasizes the various struggles and sacrifices women make just be the unaccredited breadwinners in their perspective families. The authors discusses the numerous aspects of gender roles and the harassment that is to follow if they are seen shifting away from their “designated roles”. In their stories, they highlight the many obstacles families’ experiences, and the measures they must take in order to fit in both society and
In Sandra Cisneros’ Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories, there are a number of short stories that represent different aspects of Hispanic culture such as family life, religion, language, machismo, border crossing, and archetypal women. In the short stories, there are tales of woman and men facing adversities and pain, children growing up with a positive family life as well as children learning how tough life could be, and the concepts of what men and women are supposed to be are challenged through AIDs, man supremacy, cars driven by particular characters, and through the people they interact with on an intimate level.
Judith Cofer from Puerto Rico wrote “The Myth of The Latin Woman” as you proceed to read her short story you see the way that she projects her emotions in her story while combining ethos, pathos and logos. While reading you can also feel the way she views stereotypes towards Latin women from those that aren’t of latin decent. During this reading you can defiantly get the sense of the way that these stereotypes can be disturbing towards those who are of Latin decent.
In the Book women are looked upon as objects by men whether they are boyfriends, friends fathers or husbands. The girls in the novel grow up with the mentality that looks and appearance are the most important things to a woman. Cisneros also shows how Latino women are expected to be loyal to their husbands, and that a husband should have complete control of the relationship. Yet on the other hand, Cisneros describes the character Esperanza as being different. Even though she is born and raised in the same culture as the women around her, she is not happy with it, and knows that someday she will break free from its ties, because she is mentally strong and has a talent for telling stories. She comes back through her stories by showing the women that they can be independent and live their own lives. In a way this is Cinceros' way of coming back and giving back to the women in her community.
In 1981, Gabriel García Márquez published his novella ‘Chronicle of a Death Foretold’. In 120 pages, the Columbian writer highlights the shocking cultural practices of colonized Latin America and through his pseudo-journalistic narration, brings to light the injustice in his society. Though his characterization of women, he provides an understanding of the dynamics of patriarchy, the exploitation and subjugation of women in his society. Further, his female characters constitute an apparent hierarchy of their own wherein they hold multifarious positions of power, or lack thereof. This essay explores the myriad of actual and illusioned influences exerted by the characters of Victoria Guzman, Divina Flor, Angela Vicario and Clotilde Armenta.
Flores, Angel. "Magical Realism: Post-Expressionism, Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community." Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham; N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 109-117.
Chanady, Amaryll. "Magical Realism : Post Expressionism, Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community." Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham;
Faris, Wendy B. "Scheherazade's Children: Magical Realism and Postmodern Fiction." Magical Realism: Theory, History, Community. Ed. Lois Parkinson Zamora and Wendy B. Faris. Durham, N.C.: Duke UP, 1995: 163-190.