Essay Book Review

In the film “Mi Familia,” we follow the story of the Mexican-American Sánchez family who settled in East Los Angeles, California after immigrating to the United States. Gregory Nava and Anna Thomas introduce the story of this family in several contexts that are developed along generations. These generations hold significant historical periods that form the identity of each individual member of the family. We start off by exploring the immigrant experience as the family patriarch heads north to Los Angeles, later we see how national events like the great depression directly impact Maria as she gets deported, although she was a US citizen. The events that follow further oppress this family and begins separate identity formations. These

Mexican Americans in Texas have a long and detailed history spanning from the arrival of Cortez all the way to the present day. Through historical events, the culture and identity of Mexican Americans have shifted, diverted, and adapted into what people chose to identify as. The rise of the Chicano identity during the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement was an adaptation as a culture to oppressive and unjust treatment from white, Anglos that had almost all political and social power over all minorities. To stop the oppressive voices from silencing and oppressing the Mexican Americans, they had to stand up to fight for their rights as American citizens that also had Mexican or Spanish heritage to be proud of. In Oscar Zeta Acosta’s novel, The Revolt of the Cockroach People, he dives into the Chicano Movement as a witness and an active participant. His larger than life character is on the front lines of the movement and examines the shift in identity among the group. It was particularly rising of their Chicano identity that gave the people cause to organize politically and socially in order to fight for a worthy cause.

Im going to give you my take on the book 46 pages by Scott Liell. This book was first copyrighted in 2003. This book is general consensuses of how Scoot Liell viewed Thomas Paine’s writing of Common Sense and the Turning point to Independence and how they effected the colony’s. He shows us the true meaning of Thomas Paines writings and how valuable they were even after nearly two and a half century’s. This novel is written in a third person person point of view we get a first row seat in the viewing of how Thomas Paines writing of the Common Sense. Liell goes into great detail to show us how substantial Common Sense really was, and how it shaped life into

During the 1960’s, the Civil Rights Movement wasn’t the only one occurring. Struggling to assimilate into American culture, and suppressed by social injustices convicted by their Anglo counterparts, the Chicano movement was born. In the epic poem “I am Joaquin” written by Rodolfo Gonzales in 1969, we dive into what it means to be a Chicano. Through this poem, we see the struggles of the Chicano people portrayed by the narrator, in an attempt to grasp the American’s attention during the time of these movements. Hoping to shed light on the issues and struggles the Chicano population faced, Gonzales writes this epic in an attempt to strengthen the movement taking place, and to give Chicanos a sense of belonging and solidarity in this now

Laurel Thatcher Ulrich, Good Wives Image and Reality in the Lives of Women in Northern New England 1650-1750 (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983)

The racist connotation that Miss Jimenez associates with who she thinks would “fit in” society’s box is a definite reflection of the hardships Valdez witnessed in his community. For example, the Zoot Suit Riots that occurred in 1944 was rooted by a reaction by young Mexican-American males against a culture that did not want them to be a part of it. Stuart Cosgrove examines this issue when he states, "In the most obvious ways they had been stripped of their customs, beliefs and language.” (*Vargas 317) These youths were going through an identity crisis because they did not know which culture they could identify with. Miss Jimenez is a character that embodies that repression Valdez explains in “Los Vendidos.”

Chicano written by Richard Vasquez is a novel that shows how the American culture affects the Mexican society as well as many other societies in our community. The Sandoval family migrates into California knowing that they have a chance to start their lives over and they want more than what Old Mexico had to offer. America is into consumption, and the Sandoval family was bombarded by it. They were aware of the fact when they arrived in America, but in Mexico they were not aware of the other cultures and traditions out there. The Sandoval family was content with what they had in Mexico. But upon arrival they realized that the more they step into the American culture, the more they want. One can see the detrimental effects of American

American filmmakers of the late twentieth century portrayed Latinos as merciless pursuers of the "American Dream". The Latino immigrants were characterized as "Urban Bandidos", seeking the path to ultimate wealth and power in a society dominated by Anglo authority. West Side Story, Fort Apache, and Scarface each portrayed the Latino character differently, but commonly depicted the "Urban Bandido" as a man in search of money and power in America. Not only do these immigrants fight for the warped American dream, but they often fight without fear, willing to risk almost anything to reach the top.

In my ADV class we had the privilege to read a book named “A Home on the Field”. The book was written by Paul Cuadros, a reporter who was sent to the small town of Siler City to study the impact of the Latino community. Cuadros narrates his experience on helping immigrants overcome their social and family issues, and get through the culture clash that the Latino legal and illegal immigrants looking for a new beginning face nowadays.

The Mexican woman is a highly-stereotyped individual. She is either timid and meek, rarely speaking out of turn, and when she does it is in a small, soft accented-voice that begs to be left alone. Or, she is fiery, exotic dark caramel skin, long wind-blown hair and lips red as blood. She is a vixen, independent and loud, with a laugh that can be heard all around the room. But both of these women come from the same place, as do the women who do not belong in either category. In Women Hollering Creek and Other stories, Sandra Cisneros gives a voice to these women. By showing Mexican and Mexican-American culture through an intimate and diverse scope, Cisneros highlights the oppression and degradation of women that is commonplace in this culture

Salt of the Earth has a good claim to being one of the most controversial and notorious American movies of all time. Normally a film with such an infamous public reputation would be expected to have transgressed societal proprieties with regard to the use of sex and violence. However, that is not the case with this New Mexico set movie about a miners strike. Salt of the Earth was the film that suffered most at the hands of the McCarthyist witch hunts that were doing the rounds in early fifties America. Without wishing to condone the political attitudes of the time, it is to a degree understandable why this was the case as the film is one of the most impressive pieces of agit-prop drama imaginable.

Racism has been around America since the era of slavery (18th century) up until now, and racism is still alive and growing in our country. Knowing this shows that we have not evolved like we should as a society. Because of cultural differences and barriers many of us stick around the same crowd and tend to not mix with the “others.” Both Judith Cofer’s and Lawrence Graham retell about the first time they experienced discrimination in high school and realized that it was a small taste to what the real world had coming for them. However, Cofer experienced racism by the stereotypes that are put on a hispanic women while Graham learned how people in his school would not mix with other ethnicities.

When Americans think of racism, they usually think of slavery, and that racism is no longer a problem in America. However, this is not the case. Racism is still obvious in America. Racism can be linked directly to stereotypical mindsets of certain groups of people.  Today’s racism is not restricted to whites and blacks, and it has come to define many different groups and races. Pigmentation as well as physical characteristics and features still are influential for classifying people. It is easy to overlook the racism that hides below the surface and is part of American life. Today, an estimate 54 million Latinos live in the U.S. and around 43 million people speak Spanish. Although Latinos are the country’s largest minority, anti-Latino prejudice is still common. Very few Americans recognize, acknowledge, and respect the contributions of one of America’s greatest ethnic groups – Hispanics. Americans are often confused as to who Hispanics really are and what they represent in America. Although the United States is known for having a melting pot of diverse cultures, recent studies have shown the rise of discrimination against Latinos and Hispanics immigrants. A person’s legal status should not be an excuse for mistreatment.

Cristina Henriquez’, The Book of Unknown Americans, folows the story of a family of immigants adjusting to their new life in the United States of America. The Rivera family finds themselves living within a comunity of other immigrants from all over South America also hoping to find a better life in a new country. This book explores the hardships and injustices each character faces while in their home country as well as withina foreign one, the United States. Themes of community, identity, globalization, and migration are prevalent throughout the book, but one that stood out most was belonging. In each chacters viewpoint, Henriquez explores their feelings of the yearning they have to belong in a community so different than the one that they are used to.

Sandra Cisneros and Reyna Grande’s representation of their liminal identities contribute to the understanding of the formation of transnational identities. Their liminal identities are elaborated through the descriptions of their physical and emotional journeys across material and ideological borders that do not recognize transnational identities. To begin, in the jigsaw autobiography A House of My Own (2015) Cisneros mediates between her experience of growing up in Chicago, excavating into her Mexican father’s family history, been perceived as a gringa in Mexico and as a working class writer. In “An Ofrenda for My Father on Day of the Dead” Cisneros stresses the fundamental contributions that her father’s Mexican lineage added to her