Mexican American & Chicano Literature

A Short Story Unit to Accompany Mexico & The Poetry

Why-you-should-still-care about the Mexico

unit… University of Washington (2009) 2,155

(5.1% of the students) USC (2010) 13% of student population Santa Clara University (2010) 13% of the

students Brown & Westpoint ~ 8% Mercer Island High School~ 2 %

Defining “Chicano Literature”

“Chicano” itself transformed as a term. Chicano Literature can refer to people of

Mexican ancestry who have resided permanently in the U.S. for an extended period.

~this makes it synonymous with Mexican American Literature, and some make the distinction that “Chicano” connotes a degree of cultural awareness and political activist.(Neither Chicano nor Mexican American literature needs a crystallized definition as a by-product of Chicano identity & social protest.)

Chicano Literature The Hispanic Period (up to 1821) marked by descriptions

of explorers (conquistadores were avid story tellers) The Mexican Period (1821 – 1848) marked by unique

spiritual struggle between Hispanic Mexicans remaining loyal to Mexico or fighting for their own independence

Transition Period ( +/- 1848) after the Mexican American War

Interaction Period (1910 – 1942) marked by the large influx of immigrants crossing the border & birthing American citizens

Chicano Period (1943 – now) ~ a new type of literature animated with rebellious spirit, Chicano search for identity (exploring roots and barrio influence)

Developed further during the turmoil of Mexican Revolution (1910 – 1920) +/- around the 1970s described as “Chicano Renaissance” Where to put it? Should Mexican American literature be separated from American ilterature?

Characteristics/Descriptions ~ NOT to be confused with

definitions “possible adventures, thoughts, dream, sensuality are

exhibited on the same plane and analyzed with the same good will.”

“…it’s roots are to be found in the long literary tradition of Mexico, while its flowers grow for the English or bilingual reader.” (Leal)

“contain much of that mystic absorption in sensibility as the ultimate creative force of intelligence…”

“oriented in the struggle toward free thought away from traditional conclusions”

“visions of more lasting truths – truths, that while being lucid, wise universal truths, have yet known how to be in their hands so peculiarly Mexican truths”

“…form of cultural expression by a people who have survived and grown through responding to conditions of domination.” (Sommers, Ybarra-Frausto)

Excerpt from Interview of Short Story Writer & Critic

Stuart Evers “So, the ability to do absolutely anything with a short story is

what appeals to me. It’s also the ability to glimpse small parts of people’s lives, ordinary people’s lives. Novels tend to centre on the bigger characters, characters can take you through 300 pages. Short stories can contain a character and a situation that is appealing and can reveal something. My favourite short story writers, Raymond Carver, Richard Yates, Grace Paley – do this magnificently. They tell stories in a way you wouldn’t think about. One of my favourite stories, ‘Fat’ by Raymond Carver, starts with a woman describing to another woman a fat man who came into her restaurant. By the end, though, it’s not about any of those things. The more I read that story I think Carver’s doing incredible things under the surface. That’s an amazing talent to have and it’s only applicable in a short story context. Then you have Lydia Davis, who can have a three line short story and it has all the resonance of a 400 page novel. It’s that freedom of form and knowing you can stop whenever you like.”

Poetry of Octavio Paz Use of nature, human relationship with nature Heavy contrast ~ sky-to-sea, living-dying,

fantasy-reality, abyss-clarities, etc. Contrast and paradox Inclusion of fantastical elements Cryptic/indirect story telling Historical acknowledgment Repetition of words or “anaphora” Stars, celestial reference Physical action described through

Poetry of Pablo Neruda Lack of sequence Heavy use of metaphors Bringing things close together and far apart

(night and shadows, stars and feet) Love described through animals, nature Gender representations, perhaps sexist or

suggestive of complicated male-female relationships

Weird/disorienting passage of time

Poetry of Gabriela Mistral

Recognition of suffering Part representing the whole (synecdoche) Religious interpretations (The Trinity,

Genesis) Relationship with death Metaphor Contrast and paradox (sunny poor earth,

lovely revenge)

Daniel Chacon “Day of the Dead”

Time alteration (opens with the introduction of dead mother)

History learned later Courage inspired by history Sudden, omniscient narration Rawness, adolescence Oedipal reference to fate, stalled awareness

of history, bravery

Augusto Monterroso“The Eclipse”

Don’t mess with culture or ancestry, it=death Acceptance of Death Understated reactions, passive ambivalence Loses control/steps out of his domain Elitism Orientalism/underestimates the “old world” Isolated from others/hero’s path Indigenous reign triumphant Humor ~ a twist Stars, etc.

Luis Alberto Urrea “The White Girl”

Incorporates a sense of culture into the tone of the passage Abandons part of himself and discovers a new identity Values “The White Girl”/allows her to embody his

work/immortalizes her By spreading “The White Girl’s” image, he releases her

from captivity in the junkyard Starts in one place, goes to a complete other one Odd, effective writing Creepy Represents inside and outside of it Light and dark Transcendence

Alma Luz Villanueva“People of the Dog”

Reincarnation/dead boys spirit/baby spirit Forgetting-what they thought of River as symbolic – Jungian water as life

motif Transition between old/new/Mexico city ~

unborn fetus, Female, gender, young boy all as dog Likened to animals, inference of

indigenous Magical inclusions Eagle, cactus, , snake Imperfection Kid going through passage of life & death

Paradox of dog More life prospects that perhaps

evident Poetic Subordinate/going along with

everything Narration Going backwards? Pre-death vision? Divine Life versus death/circle of life Spirit speaking, going to afterlife Heaven as represented by familiar city “remembering Will’s birth”

The Short Story Assignment (Flash Fiction, Latino Literature)

You will write your own short story inspired by one or more of the short stories and poems we have read (Mistral, Neruda, Paz, Villanueva, Venegas, Urrea, Monterroso, Chacon).

You can refer to your journal entries, the Powerpoint, or the texts themselves for characteristics that will inspire your writing.

“Inspiration” could be the use of a literary or narrative technique, using nature as a metaphor, feeling of timelessness, star motif, paradox, etc.

You will write a brief explanation of your inspiration (a paragraph at most).

Length: +/- one to four pages. Feel free to draw from your studies of Mexico (lecture,

movies, text). Due Tuesday the 17th. Typed. Double Spaced. 35 points.