Biography of Sandra Cisneros - 1459 Words

The role of strong female roles in literature is both frightening to some and enlightening to others. Although times have changed, Sandra Cisneros’ stories about Mexican-American women provide a cultural division within itself that reflects in a recent time. The cultural themes in Cisneros’s stories highlight the struggle of women who identify with Mexican-American heritage and the struggle in terms of living up to Mexican culture – as a separate ethnic body. The women in Sandra Cisneros’ stories are struggling with living up to identities assigned to them, while trying to create their own as women without an ethnic landscape. In Sandra Cisneros’ stories â€Å"Woman Hollering Creek: and â€Å"Never Marry a Mexican† the role of female identities that†¦show more content†¦Cleofila was brought into the United States from Mexico not speaking English and living only as a house wife and a dedicated fan of her novelas – soap operas. She is mistreated by her husband, and Cisneros writes the following about her: â€Å"Cleà ³Ã¯ ¬ las thought her life would have to be like that, like a telenovela, only now the episodes got sadder and sadder. And there were no commercials in between for comic relief. And no happy ending in sight. Everything happened to women with names like jewels. But what happened to a Cleà ³Ã¯ ¬ las? Nothing. But a crack in the face† (Cisneros, 396). This story centers on two characters, Cleofilas and Felice, a Mexican-American – a strong woman who drives her own truck and isn’t married. This is duly noted because it means that she is independent of a man. This is the key difference between Cleofilas and Felice: Felice embraces her freedom as a woman, and can go freely from Mexican and Anglo/American culture. Cleofilas is stuck under the abusive thumb of her husband and struggles to be free behind the fantasies of her novellas. â€Å"‘Woman Hollering Creek’ thus opens up gender definitions on all sides to the fluidity of border existence† (Wyatt, 244). The story explores both the strained role on Mexican and Chicano women, as well as the freedom that she can experience as a woman – as a woman in any place. Woman is newly defined between Felice and Cleofilas, because Cleofilas learns that there is life beyond her abuse and her fantasies. SheShow MoreRelatedEssay on Sandra Ciseneros563 Words   |  3 PagesSandra Ciseneros It was a cold and windy day, a perfect day to uncover secrets and truths about writers I had heard of, but new little about. I entered the library to escape the weather and lose myself in books about Sandra Ciseneros and the characters she creates in her poems and stories. I began my search at a computer resource station, and then absorbed myself in the materials it provided, which were biographies, criticisms, and the works of Cisneros. Initially, the computer resourceRead MoreSandra Cisneros and Hughes Analysis1575 Words   |  7 Pageswill always be around. Writer inspiration seems to come from firsthand accounts and experiences, at least that is the case with Sandra Cisneros, a Chicana writer, and Langston Hughes, and African American poet. When reading their stories the reader can identify how different life experiences have influenced and inspired them to write the way they do. Analyzing Sandra Cisneros and Langston Hughes, and pieces of their writing will demonstrate how similar their writing is, how minority discrimination,Read More A Comparison of Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street2154 Words   |  9 PagesRudolfo Anayas Bless Me Ultima(1972) and Sandra Cisneros The House on Mango Street(1984) explore syncretism and how it enhances and exemplifies the issue of ambivalent behavior in regards to the combined use of Native and Christian religions. In Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street, syncretism is displayed through the actions of both novels to show that syncretism is the bridge of ambivalence. Syncretism in context of Anaya and Cisneros novels, merge Christianity and Native AmericanRead MoreThe House On Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros1854 Words   |  8 Pages The Street That Changed a Life The House on Mango Street, by Sandra Cisneros, displays a great emphasis on culture and people helping form a young girl into a young lady. The main character, Esperanza, has to navigate a mentally and physically challenging life growing up in a poor, Hispanic neighborhood while still learning how to mature and rise above the poverty that surrounds her. Thus, the question arises: in what way and to what extent does close human interaction change Esperanza’s life