Analyzing Angel Cervantes 'My Family Story'

The theme of the poem “Family Ties” is disconnection from the land. Jimmy Santiago Baca was from the Mexican and Apache heritage. He lived in New Mexico and was abandoned by his parents. At the age of 13 he ran away from home. Baca was in prison for 5 years and that’s where he accomplished reading and writing poetry. He published his first poems while he was in prision. Baca was abandoned from the people he loved by death or parting, which caused him to become violent and bitter in his teen years. Literature for Baca, were the seeds he would plant to grow roots in a land that was always discriminated against, ignored, and rejected, not just Baca but the Mexican and other Latino immigrants, African Americans, Asian Americans, as well as many

For example, in an article titled “Inequality, Race, and Remedy” for The American Prospect, Alan Jenkins states “Poor people of color are also increasingly more likely than whites to find themselves living in high-poverty neighborhoods with limited resources and limited options” (Jenkins). This illustrates that an individual’s race can completely affect their home, job, financial situation, and overall way of life. According to this article, person of color has a higher chance at living in poverty than a white person does. This example shows that colored people aren’t given as many opportunities and as a result, it may be harder for them to succeed in life. The oppression they face is all because of the color of their skin, not because they are any less smart or human than others. The poor lifestyle is a result of racial identification and false labeling. People automatically stereotype and judge black people because of their skin color and often times it has a negative outcome.

Interestingly enough, Sandra Cisneros, author of Never Marry a Mexican, shared a few traits with the main character, Clemencia. Like Clemencia, Cisneros’ father was

Discrimination is another key concern for the author as he is struggling to overcome poverty, racism and intolerance. Discrimination comes in many different forms and is defined by the textbook as being any behavior directed against persons because of their membership in a particular group. As a young man Williams experienced many acts of discrimination directed towards both himself and his family. For example, after fishing one evening Carl wanted a soda but couldn?t get one from the drive-in they were passing because ?blacks were barred from the drive-in like every down-town restaurant? (Williams, 225). Another example of discrimination appears in the text when Black students were unable to obtain teaching positions once they graduated from Ball State University because of the color of their skin.

Inequalities within minorities is not limited to economic unfairness but also social inequity. The second story that shows how inequality within minorities is “The Myth of the Latin Woman” by Judith Ortiz Cofer. “The Myth of the Latin Woman” is an essay based on the real life experiences of Judith Ortiz Cofer. The story talks about the racist inequalities she has went through as a women of Hispanic descent. “a young man, obviously fresh from a pub, spotted me and as if struck by inspiration went down on his knees in the aisle. With both hands over his hearts he broke into an an Irish tenor’s rendition of Maria from West Side Story”. The author retells one of her experiences from earing graduate credits one summer and she is met by someone whom ignorantly makes racists remark simply because she is Latina. Furthermore in the story Cofer mentions how people gave the man a round of applause. “amused fellow passengers gave his voice the round of gentle applause” (Page 61). This shows that it is acceptable to generalize an ethnic group into a character from West Side Story. In addition to the unfair generalization, Cofer is confronted unfair expectations. I thought you Latin girls were supposed to mature early”. This is unfair assumption made to Cofer. She is treated like a vegetable rather than a girl who traditionally grows into womanhood. This also generalizes Latin women to be matured at a young age. Which is incorrect just because Latinas fall into a small category in society

Racism is still a very prominent issue in America today. Yes, it has improved from the days of slavery, and we do have a black president; but society is nowhere near equal, and that is not acceptable. White Privilege by Paula Rothenberg truly opened my eyes to the extent of the social injustice on African Americans. Just by being white, one is oppressing another race because the privilege and respect that comes with the skin color. Whether intentional or not, the racism is still there and present and that is not acceptable. Being white, I’ve never suffered from the repercussions of racism, but after reading and becoming more aware of the suffering of African American’s, it is significant to write and spread the knowledge about racism and especially implicit racism. Everyone is surrounded by racism on a daily basis, and it’s important to be aware of your actions and the effects they have on society.

The story of Aguantando talks about what Yunior and his family went through while his father was in the U.S for 9 years. They are poor; living in a house that leaks and they eat very poorly due to the little money the mother makes working in a chocolate factory. Yunior seems to only know what his father looks like because of the old photographs his mother has. Yunior tells the story with the point of view of a young boy.

It will also show you how we have a long way to go to stop racism completely. The first article was about a Latino shooting in Los Angeles, California. A man named Oscar Ramirez, who was Latino and got shot by police. People believed that it was racially influenced, but no one said anything about it. “ There have been 23 shootings in Los Angeles and 14 of them have been Latinos”(Latino police shootings). Latinos in Los Angeles are getting mad that whenever a black person gets hurt by a cop everyone starts yelling and making a big deal, but when a Latino gets hurt no one knows or worries about it. This shows that racism has changed, but it's not where we want it to be. In the article it said that Ramirez was spotted with a knife and ran away when asked to be questioned by police so he could have been something wrong(Latino police shootings). That is what is leading people to believe he wasn't shot for no reason. The second article that I saw was about a thing that Chris Rock had said. He stated that “Racism has changed, but it isn't the blacks that have changed, it is the whites who have changed”(Chris Rock). He said that “Whites have changed their views on blacks and the blacks have been doing the same things”(Chris Rock). Whites are more accepting of colored people than they used to be. I believe that he was correct when he said this because

My family is pretty close, but I feel like we only got close more recently. We are all more mature and have more time for each other even though we live in two different parts of the state and have our own lives. When I was younger I had a happy childhood but I do not think it was the happiest it could have been, but it also was not the saddest either. I grew up way too fast as a kid and I never got a true childhood. I am grateful for how close my family now is and I am glad it is different than my childhood.

Michael Ondaatje’s fictionalized memoir Running in the Family uses the motif of mapping to represent the narrator’s reconstruction of his family history. The memoir develops a parallel between the mapmaking of European explorers who colonized Ceylon and Ondaatje’s attempt to make sense of his family’s chaotic and disordered past, which is difficult to trace due to the way it has become mythologized by gossip and rumours. In Running in the Family, the depiction of mapping as an uncertain art suggests that the search for objective truth is rendered impossible by the subjective perceptions of those who interpret information with their own unique point of view. These biased understandings demonstrate the flaw of accepting subjective statements marketed as facts to be true.

Everyone has a family, some large, some small. Conflict and death are just two examples of things that can split families apart. Because of these things, some of us have been deprived of the opportunity to meet any biological family members at all. When it comes to family, I would consider myself one of the more fortunate. I was born into a family where I have endless support from my parents as well as four grandparents, all living and very active in my life.

I could talk wonders about my family, but let’s face it the good stuff tends to bore us while the bad things tend to call our attention. My family has it all, the good and the bad. I would say my family should have its own reality television show where every week the viewers would stay tuned in because my family is dramatic, let me clarify that, my family is super, mega, dramatic. Plus, what Hispanic family doesn’t have drama, right? My family has it all, the chisme, drama, and jealousy. I am making my family sound bad, but in reality they are not. My family is very sweet, loving, and caring. Not only do those qualities belong to my family but I tend to come from a very supporting family, even though my parents divorced when I was 15.

Racial Discrimination is the unrightful behavior or favoritism over someone based on their race. Many people are affected on a daily basis because of the race they are born. The story “To Kill A Mockingbird,” by Harper Lee is fictional and is based on a real life situation about a black man being mistakenly accused of raping a white woman because of his race. The non-fiction article “Justice on Trial: Racial Disparities in the American Criminal Justice System” by Wade Henderson, proves that police officers are too quick to judge black people and believe that they are criminals by their race. “Montgomery Boycott” by Coretta Scott King is another non-fictional article about black people being treated worse than animals and how white people think of them.

The night of June 14, a son, Oscar tan skin, black hair, 6 ft. tall, had been promised a deer heart for lunch that day by his father, Ricardo. But on that same exact day, no heart, no deer was brought to the table. Oscar looks down on his father, and Ricardo looks up at him, Oscar with his piercing eyes, full of hate, had gone on a rampage, running toward the forest, banging his hand against his head, he was “en candela”. Oscar had been craving deer heart all that week, this was the 5th time Ricardo had promised him. He had just about enough with his lies. Walking in the middle of the forest between Colombia and Venezuela called llanos, in circles, just thinking. Oscar had just rung up an idea. He heads toward town, its pitch black out, walking

Those results are saying a lot on how student from different realities and background see the racism issue. When comparing them, we can clearly see that the issue I viewed differently. The black man see racism as a very serious issue which has consequences on his life almost every day. The white man see racism too as a issue but less seriously than the black man. Finally, the woman doesn’t even see racism in Saint Cloud and that tell us a lot about white privilege. If this woman doesn’t know about racism, it’s because she doesn’t have to know, she has the privilege of not knowing other reality. The white man knows about racism but just because he paid attention to it. I think the two men are right. Racism is present almost everywhere and is