Ask The Dust By Arturo Bandini Analysis

Furthermore, in most cases, it may seem the United States has a system in which immigrants are not given the chance to form a bright future. In the novel, “Antonio soon found himself settling for jobs that were clearly beneath him. He stood under the baking sun at the on-ramp to the Santa Monica Freeway, selling oranges for two dollars a bag: a dollar fifty for the guy from the produce market, fifty cents for him,” (Tobar, 53). Many of the immigrants that live in the U.S. have little power that allows them to succeed. Some races have benefitted from it more than others. The Cubans, for instance, have had it much easier than most immigrants who have migrated to the United States; whereas, Antonio, a Guatemalan, had trouble finding a stable job that allowed him to sustain himself. In contrast to many other races, many Americans described Cubans as being visitors who represent, “all phases of life and professions, having an excellent level of education… More than half of their families with them, including children brought from Cuba to escape communist indoctrination in the schools,”

Through the narrative “The Scholarship Boy” I find few turning points that I notice a shift in the demeanor of Richard Rodriguez as well as how I perceive the story. First of all, it is made apparent to me that people acknowledge him for his successes by making remarks such as, “Your parents must be proud” or “How did you manage it? According to the opening paragraphs Rodriguez is seen as a model student. Although this may be true, the first turning point I find suggests otherwise as Rodriguez conveys, “For although I was a very good student, I was also a very bad student…Always successful, always unconfident. Exhilarated by my process. Sad.” This quote changed my perspective of Rodriguez because of the negative emotion he expresses toward his family. By the same token, I recall my sister being an outstanding achiever throughout school, yet, she was similarly depressed as well as annoyed towards me and the rest of our family. This flashback assisted me in relating to Rodriguez’s emotions towards his successes. In the same fashion, I am supplied a grasp of his shift in tone and direction in the narrative.

“Where Worlds Collide” is an essay by Pico Iyer who talks about the expectations and reality of Los Angeles through the perspectives of travelers from different backgrounds. In “Where Worlds Collide,” Pico Iyer argues that even though Los Angeles is depicted as a vicinity to receive wealth, happiness, and many opportunities- it is actually the antithesis, and instead, many harsh prejudice and unending craziness will occur instead; Iyer argues this by using allusions, anaphoras, and juxtapositions to help convey what he is saying.

In Becoming A Writer, author Junot Diaz reveals a theme: Hard work pays off. The story is about a writer who has been working for so long and is very tired, exhausted, and hard working showing how long it took him to become a writer and what he went through to persevere and become a writer. The story takes place at the author’s desk at 7 A.M. The main character, Junot, has a conflict when he can’t concentrate and focus on writing a novel and becoming a writer. The author writes, “There was no sudden miracles. It took two more years of heartbreak, of being utterly dismayingly lost before the novel I have dreamed about for all those years finally started revealing itself. And another three years after that before I could look up from my desk and say the word I’d wanted to say for more than a decade done.” Junot says this after he completes all of his writing and has all his hard work on paper so he can say the word “done” proudly. This reveals perseverance through frustration because Junot is trying desperately to finish this writing with all the frustration in his head he perseveres through it. This suggests that if you work hard enough in life it will pay off eventually. But, during this frustration of writing Junot is pushing through it and getting his novel done by thinking of all his hard work leading up to this novel being finished. Further, it illustrates how Junot became the writer he is today and what he did to get there. Junot stayed up all night to finish this novel

They are Mexican-American. Their equality rights do not accept in America society. They and their family always spend the life by examining of American government. Henry Reyna, El Pachuco, the Navy during the World War II. He is the young Mexican-American generation. He lives in the South Central Los Angeles, California. They are a mythical figure, a rebellious, street-smart, young Chicano. They make up their hair style. He dresses a long jacket, a baggy trousers, and a lengthy watch chain. He and his people dance with their girlfriends. They wear the zoot suit, the big pride of Mexican-American about the Mexican male, they make the belief to the rebellious generation for the equality rights struggling. Henry and his gang are the antagonist characters to serve the holistic of the world. He kills the murder, help the media, and fed their headline by the police (Scene 1, Act 5, page). Luis Valdez success to create the danger of the character, El Pachuco is in to Henry and the opposite. The riots break out in the streets. the zoot suiters are targeted, the suspects stripped by sailors and marines based on the racism, the discrimination profile. The author is successful to describe the press, the media communication. The laws use the name to disguise discriminate. They create the dangerous situation for their ruse. Their

"Love in L.A.," written by Dagoberto Gilb, is a story full of irony and multiple themes. The story is set in Hollywood during the summer time. Written in third person objective, "Love in L.A." guides the reader along through the story as opposed to an omniscient point of view.

inspiration and optimism comes in to play. A person can find hope when thinking about the

While today Los Angeles is prided on being one of the most diverse cities in the United States, there was (and still is) a tremendous amount of resistance that had to be overcome. Society’s inclination to maintain homogeneity along with the testing of loyalties and allegiance through pressures of war have proven great obstacles in the evolution of what is now a majority-minority city. Nina Revoyr’s Southland gives a historic fictional recount of Los Angeles’ most tested times from perspectives looking in to the past, present, and future. The discovery of unpleasant truths through grave social injustices provide a painful reminder of Los Angeles’ history and consequently a warning for future setbacks. Southland is an emotional testament to the inescapability of discrimination within stratified cities and the unspoken necessity of assimilation that occurs as a result.

Daughters of the dust revolves around an early 20th century African American family from Ibo Landing which is a time not shy of racism and slavery, especially in middle America. The scene depicted in the movie where a young girl is running through the forest in an all-white dress with a blue ribbon who seems to be being followed by a man in a hide and seek manor. The young girl disappears and the man stumbles upon a plot of land that is a graveyard, with headstones made from wooden planks, the man observes his surroundings. Presumably, this girl in white is the young voice narrating the next scene which pans through steam over to a flash back of the ancestors who were slaves. We look across a field of men and women who are working over these steaming wells, as well as the people in the background hanging soaked sheets up to dry. We see these people mixing over a steaming hole in the ground scraping around a grey paste. The workers then begin to pull the paste out of the steaming pits and scrape it into wooden molds. They appear to be making cement blocks as a young boy watches and older man collect all the wooden brick molds and systematically knocks the brick from the mold and piles them orderly on both his left as well as his right. While doing so he sings an old hymn, the boy seems to enjoy watching this process. Throughout the entire scene, there is a narration of a girl which speaks

modules gives many examples how strong cultural pasts lead to identity problems in a new society. Also, the module shows us that many Mexicans were not happy with the stereotype formed about their identity. In Between the Lines, we see how Mexicans in America suffer through harsh discrimination, while trying to stay close to their relatives and culture. The letters talk about how Whites did not have concerns with family values or cultural beliefs. Whites based many of their values off succeeding in the economy. Whites in general had no regard for Mexicans as people.

She discusses how Mexicans identify themselves; since there are many different ways to identify culture, they make up several different cultures (Indian, Black, and Mexican). By the end she talks about the fight that Mexicans put up to stand up for their culture and their identity.

First of all, the setting of this novel contributes to the Rivera family’s overall perception of what it means to be an American. To start this off, the author chooses a small American city where groups of Latino immigrants with their own language and traditions, lived together in the same apartment building. All these immigrants experienced similar problems since they moved from their countries. For example, in the novel after every other chapter the author

First and foremost, this novel is about Chicano people and the struggles they endured. While each small passage can be viewed as the progression of the unknown male protagonist, it also gives a multitude of other views as well. Middle-aged male

"The Tattooed Man: Confessions of a Hopemonger" is about the significance of teaching hope. Kohl emphasizes that, before anything else can be accomplished, teachers should challenge the hopelessness felt by students. Kohl writes, "....hope can be sold, it can be taught or least spread, it can survive in

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.”