Racial Stereyping In Mexicans Begin Jogging

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,”

In “All American” by David Hernandez he talks about how confusing it is to be here, how odd it is to be of a different skin tone than other people and how he felt in those other places he

In the short story Mr. Soto exclaims when he was younger he pushed a lawn mower, door to door trying to find someone who would pay him to cut their grass. At the time he did not know that his area was in the lower-class bracket, “It struck me like a ball. They were poor, but I didn’t even recognize them. I left the projects and tried houses with a little luck, and began to wonder if they too housed the poor” (101). This is significant because later he speaks about how he was so oblivious to how he grew up. Later in this childhood story he stated that he wanted to become a hobo since he thought there was no jobs for him in the world since he did not want to work like his father. He exclaimed that his dad would come home with blistery hands, sit down their living room chair and stare at the television for the rest of the night. At the end of this story he starts talking about how he became who he is now, and why he fell into his career. “It’s been twenty years since I went door to door. Now I am living this other life that seems a dream. How did I get here? What line on my palm arched in a small fortune? I sit before students, before grade books, before other professors talking about books they’ve yet to write, so surprised that I’m far from that man on the sidewalk” (101). This quote from “To Be A Man,” is a very smart and somewhat humorous line, because Mr. Soto realizes that he could have easily been a hobo on that

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

Stereotypes are dangerous weapons in our society. “The Myth of the Latin Woman: I Just Met a Girl Named Maria” is a short essay in which the award winning poet and professor of English, Judith Ortiz Cofer, wishes to inform and persuade the audience that labels and stereotypes can be humiliating and hurtful. The author targets the general public, anyone that doesn’t understand that putting someone in a box because of a stereotype is wrong. Cofer starts out the essay by telling the reader a story with a drunk man who re-enacted “Maria” from the West Side Story, and how angry that made her feel. She continues by explaining how she grew up in the United States being a Puerto Rican girl trying to fit in, but always being labeled as an island girl. Cofer carries on by explaining why Latin people get dressed and act a certain way. Then she recalls some more stereotypical incidents.

In the poem, “Don’t Give In Chicanita” by Gloria Anzaldua, the author uses tone and diction to depict the otherization of a group of Mexican people, by the Gringos, or white men. Through the Mexican people’s otherization, they do not rise up. Instead, they lie in wait, knowing they will outlast their oppressors. Ultimately, this suggests that one must persevere in response to otherization in order to survive it.

Pat Mora is an award-winning writer that bases most her poems on tough cultural challenges and life as a Mexican American. She was born in a Spanish speaking home in El Paso, Texas. Mora is proud to be a Hispanic writer and demonstrates how being culturally different in America is not easy. She explains this through her experiences and the experience other’s. In her poems “Elena”, “Sonrisas”, and “Fences”, Mora gives you a glimpse of what life as a Mexican American is; their hardships, trials, strength that make them who they are.

Within the Mexican community, competing notions of racial identity has long existed. Aware to gradations of color in race and their shading of white and non white identity, Haney Lopez introduces the

In Pat Mora's poem, "Legal Alien," the author describes her biracial character as being "viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic, / perhaps inferior, definitely different, / viewed by Mexicans as alien," a description which highlights the situation encountered by people who strive to be prestigious individuals by floating between cultures and who consequently fail to be a part of any particular group (Mora 9-11). Often the individuals are biologically trapped between two probable lives, and they forge ahead to meet the opportunity of possibly belonging to the higher society while they degrade the small culture which has weaned them from birth. These people find themselves

In the poem “Behind Grandma’s House”, Gary Soto writes about an experience he had as a young boy. He speaks of himself as being a nerdy Spanish boy who wants attention. He screams out for attention by acting out in negative ways. Most know, to bring attention to one’s self, one can acquire it by acting negatively or positively, but negative attention brings punishment. Soto obtains his grandmothers attention at the end of the poem, but he may have regretted it. Gary Soto’s “Behind Grandma’s House” is a 1952 free verse poem that uses imagery to suggest the speaker’s perspective of the story.

Throughout the play there are underlying theme that suggest different ideas. The themes I will discuss is how Mexican American men are portrayed in relation

Denice Frohman also criticizes the superstructures that suppress the Latinx community, specifically the undocumented community. Denice Frohman recites, “Ana Maria is now 16. Her father works 18-hour days as a dishwasher. Her mother cleans houses she’ll never get to live in so that Ana Maria can sit in a college classroom and say, “I am here.” But her guidance counselor tells her she can’t get financial aid or the instate tuition rate because of her status. She says it like an apology. Ana wonders if her family ever crossed the border, or if they are just stuck inside another one, aggravating it like a soul. Her guidance counselor stands in front of her with a mouth full of fences” (). Denice Frohman narrates the structural hardships that undocumented families usually face. The arduous labor that is accepted from undocumented immigrants and their families but not their full acceptance into an exclusive society. The dehumanization of immigrants who are here to work towards a better life, but work so hard and never actualize their dreams. Moving across one border to be faced with another border. A border full of limits that forgets about the humanity of those it ousts.

Gary’s Soto “Mexicans Begin Jogging,” describes an event that happened when he worked in a factory where illegal Mexican workers were employed. Although the poem is simple, Soto brings identity, ironic, drama, and imagery to his audience. The narrative reflects irony the speaker went through and the dilemma that Mexican Americans go through. The poems tone is ironic and not taking too seriously.

For example, when he was younger he used to live in a neighborhood well known as a barrio, which is the Spanish word for a lower-class neighborhood. He writes about barrios in Pacific Crossing, “... on his way to Japan with his lifelong friend, his blood, his carnal, his neighbor from the barrio, his number-one man on the basketball floor at Franklin Junior High - Tony Contreras.” (Soto 1). Soto is connecting his past with his character’s by writing about what their lives used to be like. He also writes about their Mexican-American ancestries. He writes, “At a young age, he worked in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley.” (“Gary Soto”). When Gary Soto was younger, he and his parents and grandparents worked in the fields to help make a living for him, his siblings, and the rest of his family. He relates this to his novel by writing, “But field work - even in a one-acre patch of eggplant, his least favorite vegetable, and three rows of tomato plants - was something new to Lincoln. He felt proud as he staggered about in oversized boots, a hat shading his eyes from the sun.” (Soto 24-25). In this part of the novel, Lincoln is learning what life in Japan is actually like and Gary Soto is connecting what his life was like when he was Lincoln’s

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.”