Author Archives: AnnaMote

11/25/21

Interrogation of Worth

Luiselli’s structural choices allow for an implicit criticism of the United States’ inhumanity during this crisis. By going through each question and providing anecdotes, the injustice and heartlessness of the US are strikingly apparent. Luiselli has no need to explicitly criticize these procedures, simply going through each question is enough to highlight the inefficacy of this process as a tool for determining a child’s worthiness of entering the country. The controlled structure seems to juxtapose the long and elaborate response that Luiselli writes to each question, reflecting the uselessness of the process; a child’s worth and value cannot be dwindled down into 40 questions. The process goes against everything the US, and the Western world, have agreed upon about human rights, and yet the crisis happened so blatantly and without intervention. Her detached approach to tackling this problem by laying it out in the same way the courtroom procedure would follow creates a powerful critique of the system when we see that it is impossible to answer these questions succinctly, thereby showcasing and critiquing the failures of the bureaucracy. I think that Luiselli’s choice to write about her college class’ initiative to help was a powerful way of showcasing that this should not be a problem that is ignored and normalized and that we should be doing something to stop this relentless cycle of colonial violence. The anger I felt while reading was, almost, soothed by this idea of hope and inspiration that I can do something to help. 

11/18/21

The Party is Over

While “Fiesta 1980” is a story about a family party, there seems to be a large emphasis and focus on Yunior’s carsickness problem, leading me to consider the potential messages Junot Diaz is trying to get across. 

His vomiting problem is a major source of conflict and abuse. Yunior alludes to the root of this new problem being his new environment since he ‘was famous for his steel-lined stomach” that only a “third-world childhood could give you” (pg 29). In this case, it seems that his vomiting problem is perhaps a manifestation of the anxiety that immigrating to a new country triggers, especially since it is triggered only when he is in the car after he has eaten. The implication here may be that Yunior is struggling to assimilate into his new country since American food is unsettling for him. It may also be that the movement of the car is enough to trigger the feelings of turmoil and chaos that immigrating may have initially caused resulting in a physical anxiety response. In this case, perhaps Diaz is trying to emphasize the way that immigration can be distressing for a child and the difficulty of assimilation into a completely different society. 

Another approach to understanding this habit of Yunior is to view it as an invitation for his father to take care of him. It is clearly evident that his father is a violent and threatening man who does not offer any paternal love or support. Yunior craves time and care from his Papi and has learned that his carsickness is the only way he can achieve it. He describes his car trips with Papi as something he looks forward to and that “when we were alone he treated much better like maybe I was his son or something” (pg 35). While Yunior understands that his father is a dangerous and scary man, he still desires his attention, and the only way he knows how to get this is by physically demanding it. This makes me consider that Diaz is offering a critique of patriarchal dominance by showcasing the manipulation men are capable of; Yunior both hates and craves his father’s attention. 

11/4/21

The Horrible Little Orphan

Portela presents a twisted fairytale-style story with an important message about the impacts of patriarchy and issues of gendered violence. Particularly, I noticed that the narrator uses far more derogatory and disrespectful language when describing the women in this story. This effect is emphasized by the fairytale context; we expect women to fit within a particular fantasy within this genre, but these descriptions are strikingly harsh. Through this demeaning language and critical tone, patriarchal ideology is demonstrated. The narrator, Regan, is particularly self-deprecating about her appearance, perhaps suggesting an element of internalized misogyny. However, another example of the patriarchy in action in this story is the abrupt switch in the description of Cleis from a “sweet little orphan” (pg 4) to a “horrible little orphan” (pg 5) after she accuses the millionaire of assault. This language presents a victim-blaming attitude, how could a man ever be at fault for hurting a woman? This is a patriarchal society that protects men and their aggression towards women, particularly if they have money. For example, the millionaire easily wipes away his crime of femicide with the work of his lawyers. The change in the description of Cleis from ‘sweet’ to ‘horrible’ also suggests that women’s bodies only have value if and when they are obedient and conform to the desires of men.

Traditionally, fairy tales present the man as a hero. In this story, despite the explicit femicide by the man in this story, he is still extremely desired by other women, particularly for his wealth, reflecting an element of desperation. Additionally, the way that women will demean themselves to be with a man for his wealth is potentially reflective of the desperation of Cuban’s during the Special Period. Despite Cleis warning others that Prince Charming is a ‘demented sicko’ (pg 5), Lotta still gets engaged to him, she takes the risk for the money. It seems that Portela is attempting to critique the persistence of patriarchal ideology; it is explicit, internalized, and pervasive.

10/28/21

Pain & Suffering

Spanglish plays a key role in providing meaning to the names in this story. Specifically, the names Soledad and Dolores, Cleofilas’ neighbours, which reflect the impact that men have on the lives of women in this town. The suffering of these two neighbours centres around the loss of the men in their life. Soledad, meaning solitude, suffers from a life of solitude after her husband dies. Dolores, meaning pain, suffers from a life of pain and grief after her two sons and her husband die. This is a direct example of onomastics and how these names provide context. The pain and solitude that these two neighbours suffer from is indicative of patriarchal society; men are the source of all pain and suffering in this society, whether they are present or not. Understanding the meaning of these neighbours’ names, makes the line, “there is no place to go. Unless one counts the neighbour ladies. Soledad on one side. Dolores on the other” (page 224) significant since it reflects that no matter where Cleofila goes, she is trapped by pain and suffering. While she is unhappy and unsafe in her marriage with Juan Padre, her neighbours’ state of despair reflects that even without her husband she also faces a miserable life. There is no escape in this patriarchal society, Cleofila is doomed to suffer. Additionally, on page 227, the line, “this lady doesn’t even speak English. She hasn’t been allowed to call home or write or nothing”, reflects Cleofilas’ struggles in this English-speaking society. Her poor English, therefore, acts as another method of control placed on her; she can not navigate in this English speaking country alone, she is dependent on her abusive husband. She is unable to even ask for help, it is her bruises in the end that signal her need for escape from her husband and this controlled and patriarchal town. 

Therefore, Spanglish offers important meanings to understand the critiques of patriarchy that Sandra Cisneros is attempting to make; she suggests through the names of the neighbours and their situations, that solitude and pain is an inescapable reality in patriarchy. The Spanglish additionally reminds us that Cleofilas is not an English speaker, which is important as an understanding of her dependency on her husband. 

10/14/21

What would happen if we lived underwater?

I would like to discuss the motif of water in “Thursday’s Widows.” As we discussed today, the opening scene is surprisingly relaxing and calm despite the fact that we are watching dead bodies floating in the water. This tranquility associated with the water suggests to me that water in this story acts as a refuge from the chaos in the characters’ worlds, it is almost like a utopia. Tano even alludes to this, he asks “what would happen if we lived underwater?” (I have a screenshot of this but I am not sure it is copyright-free to post), additionally acting as an element of foreshadowing of his death. For Tano, Gustavo, and Martín, the economic and personal stressors in their life become too much to bear and the three of them fantasize about death as an escape from it all. I think that this is reflective of capitalist societies and the idea that there is no peace in capitalism, and so the men resort to finding peace and freedom in the water because the economic stress becomes overwhelming.  

Thursday for Widows is definitely a complex piece of detective fiction, with multiple crimes and criminals. The important message to take away from it is that when death becomes glorified over living in a broken economic system, there is a problem, and there are many victims. It is interesting because while three characters are dead, I would hesitate to say they are the true and only victims in this story. These characters caused just as much damage as they endured, they represent the ways that capitalism causes pervasive damage by creating an unlivable world. Claudia Piñero creates a story that unveils the intricate ways that the economic collapse in Argentina caused widespread tragedies with multiple victims. In the scene in which Tano attempts to convince his friends to end their lives, there is an overpowering sense of defeat; as if they have lost this game of survival. They are resigned to their fate, not even Ronnie attempting to change their perspective works. This attitude is what makes me consider that the water is a symbol of freedom and escape, the ultimate end to a hopeless system.  

10/7/21

The Puzzle of a Broken System

María Bermúdez’s “The Puzzle of the Broken Watch” (1948) is an interesting piece of detective fiction in terms of its conformity to the genre norms. While the short story does adhere to the genre expectations of the ratiocination era of detective fiction, there are subtle unconventional elements that stand out as holding importance.  

This short story is immediately placed within the ratiocination sub-genre of detective fiction by introducing Miguel, the main investigator, reading. Bermúdez does also satisfy several of Borges’ rules for detective fiction, including; no more than six main characters; a temporal distance between the crime and investigation; minimal blood and gore; and a logical and plausible solution. However, after discussing Bermúdez’s academic and advocacy background, I think it is important to consider the ways that she strays from tradition and the importance of it.  

Miguel is employed to investigate the crime because the police failed to effectively serve justice and protect the public. Additionally, the murderer is a member of the police force. These two elements are important because it breaks against the genre norm of the detective working with the police to serve justice. However, it is the criminal in this story who works with the police, as a police officer, offering him protection from suspicion. I would argue that this reversal acts as a critique of police corruption; the state fails to protect its people by both actively harming innocent civilians, symbolized by Rosa’s murder, but also by ineffectively carrying out justice. The police force’s integrity is questioned and critiqued in this story, there is no glorification of the state as an instrument for serving justice.  

Bermúdez’s active participation in women’s rights also has me considering the importance of the female victim. Since the story places more importance on ‘who’ rather than ‘how’ the choice of a female as the victim seems deliberate to me, especially in this male-dominated genre. The investigation focuses quite heavily on motives and ultimately the proposed motive is jealousy. Rosa was an innocent young woman who exercised her right to say no to a man. Her murder stands out to me as a critique of the possessive nature of men and the danger women face when they exercise autonomy.  

Bermúdez breaking these norms is potentially a form of her activism. As we discussed in the interventionism section, short stories can act as powerful tools for creating an empathetic understanding of complex and harsh realities. The shocking revelation of Ismael, a police officer, as the murderer of an innocent woman, may be Bermúdez’s way of conveying a message about her society. 

09/23/21

Us vs Them

We never discussed in class the effect of the change from third-person narration to the first-person plural narration at the end of “And We Sold the Rain” by Carmen Naranjo. This is something that I have been thinking about and I would like to share my thoughts on its effect.

The use of “And” in the title suggests a sense of desperation since it sounds like the end of an extensive list of goods that the country had to sell to get itself out of debt. The “And” adds to the satirical and hyperbolic tone of the story in which Naranjo is critiquing the international organizations that economically destroyed this nation forcing them to sell their natural resource of rain to stay afloat. The “We” in the title however adds a sense of collectivity in this mass economic struggle.

After numerous failed attempts by this nation’s leadership to dig themselves out of debt, the citizens were forced to finally escape this unsustainable country. Once the citizens fled from their economic oppression, the narration turns to the first-person plural, with the line “In that country, we were second class citizens, something we were already accustomed to.” (pg 156). There is a sense of awakening and hope for the citizens of this unnamed nation, that perhaps this new country will be better. This line also acts as a critique of the unjust distribution of wealth. However, the line “the emir asked for a loan, then another, then many” (pg 156) indicates that while there may have been a moment of hope, the never-ending vicious cycle of a loan and debt repayment catches up to them again. The cyclical nature of this story is representative of the dependency that the international organizations forced upon Latin American countries resulting in economic crises during the 1970s and 1980s.

Naranjo never names the nation at focus in this story, but critiques explicitly the multinational organizations at fault for the crisis. The anonymity of the nation in contrast with the explicit naming of the international organizations acts as a powerful attack from Naranjo, there is no doubt who the villain is in this story. The impact of the change from third-person narration to first-person plural narration is that it reminds the reader that there are real victims of these irresponsible financial decisions of those in power and brings the story to a personal level.

09/16/21

A detached reality

The short story “Guatemala 1954 – Funeral For a Bird” is an important reflection of the devastating years of the Guatemalan Revolution. Above all, this story appears to be one of loss; loss of life, innocence, family, and freedom. Arias alludes to extreme violence through the description of corpses and blood, but Maximo, our child narrator, never explicitly discusses any violent imagery creating a somber undertone and emphasizing the pervasive violence surrounding Maximo.  

Maximo suffers the loss of his family, “His mother had told him that his father had disappeared” (pg 50), he has no parental figure to shield him from witnessing these harsh realities. It seems that Maximo, therefore, finds comfort in rituals; his obsessiveness over naming what he sees and his dedication to providing a meaningful parting ceremony for the bird are both rituals that may be indicative of potential coping mechanisms. The death of a bird, and the effect its death has on Maximo, may be representative of all the things that Maximo has lost: his innocence, his childhood, and his family. By having a funeral for the bird Maximo may be gaining a sense of closure for these losses that he has been unable to deal with. Therefore while this story is clearly one of widespread loss, one could additionally argue that Arias tells a story of resilience and survival. Through Maximo’s rituals in this story, he is given a sense of control over his otherwise devastating and harsh reality. 

Maximo lists the names for several things in his reality, for example, “there were bodies all around him. These were called corpses” (pg 50). It seems that by reducing such atrocities down to a single word, Maximo creates a sense of detachment from the shocking imagery he witnesses; instead of being bloody dead human bodies with identities, they are simply ‘corpses’. This seems to act as commentary on the devastating number of people who lost their lives in the Guatemalan Revolution and how their lives and identities should not be reduced down to a statistic; they all deserved to be given a ceremony like the ceremony Maximo gave the bird.