Author Archives: JamesZhang

12/1/21

My Chinese

Lozada–Oliva’s poem “My Spanish” imparts foresight to what future generations of Chinese might experience here in Canada as well. This is particularly relevant to me due to being a first generation Chinese, Canadian citizen myself. Unlike the author, instead of being born in Canada, I moved here with my family when I was just five years old. In these 14 years in Canada, I have lost so many aspects of my previous cultural practices and traditions. Even now, the loss of the foundation of my original spoken language speaks volumes to the length at which it is lost. Due to this poem, the previously unfathomable thought of the next generation’s personal identity struggles are now in light. Therefore, I emphasize and understand Lozada-Oliva’s struggles and grievances as a 2nd+ generation of Hispanic American, although it may be at a different level. I struggle with the answers whenever someone asks me if I am fluent in Mandarin or Cantonese because I honestly do not know. Just like Lozada-Oliva, my language is a worn out photo of the past. Half of it muscle memory, and the other half gobbled up by the media that I consumed.  Yet, I still remember like a foggy memory of the past, shining like the light at the end of the tunnel, but it is merely the start. 

11/27/21

Luiselli Style

Luiselli has a unique writing style that is unlike any other author we have seen thus far. Luiselli uses humor to relieve tension in the text. Whenever the novel covers a disturbing or tragic piece of nonfiction, there is almost always some kind of humorous jab to go with it. She speaks of irony, giving the reader time to laugh and think, then proceeds to describe the irony in immaculate detail. By doing this, Luiselli stalls the reader long enough to then make them less sensitive to the tragic content that is the target of the irony. Furthermore, unlike other authors, Luiselli does not leave much to be read in between the lines, she tends to extrapolate so much that even the least critical reader has an extremely easy time to understand the points she is trying to convey. She pours out all of her thoughts and feelings of the topic at hand throughout the novel; thus,  it is like how the reader is looking into a glimpse of her mind. The reader, captivated by what she thinks and what she thinks others think, is then pulled into the story that she is trying to portray, the narrative that she is attempting to tell. Although Luiselli’s writing style works wonders for the readers that actually read it, the form is not the best for attracting new audiences or keeping the reader involved, since it is very long compared to other short stories we have read as well as how Luiselli goes off in a tangent of long sentences just like the ones in this post.

11/4/21

No More Ingénue

The most impactful and memorable scene in Portela’s “Cinderella’s Secret Dream” is the part where Cleis “turns and knees [the billionaire] in the crotch”(4). This scene stands out because it flashes intense imagery for the audience who has experienced the same event. An immense blunt force applied to the genital area is universally hated by all— not only does it inflict pain for the initial impact, but it also lingers exponentially based on the strength of said force. Before the 21st century, objectified women were normal — people treated — no — handled women like junk. Easily expendable and replaceable, even if they were their own sweat and blood. For women, this scene can symbolize a shift against patriarchy — a non-male fighting back against the oppression of the other genders — publicized in a male dominated porn mag. Cleis, the character, careens away from some main gender stereotypes. For example, women are often expected to be accommodating and emotional, while men are usually expected to be self-confident and aggressive. By asserting dominance over the wealthy businessman, Cleis established herself to be less accommodative and more self-assured and confrontative.  Furthermore, it is important to note that Cleis is only doing housework because the story, or society as a whole, wedged her into it. She wanted to become an actress — she eventually does become an actress (5), but gender norms and her stepfamily obligated her out of it. Not convinced yet? Cleis, herself, confirmed her own aggressive personality traits by opting to play the “villainess” in the soap operas.

10/28/21

The Bridge of Change

In “Woman Hollering Creek,” by Sandra Cisneros, the bridge not only functions as a structure to carry a path over water, but also serves as a symbol that crosses between pain (Dolores), solitude (Soledad) and comfort (Chela). This is depicted in the text when Cleofilas is beat and then left alone by her husband often in Seguin while back in her home town she was comfortable — even if there wasn’t “very much to do,” (220). Water, on the other hand, is another symbol commonly used for change in literature. Thus, begs the question, where does the idiom water under the bridge come into play? The crossing of the river further illustrates the Chicano experience of crossing the Rio Grande, a river commonly known for its disputed border between Mexico and Texas during the 19th century. This traversal not only occurs literally, but in the understanding of individuality and culture as well.  Notably, Seguin corresponds to an American town during the 19th century, while the protagonist’s home town represents more of a Mexican hometown. Furthermore, the bridge over water exemplifies a third meaning. By crossing over the bridge for perhaps the last time, Cleofilas is letting bygones be bygones, or in other words, letting it be just water under the bridge. Through this use of symbolism and imagery, Cisneros masterfully manages to capture the emotions and struggles of the Chicanos as well as the tones, identity, and culture of both Mexican and American women during and after that time period.

10/14/21

It All Comes Back To Anahí

We touched on how, in “the Crazy Woman and the Tale of the Crime”, by Ricardo Piglia, Anahí represents the Argentinian society as a whole; however, we never really dove deep into it. Therefore, I want to expand on the little hints and big clues that demonstrate Anahí as symbolism of the post-neoliberalism social structure. For example, Anahí kissed the fat man’s feet in exchange for “a thousand pesos” (558). If Anahí represented Argentinian society and in the process, Argentina as a whole, then the fat man represents American neoliberalism. Thus, it symbolizes the kind of relationship between the two countries during such a time. Therefore, the bar, the New Deal, represents all the different countries in the world that America has tamed, with money, to further its liberalistic policies.

In order to truly understand this short story, one must read between the lines. Yet, reading between the lines has an entirely different meaning in this text as Renzi had to read between the delirious lines of Anahí in order to understand what she was trying to say. Just like how Argentina had to rely on literature to maintain free speech / history and how we had to delve deeper into this rabbit hole to figure out why this Anahí is so significant. 

The relationship between Anahí and Evita Peron further illiterates on Anahí being a symbol for Argentina. Notice how Anahí “was a queen and was a friend of Evita Peron”(561). The past tense is important because it implies that Anahí was friends with Evita at some point. However, in Evita’s biography there is no mention of Anahí anywhere; because it would only make sense if she was never real in the first place and a symbolic representation for Argentina. Anahí being a queen also suggests that Argentina was way better off before America intervened.

This literature acted as the “fourth estate” for Argentina when all other forms of resistance or criticism has failed.  I believe this makes it so that if this form of fictional literature as critique were to be silenced, then it would cause mass suspicion and ultimately cause more harm than good to neoliberalism. 

10/7/21

Holmes and A Tool

Armando Zozaya and Miguel Prado, the detectives in “The Puzzle of the Broken Watch” by María Elvira Bermúdez are parodies of Holmes and Watson. Miguel Prado, like Watson, does not pay attention to small details. For example, it did not “occur to [Miguel] to ask about [where the girl, Juan, bought for herself]” (4), but Armando did. Armando is like the Sherlock Holmes of this story, it seems like when everything seems to be already discovered- Armando asks the more important questions to gather even the most miniscule of details. For example, when he asks himself “why… the sisters and her little girl, [Rosita], gone so long on their errand”, it illustrates that even the most outlandish claims do not escape his eye. However, unlike Holmes, Armando is very compassionate towards others – as exhibited by his treatment of Rosita. Furthermore,  Armando is like the main protagonist in any generic story, he has the “intuition” to think of the exact thing that could have possibly happened to figure out the story. On the other hand, it seems like Watson acts like a dimwit to Holmes – just so the reader can understand the thought process of Armando when he arrives at his conclusions.  This is further backed by the fact that Miguel does not contribute anything significant enough to the plot and story. Thus, I personally think that this is a lazy way to explain plot and characters intentions in a story. Moreover, I believe that this would be a much greater story if Miguel had been killed at the beginning and Armando had to find his cause of death plus finish his case. This way the reader can interpret what happened in the story for themselves without a detective hand-holding them all the way through. Give the audience a beginning, an end, and enough meat/details in the middle; and it would have been a much greater story. 

09/23/21
"Old Feedsack Rag Balls" by 'Playingwithbrushes' is licensed under CC BY 2.0

The Will of Rags

"Old Feedsack Rag Balls" by 'Playingwithbrushes' is licensed under CC BY 2.0

“Old Feedsack Rag Balls” by ‘Playingwithbrushes’ is licensed under CC BY 2.0

In Ak’abal’s poems, each line is worth a thousand words. There is often a metric ton of subtext/context that is contained within these poems, especially if you can recognize his history both as a poet and the history of his people. To achieve this, Ak’abal uses a substantial amount of literary and rhetorical devices to help him convey his messages. For example, “they hurt, / they hurt” is a form of repetition in Pain, while  “weight of poverty, / of indifference, / of injustice” in 500 Years is an example of Anaphora – where a poem repeats the same phrase at the beginning of each line (Ak’abal Pain, lines 3-4 | Ak’abal 500 Years, lines 3-6 ). Pain is a masterful poem, it conveys many words with very few; the repetition in Pain emphasizes and exaggerates how much pain the people are suffering due to “misery / [and] poverty” (Ak’abal Pain, lines 1-2). The pain that is caused by being abandoned by the colonists and the government. These two words, misery and poverty, by itself, can cause a startling image to form in ones mind. This is further illustrated in the next lines of Pain, where the Mayan and Indigenous people were so demoralized that they would rather be “a piece of rag” – an inanimate object (Ak’abal Pain, lines 5-6)! Thus, this demonstrates what they were going through – their wills were reduced to nothing more than the tattered cloth of a peasant or slave. However, even with their battered and withered wills, they still want to “be useful [like a patch]” to other people (Ak’abal Pain, lines 7-8). A patch that could mend wounds, correct errors, or even hastily repair what has been lost. Ak’abal is establishing that THIS IS THE WILL OF THE INDIGENOUS PEOPLE! They want to prove that even on death’s door, they were willing to forgive – to make amends with those that have wronged them. Ak’abal and the Indigenous were not looking for something as petty or hateful as vengeance – they were the better men – men that were willing to forgive and to mend…