Xóchitl Michaela Anson and Dr. Trenton Hickman, English
Previous to this project I gathered information (photographs, newspaper articles and reviews, advertisements, and dime novels) interrogating misconceptions and stereotypes of Mexican- Americans that have dominated the American literary canon for at least the last two centuries. For this project I focused primarily on 20th century Chicana/o texts in two fundamental ways. Firstly, I considered particular political, social and economic events directly affecting Mexican- Americans and how much these events account for the flood of Chicana/o texts throughout the Chicano movement to the present. Secondly, by combining my first directive with my previous research, I expected to better identify the literary aesthetic and cultural space from which modern and postmodern Chicana/o authors are writing.
As my research progressed, I realized that although my directives were sound, my focus was too broad. My project began to take shape after my visit to California. The Chicana/o centers at UCSB and UCLA were invaluable supplements to BYU library resources. While attending a graduate conference at UCSB and the American Literature Association conference at Long Beach in May, I was able to observe presentations of research in my field and to compare findings with seasoned scholars.
Many Chicana/o texts are heavily invested in exploring parallels to the dominant American culture while uncovering the uniqueness of being Mexican-American. Commonly found throughout Chicana/o literature and culture is what Gloria Anzaldúa calls the concept of borders. As the hyphenated title of its people suggests, Mexican-Americans live on a geographical and cultural fissure.1 This means that most Mexican-Americans struggle with identity, striving to succeed in American society while attempting to maintain traditions and folkways. A reoccurring conflict in Chicana/o literature is balancing assimilation. Although assimilation often means a renting of traditions, many writers see it as a tragic necessity for survival.
Particularly fascinating is this quest for identity within the context of Chicana/o Juvenile Literature. Juvenile literature is primarily concerned with growing-up stories, which Chicano author Rudolfo Anaya calls one of the universal themes in literature. Chicana/o writers often talk of an outside world or refer to worlds outside their own experiences; in this bordered context is a vastly different sense of self and sense of purpose. For this reason juvenile literature is an ideal space for authors to rewrite misconceptions, provide heroes with whom Chicana/o youth can relate, and to show growing up Chicana/o as positive rather than unfortune. It becomes a question of “who do I want to be” rather than “who am I supposed to be” or “who could I have been?” It is also in this space where I could best ask my questions: how are these texts engaging the stereotypes and epithets historically attributed to Mexican-Americans? What are the tropes unique to Chicana/o growing-up stories?
I gathered several growing-up stories by Rudolfo Anaya, Gloria Anzaldúa, Gerald Haslam, Rosa Elena Yzquierdo, Gary Soto, Antonio Villareal, Patricia Preciado Martin, Alicia Gaspar de Alba and many others. While reading most texts, I noticed certain patterns that are not uncommon to growing-up stories. For example, many texts explore a coming of age process, familial relationships, school experiences and rites of passage. I recognized at least two separate and distinct experiences while reading Chicana/o growing-up stories. There are stories that distinctly chronicle migrant life and stories that are generally set in the barrio (neighborhood).
Within these two varied narratives is what I call stabilizers. Stabilizers are elements of Mexican- American culture that enable Chicanos to deal with marginalization. Stabilizers give Mexican- Americans a sense of identity and purpose. Mexican-Americans connect with others of similar backgrounds and maintain their connections with cultural traditions.
Barrio narratives place importance on the community of the barrio as well as its geographical place. Houses and schools are common settings for interaction with the outside world. A barrio narrative also displays its characters as more established, possessing geographical space and subsequently more assimilated into the dominant Anglo culture. Mexican-Americans in this context can spatially identify with geographical markers that give their lives meaning: churches, schools, streets and markets.
Migrant life, by definition, is different from mainstream American culture. Migrant families possess a peculiar subculture because of their nomadic nature. Migrant life expresses mobile, less tangible, stabilizers such as storytelling, language and family, all of which can be transplanted with the harvest. In some narratives the stabilizing factor for the characters is as simple as a pot of beans. Vital to the migrant experience is the use of storytelling. Sharing stories is one way that migrant Mexican-Americans root themselves in each other and their heritage. Their narrative continues to evolve as with interaction with other migrants in each new place, different stories are acquired and perpetuated.
It is imperative to note that Mexican-Americans are unlike any other ethnic group within the United States in that the influx of new immigrants is increasingly higher than any one group. Because of this continual changing culture, there is no monolithic Chicana/o childhood. Recognizing these tropes as stabilizers enables us to see how growing up Chicana/o is part of the metanarrative of growing up American. Exposure to juvenile literature from various groups is essential for our children to learn tolerance and love, and to better understand who they can become.
I am continuing my research as I find this particular subject intriguing and gratifying. This project has sparked several ideas for me both academically and personally. I intend to pursue an advanced degree in English and am considering this topic for my thesis. Also, as a mother of two young daughters I have found valuable texts that are now included in our personal library.
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1 Anzaldúa, Gloria. La Frontera: the new mestiza. San Francisco, Aunt Lute Books, 1999.