Section 7 La Conciencia de la Mestiza

1. Section 7La Conciencia de la Mestiza Angelica Ocaña Rhayven Broome 15 November 2011

2. Summary of Section 7 The final chapter it deals with her race, ethnicity, and culture as a whole. She begins by discussing a “cosmic race”, one that consists of all races, an intermixed species that resembles those people on the borderlands. It resembles them that they are a mix of several cultures, races, and ethnicities. However, this idea is hard to sort out because one struggles to find a harmony within their self when they have a mixed background tugging them constantly in different directions. She describes this as standing on banks of a river, shouting questions, and challenging ideas of one another. Trying to tear one down to take it over is not the solution. She says that for this to work they have to rebel against the ideology of having one right and one wrong, and have two separate ideas alongside each other in harmony. If this can’t be achieved then the ideas should simply move on from this battle between sides all together. She explains that in order to get this type of freedom, one must move from critical thinking, moving to a single goal, and move to divergent thinking, and working towards a whole perspective that includes rather than excludes . She describes how the new mestiza must cope by learning to tolerate the wrongness of her people and humbleness. She puts herself as the a mestiza, a lesbian, and a feminist she claims no race or ethnicity, but all races and ethnicities because she’s a member of all of these groups. She explains that she and her people have not melted in the pot, but rather stuck out and they have become a separate group of Americans. She knows that someday her people will be a real ethnicity with real culture like it had been in the past. That day will come again.

3. Discussion Questions Gloria explains in this chapter that for them to unite they have to rebel.Do you think she is targeting women or men. Now that this novel is finished, do you think Gloria was biased in her book, or she has the right to say her opinion bluntly?

4. Summary of Section II of Poems La Perdida “I'm that far land where I was born intense nostalgia invades my thoughts and see us so sad and lonely leaf in the wind which would mourn, I would die of feeling.” This is translated in English. She describes her homeland in need of help. That it cries of pain and suffering. It seems troublesome to her. She puts her emotions into this poem.

5. Sus Plumas el Viento(for the mother, Amalia) In this poem, she describes the life of a normal Hispanic women who works all day.that gets no respect, men spit on her and belittle. She describe one part as looking at her hands thick and calloused like a man. That shows how hard she and her people work. Especially as females.

6. Cultures Cultures is self-explanatory. It describes Gloria the author as a young women. Helping out the family, doing what women should be doing. She said that her brother’s never helped women worked was beneath the. She describes that she would overturn the culture, that she would make a change.

7. SobrePiedras con Lagartijos(paratodos los mojaditosquehancruzadoparaestelado) • This poem describes a journey a group of men are trying to attempt • As they go through the torture of having to deal with fear and terrible weather they are trying to reach their goal of illegally crossing the border for their family • They hope to find two things: • papers that will label them as legal in the U.S and • Labor to obtain money for their families left back in Mexico

8. El Sonavabitche(for Aishe Berger) ‘when I hear the words “corranmuchachos” I run back to the car, ducking, see the glistening faces, arms outflung, of the Mexicanosrunning headlong through the fields kicking up clouds of dirt’ (146, Anzaldua). This quote can be seen as an emphasize to this poem because it says how the illegal immigrants have to run (from officers) and live in fear.

9. A Sea of Cabbages (for those who have worked in the fields)Mar de Repollos(Para la gentequesiempre ha trabajado en laslabores) In this poem we read about how an immigrant from Mexico made it to a ‘field of a ranchito in Tejas’ (154, Anzaldua) What do you think ‘…caught in the net along with the paloma’ (154,Anzaldua). means? Why do you think it is this poem is titled: A Sea of Cabbages?

10. We Call Them Greasers The narrator throughout this poem seems to be a land owner who is asking immigrants for rent. If they do not pay he seems to threaten them with death. The landowner seems to abuse the immigrant family What are some quotes you can find that can demonstrate the abuse?

11. Matriz sin Tumba o“el bano de la basuraajena” This poem is very graphic about a woman This is a difficult time she is going through, why do you think out of all the poems so far, they all talk about a male and there is this one about a female? Why do you think there is so much pain portrait leading to a tomb?