Reflection Journal

"Mexican" Is Not a Noun By Francisco X. Alarcón I liked this poem, from my perception it presents to the reader how it is to be Mexican, their reality. In the poem, the writer says that being Mexican is not a noun nor an adjective, it is a verb.  Verbs are actions, the author is saying to the reader that being a Mexican is about actions; however, for them, their actions are seen with a negative perspective because of people opinion, normally a negative one.  Francisco X. Alarcón presents a part of the reality of Mexicans in terms of jobs. He says that a Mexican life is a long low-paying job. This gives the reader the idea that they cannot get good jobs, jobs that can give them more opportunities, more incomes. They cannot have this opportunity probably because of discrimination, lack of opportunities. Also, in many parts of the poem, he uses negative words. He gives a negative connotation of being Mexican; for example, it is possible to see this when he...

The House on Mango Street By Sandra Cisneros Characters: Esperanza, Nenny, Carlos, Keeky, Mama and Papa, Lucy, Rachel, Aunt Lupe, Sally.  Esperanza is the main character of the story, she's ashamed of who she is. She wants to be different, she wants a different name, a different hair, she wants to be older and have all those things her family cannot give to her.  I really enjoyed this reading, to see how innocence is represented in Esperanza, she thinks she is a grown-up; however, Esperanza has a lot to learn about life, about responsibilities, about adulthood. I think I understand the way she feels, how she wants to be older, to have friends of your age, something she cannot find on her sister Nenny, because she is younger.  She wants to change who she is, that is what I perceive. I can say she is not happy about the place where she lives, about some aspects of her family and she just wants to fit in. Esperanza is still a child; however, she thinks ...

  HE COMES FOR THE JEWISH FAMILY, 1942 By Sharon Olds During World War II, Jewish were chased by Germans, taken to concentration camps. Adults, children, men, and women, they were all taken no matter what.  Jewish knew that when Nazis arrived their final destination was going to be a camp or death.  In this poem the family knew what to expect, they knew the German hated them, that he was going to take them to the camps, and their daughter was going to be taken with them, they had no consideration for children.  What they did not know was how easy was for a German to destroy a beautiful instrument like the cello.  It is well known that musical instruments as the guitar or in this case, the cello are somehow the representation of a woman's body.  "What they did not know was the  way he would pick her cello up by the scroll neck and take its dark lovely body shape and break it against the fireplace. The brickwork ...

MAUS A SURVIVOR'S TALE By Art Spiegelman  Characters: Artie, Vladek, Anja, Richeu, Mala , Lucia. Themes: Holocaust, race, family, guilt, past, memories, power. Maus tells the story of Vladek, it is really interesting to see how Artie narrates his father's story during World War II.  I can see how Vladek is affected by war, he likes to save money because he knows how helpful money would be if another war occurs. The comic is about part of his life before war, when he met Anja, his story with Lucia and even when his first son was born. His life during war, the time they had to be hidden and even when they arrived at Auschwitz.  This comic show the part of the history and reality Jewish people had to live during the war, and how this affected the survivors after it finished. I consider this comic present reality, a part of history in a creative and original way.  The representation of Nazis as cats, Jewish as mice, American as dogs and Polish ...