LITR 4332: American
Minority Literature
Sample Student
Final Exam Answers 2004
2. Mexican American Literature & Culture
A. (default option). Describe “Latinos / Hispanics” as an ethnic group and locate Mexican Americans within it as an “ambivalent minority.” Why may this description be appropriate, given the history of Mexican America and the Southwest United States? How successfully does “ambivalence” characterize Mexican and Mexican American experience in our readings? Apply to “The Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe,” Bless Me, Ultima, and a Mexican American poem presented in class. (Objective 3c—mostly).
Sample Answers
2A. Describing Latinos/Hispanics as an ethnic group is a daunting task. Geographically, one tends to associate this group with the southwestern United States, Central and South America, and the Caribbean Islands. Yet many other ethnic groups (African descendants, Native Americans, and on and on) are represented in this vast area. Hispanics are often “marked” by the Spanish language, although many speak Portuguese, German, or English. The Catholic religion has historically been seen as the religion of Hispanics, but the Protestant religion is spreading among this group rapidly. Funneling down to one group of Hispanic people, the Mexican-Americans, does little to clarify these questions, and, in fact, may make the distinction harder to define, resulting in the ambivalence often associated with Mexican-American culture.
Given the history, it is easy to see how ambivalence may be a part of the Mexican-American experience and identity. Descendants of southern European settlers, Mexican vaqueros once invaded and conquered the land and native people of present-day southwestern United States. Mixing their traditions with those of the Native Americans, the Mexican settlers became farmers and ranchers in what they believed to be their rightful home. Wars and politics later resulted in Tejas becoming Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Colorado, all eventually part of the United States. Suddenly the once Mexican nationals found themselves “immigrants” or minorities in their own land, not unlike the Native Americans. The individual lack of choice over national boundaries marks the group as potential minorities, yet the shared history of European colonization may be perceived to reflect immigrant status. This history seems to have resulted in ambiguity as to whether Mexican-Americans should resist the dominant culture or join it.
The Virgin of Guadalupe, a religious and cultural icon of Mexican-American tradition, reflects the ambivalent nature of the MA position. The story of the Virgin clearly resembles the Christian Virgin Mary, and her importance specifically reflects Catholicism. Yet the Virgin of Guadalupe is brown skinned, dressed in earthen colors, and stands childless, with angels at her feet. She is a MA embodiment of the European idea of the Queen of Heaven. Further, her story, as told in the History of the Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe, exhibits elements of Native American Indian religion. First, her story is told orally, a NA tradition. She appears on a sacred NA site. She is connected to elements of nature, and is depicted as being surrounded by rays of the sun. Thus, she comes to illustrate the syncretic nature of MA religious tradition. Syncretism itself can be seen as a type of ambivalence. Neither religion dominates, instead, religions blend together, creating something that is like the old, and, at the same time, is something new.
Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya, beautifully brings this theme of ambivalence to light. In the novel, Tony is faced with one uncomfortable choice after another, and his resistance to absolute decisions illustrates ambivalence. First, Tony must choose between the ways of his father’s people, the vaqueros, and those of his mother’s people, the farmers. While the father represents Spanish settlers, his mother seems to represent the ways of the Indians who first inhabited the land. By nature of his birth, Tony represents the initial mixing of cultures and traditions. He feels the weight of impending choice, and wonders if no other option exists. His brothers, who leave to find a new life outside of either tradition, may represent a third choice. But the story ends without Tony making any choice, leaving the reader with a profound sense of ambivalence.
Tony’s struggles with religion similarly
reflect his feelings of ambivalence. Tony
sees the failure of Christianity (the priest cannot save Tony’s uncle, for
example), and is drawn to the natural beauty and simplicity that the Golden Carp
represents. In addition, Tony
witnesses the power of Ultima’s magic (she does save his uncle), a force of
good that is perceived as evil and shunned by many, even within Tony’s own
family. He asks why he must choose
between these forces. In fact,
throughout the novel, Tony consistently asks more questions than he answers. “Why did Narcisso and Lupito die? Why must I choose one religion?
Should I be a farmer or rancher or priest?” This questioning nature reveals the deep ambivalence Tony
feels in his life, and may reflect the ambivalence of MA people and culture. [TNK]
Latino and Hispanic are interchangeable terms that refer
to the ethnicity of a group of people that originate from South America, and
what is now the Southwest United States. Because
it is a term that describes an ethnic group, as opposed to a race of people, the
term carries some confusion. Race
refers to the biological and physical characteristics of a group of people.
Under US census terms, Latino and Hispanic are not races, but ethnic
groups, distinguished by culture, behavior, traditions, and circumstances.
While race may often be a deciding factor in determining ethnicity, it is
only one factor in a broad array of factors that determine this.
In the case of Hispanics, or Latinos, their ethnic category is generally
based on differences in language, religion, and geography.
In the case of Mexican Americans, they are always Hispanic, but not all
Hispanics are Mexican Americans, as Mexico is only a small region of South
America, and many Mexican Americans are born in the United States.
Many Hispanics that have come from parts of South America other than
Mexico are truly immigrants to the United States.
They travel from places south of Mexico to come here, and they do this by
choice. Mexican Americans, on the other hand, are often here less out
of choice, than out of necessity. A
good portion of what is now the United States, was once a part of Mexico, and a
large number of the ancestors of Mexican Americans were here before being taken
over by the dominant culture, as part of the spoils of war or treaty agreements.
While large numbers of Mexican Americans are immigrants, that is they
have come here out of choice to seek a better life, many of their stories more
closely resemble the stories of the American Indians, as their ancestors were
here before the white man came. Other
Hispanic or Latino groups have not had to deal with this, as they were not
conquered by the dominant culture, as is the case with Mexican Americans. Because of this, the experience of Mexican Americans tends to
closely resemble that of American Indians, as an ambivalent minority in the
dominant culture.
Part of the connection between Mexican Americans and American Indians can
be seen in the story of The Virgin of Guadalupe.
Although Mary is a traditional symbol of the Catholic Church, a
traditional Hispanic religion, her features in the story, “…make her a
Native American Virgin Mother.” She
also appeared to be an Indian woman, and was sighted on what is a traditional
site associated with Indian gods of fertility.
According to the story, “…she has been the image of miscegenation
incarnate, the blending of Spanish and Indian worlds.”
Aside from being seen as miscegenation or blending of mixed bloods, the
story of the Virgin is full of ambivalence.
Juan Diego is torn by many decisions he is forced to make after being
chosen by the Virgin as her messenger. He
is forced to choose between his duty to his family, and his duty to obey the
wishes of the Virgin. In the end,
he meets both needs, delivers her message, and as result saves his brother.
This is a metaphor for the choices that Mexican Americans are forced to
make, as they attempt to choose between fully assimilating into the dominant
culture, and holding onto the traditional values of the Mexican American
culture.
The ambivalence of Mexican Americans is especially well expressed in
Rudolfo Anaya’s Bless Me Ultima. In
the story, Antonio realizes, and faces up to, many decisions regarding
traditional values, as opposed to his assimilation into the dominant culture.
At the beginning of the story, he talks about his father, and his
father’s family, being vaqueros, even after the arrival of the big ranchers
from Texas who fenced in the virgin land. After
this, his father’s strongest wish is to move to California, where he would
once again have the chance to be successful.
Of course, this is misguided, as migrant workers were not in a good
social or financial position upon migrating to California.
Even in his language, Antonio faces ambivalence, as his desire to go to
school and learn to speak English, clashes with his family’s tradition of
speaking only Spanish at home. He
is torn between making his family happy, or struggling to fully assimilate into
the dominant culture that was taking over his family’s region.
As Antonio notes, he was truly “caught in the middle” (222).
Many Mexican Americans still feel great ambivalence about their lives in
the United States and about their role as immigrants.
In Jimmy Santiago Baca’s poem, Immigrants in Our Own Land, the
author expresses anger and bitterness about his perceived persecution because of
his skin color, his poverty, and his lack of education.
He seems to be torn between the promise of a better life, and the despair
and disappointment that he constantly comes up against in his quest for
assimilation. Santiago talks about
being born here, and yet still feeling like an immigrant.
He is outraged at the treatment of his people, and although he wishes for
a better life, he feels that the dominant culture has let his people down, and
abused them in the process.
Mexican Americans are a unique culture in the United States.
They have strong family and religious ties, and yet they seem to be in a
constant battle to assimilate into a dominant culture they resent, and to hang
onto their traditional beliefs and ways of life.
They are seen as immigrants in a country that the majority of them were
born into, or lived in before the European Americans conquered it.
Their ambivalence towards the dominant culture is seen in their
literature, and in their voices, as they fight to succeed in a culture that
treats them as strangers in their own land. [KD]
The terms Latinos and Hispanics as ethnic groups are relatively equivalent. They can be considered umbrella terms for all Latin American and Spanish American groups. Following this definition, Mexican Americans are considered to be Latino or Hispanic. Mexican Americans are considered the ambivalent minority because there are mixed feelings among Mexican American people in response to the question of them being a minority group or an immigrant culture. In addition, like the Native Americans, can you truly call a group of people a minority or immigrant group when they technically were here first? If only considering the borders that exist currently, those on the Northern side can be considered involuntary participants of the United States. Although the views of the United States is constantly changing, Mexican Americans have at times been forced to learn English as their dominant language and have had European customs imposed upon them. They are ambivalent because as they assimilate, they move back and forth between their traditional customs and those of the dominant culture.
In “The Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe,” the story of Juan Diego provides such an example of being ambivalent. When Juan Diego is asked by the priest to get proof that he did indeed see the Virgin of Guadalupe, he learns that his uncle is very ill. Although seemingly somewhat humorous to those of European descent, his response is that he must first take care of his uncle before he can go and ask the Virgin for proof. Juan Diego is tied to his responsibilities for his family above all else. Another such example in this story is that when the Virgin’s picture is imprinted on the robe of Juan Diego, it has the appearance of being Indian, instead of like the European Virgin that is shown in modern works of art. This can be seen as a blending of the native and European cultures.
Bless Me, Ultima, the author Rudolfo Anaya repeatedly blends the superstitions of the traditional culture with the principles of Christianity and there is a constant struggle between them. Although Ultima is a traditional healer, she is often referred to as being a witch and happens to be the only person who is able to protect the people around her from the evil that exists. She herself also blends healing techniques from several groups, “She spoke of the ancient medicines of other tribes, the Aztecas, Mayas, and even of those in the old, old country, the Moors”. Antonio is a young boy in the novel who constantly strives to be a good Catholic. However, he is caught between praying to the God of the church or the golden carp. When he is told that he would have to choose, his response is, “Does one have to choose? Is it possible to have both?” He is trapped between the two, but refuses to completely choose either.
Yet another example of the ambivalent minority can be seen in the poem by Jose’ Angel Villalongo, Sr., “In the Good Old U.S.A.” In this poem, the author writes of his experiences as a Puerto Rican in the United States. In the second stanza he states, “Where the language passed on by generations is a curse.” The fact that the language has been passed on for generations shows its importance to the Puerto Rican people. However, for him it is a curse. He learns first-hand of racism in the United States, so he tries to change himself into something he is not by changing his name and trying to hide his culture. He is caught between trying to fit into the American dominant culture and, while doing so, losing who he truly is.
Because there are too many variables, one runs
a risk in categorizing the Mexican American culture as being a minority group.
They group can truly be identified as being ambivalent because they are
often able to hold onto the traditions that exist in their culture while living
in the modern culture. It seems
that that the Mexican American culture is so unique because of its ability to
cling to traditional beliefs, combining it with modern culture, and turning it
into something completely new. [KM]
2a. . . . They are at once voluntary and involuntary participants.
A quality in which the ambivalence is noteworthy appears in religion. The Virgin of Guadalupe is Mexico’s patron saint. However, her appearance is a syncretism of Aztec religion and Catholicism. The figure, greatly resembling the Virgin Mary, has the skin and face of an Indian, which suggests the Mexican heritage of Aztecs. At the same time, she is discovered by Juan Diego, who is Mexican. This combines the populations of Mexico, the contemporary Mexican and the traditional Aztec, in worshipping in the vein of Catholicism. More importantly, the adoption of this image symbolizes the acceptance of Catholicism. This is voluntary rather than forced, and minorities typically deal in involuntary participation. At the same time, this is not total submission, because the image of Mary has been adapted to the approval of Mexican and Indian culture. As a result, there is a feeling of compromise, rather than force by the dominant culture.
Of course, all compromises are not this easy. In Ultima, Antonio is torn between being a vaquero or a priest. Symbolically speaking, he is being torn between uphold a traditional occupation (the vaquero) or assuming a job of the dominant culture (Catholic priest). From this, one again finds the ambivalence of the minority. Although Antonio could be a vaquero, the Ilano is being fenced in by the dominant culture. This would make the task difficult, and the job would be a civil disobedience to the dominant culture. At the same time, this fencing in was not invited nor is it welcome. These two factors are the aspect of Mexican-American culture that create a traditional minority.
However, there is the ability to become a priest. This is a job offered by the dominant culture, and it represents something closer to the American Dream. As a priest, Antonio would be in a position of power and leadership for his community. He would be able to help the community to grow and be more successful, which is a quality of the American Dream. Yet again, this power comes at the position of the promoting the entire community. The American Dream is something of an independent vision, and so one again finds a compromise. As mentioned, that is the nature of an ambivalent minority. The other groups do not have compromise, but the Mexican Americans seem able to pursue aspects of the American dream, in addition to maintaining cultural paradigms.
There is yet another aspect to the ambivalent position of Mexican Americans, seen in the poem “So Mexicans are Taking Jobs from Americans.” This aspect deals with survival and stereotype by the dominant culture. In the poem, Baca attacks the idea of Mexicans taking jobs. The jobs are being filled, because the Mexicans are willing to accept them. Furthermore, these jobs are necessary to feed families; this creates an intense frustration. Here again, one has ambivalence. On one hand, there are illegal immigrants. At the same time, there are wholly legal persons who reside in Mexico working in the States. These people work for the same reason anyone else does, being survival. By coming to America, they are immigrant and fulfilling the immigrant ideals. However, America did take land that once belonged to Mexico. Some areas are more fertile or have more work available, and so the Mexicans are at the mercy of the dominant culture. This creates the minority idea.
More importantly, this poem suggests a different kind of ambivalent minority. While there are illegal aliens, there are also Mexican-Americans who are native to the country. However, these people look alike to the dominant culture. In that respect, one has the attempt to live the American dream, in addition to the prejudice of being mistaken for an alien. For the negative imagery of losing jobs, the American citizens have more emotional difficulty in the workplace.
In conclusion, Mexican-Americans are very much
an ambivalent minority. America has
offered financial opportunity to the culture, but the nation did move into land
that was originally Mexico. At the
same time, the Mexican American culture is able to find compromises.
Portions of the culture are assimilated and others respected, which is
wholly unlike the treatment of Native Americans and African Americans.
It is from the constant feeling of compromise that one finds the truly
ambivalent quality of the culture. [RL]
2. A). The term Latinos and Hispanics seems to be a term that describes all Spanish American or Latin American people. This includes people from Puerto Ricans, Salvadorans, etc. However, Mexicans are a unique sub group of this group because they seem to be an ambivalent minority. They are an ambivalent minority because the question remains whether or not they are immigrants or minorities. Depending on which perspective you have, they may fit into both categories. On one had some of them have come over to America seeking economic advancement. However, once they come over to America, they are torn between their tradition and that of the dominant culture. The history of Mexican Americans further complicates their status as a separate minority culture or an immigrant culture. Much of Texas was once considered part of Mexico, so can they be immigrants in a land where they are from? Mexican Americans may be voluntarily coming to the United States for economic purposes, but should they be forced to take up the traditions of the dominant culture because of it? They are not however, voluntarily accepting the things that the dominant culture is trying to force upon them, so they are a minority culture. They are caught between two different worlds, trying to find a place for themselves.
The Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe shows how the Mexican Americans are an ambivalent minority. The Virgin of Guadalupe has traits of both Europeans and Indians. When Juan Diego first sees the Virgin he describes a lady with Indian like cloth and Indian like features. However, the current vision of the Virgin is influenced greatly by European traits.
Ultima deals a lot with the Mexican American as an ambivalent minority. In the story, Antonio is caught between his mother’s world and his father’s world. His mother wants him to become more a part of the dominant culture, while his father is use to the old ways. He feels as though he is caught between being his mother’s priest and his father’s son. It is hard for Antonio to accept his Mexican heritage when he is trying to fit into the dominant culture. An excellent example of this is when Antonio is eating lunch at school. He brings tortillas for lunch while the other kids have sandwiches. The difference between what they eat makes Antonio feel uncomfortable about his heritage. He can directly see the difference between him and the dominant culture.
There is also a discrepancy in the way that Ultima is viewed in the book. To some she is considered a curandera, which is a healer. However, to others she is considered a bruja, which is a which. Since people of the dominant culture do not understand the Mexican Americans’ culture, they do not know how to look at Ultima. Although Antonio feels a little nervous about what people will say about him with his grandmother, he starts to accept his way of life. He is further torn between the religion that he practices and the gods like the golden carp that he discovers. He feels like if he believes in the golden carp he is abandoning his god, because his god is suppose to be the only god. However, he also has a hard time understanding the way that god work, because he witnesses good people dying and bad people going unpunished.
It is necessary to discuss the language barrier in Ultima in order to discuss the Mexican Americans as an ambivalent minority. Most of the elders in the book only understood Spanish. This barrier would, of course, block the Mexican Americans advancement in life. Many of the Mexican Americans did not even want the new generation to learn English because they wanted to hold on to their traditions. However, since Antonio’s mother wanted him to become a priest he had to learn English. Their language is something that could identify them as both a minority culture and an immigrant culture. On one hand, they assimilate into the dominant culture by learning English voluntarily. On the other hand, they are forced to learn English in order to be accepted by the dominant culture and participate in the American Dream.
Syncretism is another big part of Ultima. Like I mentioned before, Antonio is caught between his mother’s world and his father’s world, between customs of the past, and customs of the present. When Antonio was sick, Ultima used both Vicks and her traditional herbs to heal him. This shows the blend of the two worlds. They are not necessarily choosing between the two, but rather combining the two. Antonio tries to do the same thing with his religious beliefs. He doesn’t want to abandon his god, yet he wonders if he can’t believe in his god and other gods as well. Antonio also addresses syncretism with the power of good and evil. Antonio says he has felt the presence of evil before and it had felt like a whirlwind. However, when he experiences the power of Ultima, he says that it too felt like a whirlwind. Antonio starts to wonder if the power of good and evil is the same. He questions whether Ultima is in fact a bruja or a curandera.
Luis Rodriguez’s poem “We Never Stopped Crossing Borders” shows the ambivalence of the Mexican Americans. He uses the Rio Grande and other rivers as barriers in keeping the Mexican Americans separate from the dominant culture. He refers to how he was constantly told “don’t speak Spanish, don’t be Mexican” (6). He had to jump through many hurdles to make it in life, yet the dominant culture seemed to view it as his own choice. Yes, he voluntarily came to America, but he did not voluntarily give up his language. He says he is constantly reminded “this is not your country” in a place that was once Mexico.
Mexican Americans hold a unique
status in America because they can be considered immigrants and minorities.
Mexico was conquered by the U.S. so they did not join the American dream, but
were rather forced into it. However, many Mexicans voluntarily come to the U.S.
for economic reasons. For this reason they are caught between two worlds. They
want to maintain their language and culture, but they also want opportunity.
Many people in the dominant culture have the outlook that they need to go back
to their own country. However, many Mexican Americans may respond that they are
in their own country. Because they have a different language, and different
customs, separate from the dominant culture, and are constantly being forced to
abandon them in order have a place in society they are minorities. [AS]
. . . Although the Mexican America fits the definition of a minority, they can also be considered an immigrant group because many arrive in America voluntarily. According to our class notes, there were approximately 800,000 Mexican Americans in America in the 1970s, whereas in 2000, there are nearly 8 million immigrants. So, the Mexican American seems like an immigrant on the surface; however, one must ask if it is possible to “immigrate” from Mexico to lands formerly held by Mexico. This same sentiment is expressed in the poem title of “Immigrants in Our Own Land” by Jimmy Santiago Baca.
Because of this fluctuation from immigrant status to minority status and vice versa, the Mexican American is considered to be the ambivalent minority. Mexican Americans feel this ambivalence when faced with the decision to assimilate into the dominant culture or when faced with the decision to resist assimilation and retain their culture. This ambivalence is seen in "The Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe.” We are told that “her sacred face is very beautiful, grave, and somewhat dark.” So, is she Indian or is she European? . . .
. . . Of course, the greatest example of ambivalence is Tony. Is he a Luna or is he a Márez? Will he follow his father’s dream or his mother’s? Similarly, the Mexican American has to make the choice of what path his future will take. Will he become a part of the dominant culture or will he resist assimilation? Often the choice is a hard one to make because both options bring benefits as well as loss. Tony’s brothers voice the thoughts of the ambivalent Mexican American when they ask: “Why does it have to be just those two choices!” (67). Maybe, just maybe, the Mexican American is opting for a third choice. [NB]