For the class of Nov. 22 - Sandra Cisneros, "Woman Hollering Creek".
Think and write of either or more
1. Choose a passage of 1-2 sentences of your particular liking. Explain why it strikes you and what you think are its implications for the text.
2. Do some research on the Mexican legend of "La Llorona" and speculate on it as an intertext for the story.
3. In some instances, there seem to be breaks of syntax or logic in the stenteces. Identify one or more of these, and comment on its textual effect(s).
1. Choose a passage of 1-2 sentences of your particular liking. Explain why it strikes you and what you think are its implications for the text.
2. Do some research on the Mexican legend of "La Llorona" and speculate on it as an intertext for the story.
3. In some instances, there seem to be breaks of syntax or logic in the stenteces. Identify one or more of these, and comment on its textual effect(s).
"How when a man and woman love each other, sometimes that love sours. But a parent's love for a child, a child's for its parents, is another thing entirely.
ResponderExcluirThis is what Cleofilas thought evenings when Juan Pedro did not come home, and she lay on her side of the bed listening to the hollow roar of the interstate, a distant dog barking, the pecan trees rustling like ladies in stiff petticoats - shh-shh-shh, shh-shh-shh - soothing her to sleep." (220)
This line is situated near the beginning of the story and is one of the first hints the reader receives that Cleofilas is stuck in an unhappy marriage. The last, sentence, in particular creates a bleak tone that colors the rest of the story, painting Cleofilas' situation as both desperate and depressing. Both the "hollow roar of the interstate" and the "distant dog barking" are signs of life that Cleofilas, alone in bed and waiting for a husband who will not return, is far removed from. It places her on the other side of life, as an observer, instead of an active participant. Furthermore, both the adjectives used here - "hollow" and "distant" - describe not only the objects but Cleofilas herself as well; she feels both empty and isolated. In fact, her own emotional state is projected onto every description in this sentence, especially "the pecan trees rustling like ladies in stiff petticoats," which convey her sense of restriction and imprisonment. It is also noteworthy that these are the sounds which are "soothing her to sleep," as it highlights the lack of a human soothing presence in her life. Thus, in this one sentence alone, many aspects of Cleofilas' emotional state are presented to the reader, creating an important foundation for the rest of the story.
“Pain or rage, Cleófilas wondered when she drove over the bridge the first time as a newlywed and Juan Pedro had pointed it out. La Gritona, he had said, and she had laughed. Such a funny name for a creek so pretty and full of happily ever after…She had always said she would strike back if a man, any man, were to strike her.” (Cisneros, 222)
ResponderExcluirThis passage is critical because it both highlights and reiterates numerous themes that are presented by Cisneros in “Woman Hollering Creek”. Cleófilas, a Mexican native, describes her life in Mexico as relatively mundane; spending much of her time visiting others and watching the telenovelas, longing to be the beautiful actresses. In these telenovelas, Cleófilas sees hope and inspires to be a strong woman living a glamorous lifestyle, and to her the border separating her from living that lifestyle is that of the United States and Mexico. Much of the story deals with Cleófilas’ search for love and freedom despite her less than ideal circumstances. The passage above, in ironic fashion, serves as a representation of the false pretenses that Cleófilas came to the United States on, the “happily ever after”. The creek, despite its beauty, metaphorically is comparable to the characters of the story. Juan Pedro, Cleófilas’ husband, is able to court Cleófilas with the hope of opportunity, however beyond the superficial level he is abusive. The irony of the passage is further revealed in the paragraph immediately proceeding it, in which Cleófilas describes the first time she is abused. Cisneros excellently places the above passage in the story because not only does it mark a very unexpected turn of events, but it also accurately emphasizes the broader themes of immigration, the lives of women, and the façade of opportunity. Cisneros expertly mimics the dramatic turn of events for Cleófilas; the euphoria of marriage and immigration to domestic abuse, with this succinct passage and its transition to Cleófilas’ description of her abuse. The reader is able to experience the sudden shock of a “happily ever after” gone bad. Overall, the above passage struck me because it marked the beginning of a new, darker theme that is explored by Cisneros.
One passage I found particularly striking was "Cleofilas thought her like would have to be like that, like a telvenovela, only now the episodes got sadder and sadder. And there were no commercials in between for comic relief (226)." Cisneros uses the metaphor of a telenovela to help the main character explain her feelings. In the most obvious sense, this passage shows how the main character tends to think: in terms of the telenovela. She thinks about her sadness like she thinks about the sad episodes of a telenovela. When she laughs and finds happiness it is the same to her as the commercials. However, this passage also shows that the telenovela is more than just how the character thinks, but it has saturated into how she approaches life. Even when her husband has beat her and her life has become miserable she does not try to escape because her hero in the TV show Lucia Mendez had to "put up with all kinds of heartships, separation and betray and loving" (220). Mendez's most important thing as "always loving no matter what" so the main character then feels "that is the most important thing." In fact the television show may be the thing that holds her back from leaving her husband as Mendez says she "loved him more than anyone in her life" and the main character feels that "someone ought to live one's life like that." The television show appears to convince her to live the lifestyle of being completely in love with a man no matter what, rather than understanding what he is doing is wrong.
ResponderExcluirThis small passage may seem insignificant, at most an insight into how the character thinks, but in reality as long as she associates with it, it seems to the deciding factor in how she lives her life. In fact, it is only in this passage that the main character finally seems to be separating the TV show from her real life and it becomes the turning point as right after she seeks help to leave her husband.
I wanted to start out by saying that I really liked this story, especially the last few lines, which I’ll happen to focus on for the first option of the prompt. The story ends with these lines: “Pain or rage, perhaps, but not a hoot like the one Felice had just let go. Makes you want to holler like Tarzan, Felice had said. Then Felice began laughing again, but it wasn’t Felice laughing. It was gurgling out of her own throat, a long ribbon of laughter, like water” (Cisneros 228). I think this passage struck me because it ties the theme of the creek so well together. It brings the story in full circle and leaves us with a form of a resolution. While her husband had been abusive, she wasn’t going to let it get to her. Rather, she was going to “holler like Tarzan,” not because she felt she needed to, but because she could and wished to. She becomes her own agent, just like Felice, and also breaks past the telenovelas she idealized so much. In this way, the image of a hollering woman is no longer one of constriction but one of freedom.
ResponderExcluirFor the third part of the prompt, I found the syntax to be unique and interesting. Sometimes it was a bit confusing, such as the first sentence that at first appears to be a run on but is in fact just a very long yet still complete sentence (219). This sentence along sets up a feeling a confusion and distress, which we see the narrator, Cleófilas, experience throughout the story until the very end. Overall, however, I found that her style flowed very well and fit perfectly for the story. The way the story was written felt very fluid and clear in detailing Cleófilas’s thought-process. One such passage is, “Because the towns here are built so that you have to depend on husbands. Or you stay home. Or you drive. If you’re rich enough to own, allowed to drive, your own car.” (Cisneros 224). These sentences are of different structures, and they are packed right next to one another. In other words, it allows your mind to stay more focused as the structures are constantly and so drastically changing, even from sentence to sentence. It goes from a longer sentence, to two shorter ones, and then to a longer one that has an interrupting clause in smack in the middle. This both has the effect of keeping the reader focused and on his or her toes while also adding to the general disruption Cleófilas is experiencing in her life. Yet because the writing style still flows so well, it gives off the larger impression that Cleófilas’s choice to leave her abusive husband is one that naturally came about and was the intuitive path to take.
Mike Neary
Comment by Kiera Geraghty:
ResponderExcluir“What kind of talk was that coming from a woman? Cleófilas thought. But then again, Felice was like no woman she’d ever met.” (55-56)
This passage particularly struck me because it shows how much societal expectations for women have impacted the life of Cleófilas. Felice represents the exact opposite of the type of woman that Cleófilas has trained herself to be. While Felice lets the spirit of Woman Hollering Creek inspire her to be free, Cleófilas has be silent. Silence dominates Cleófilas’s life. She thought that she would be the kind of woman who would never stand for a man hurting her, and when it actually happened then she could do nothing more than hold his head and forgive him. She cannot speak English, so she cannot communicate her struggle to anyone around her. The doctor comes to her rescue not because of what she says but rather what she does not say when she begins to cry. Moreover, she could not say anything because her husband had forced her into silence if they were going to go to the doctor. The overpowering masculinity of her husband has forced her into submission. In contrast, Felice gives up for traditionally feminine car for a masculine pickup truck that she bought for herself and owns. Felice has taken ownership of the masculine energy rather than be suppressed by it, and she lets not rules dictate the manner in which she speaks. Nothing holds her voice back. Unlike Cleófilas’s neighbors, Felice does not let her relationship or lack of a relationship with men determine her worth. Felice’s freedom makes her the perfect person to escort Cleófilas away from her abusive home with her child back to her homeland where she can tell her story despite what the town may say. I believe that introducing Felice into Cleófilas’s life forebodes how Cleófilas will also embrace her voice and her freedom. Cleófilas may need to witness the strength of Felice in order to be able to face however her hometown may receive her return in such a way. Throughout the story, Cleófilas expresses interest into the name of the creek because of how odd it is for it to be named after a hollering woman and possibly because of the idea of a woman raising her voice to begin with. By letting the creek overcome her, Felice may be giving Cleófilas permission to also embrace the message of the creek and let it empower her voice as well.
"Only now as a mother did she remember ... How when a man and a woman love each other, sometimes that love sours. But a parent's love for a child, a child's for its parents, is another thing entirely."
ResponderExcluirI think these lines are particularly striking because the foreshadow Cleofilas' experience in an abusive relationship that she had once had such high expectations for. When I first came across the line, I immediately assumed the story would revolve around some sort of abusive relationship, but that Cleofilas would remain in it for the sake of her children, in order for them to have a relationship with their father. This is, however, not what happens. Cleofilas notes that the first time Juan Pedro strikes her they were "barely man and wife." It eventually became apparent to me that her two children become a replacement for the love Juan Pedro neglected to give Cleofilas during their marriage, despite her initial hopes for a "happily ever after." I think that's an interesting and subtle role reversal that Cisneros gives to Cleofilas; her decision to bring two children into an abusive household seems like an attempt to protect and provide love for herself because it won't ever sour the way her relationship with her husband did. Throughout the story, Cleofilas attempts to salvage her marriage, and uses her children as a means to cope with the abuse.