English 485: Expedition Adolescence

I liked the novel because of the humor in the way Cisneros describes everything. She gave each of the character's a great voice despite what seemed like minimal dialogue at times. (Just a single line in some cases) She didn't go through the trouble of writing out whole conversations all the time but gave "just enough but not too much" in detail to give the readers an idea of what the character's motivations are. I thought her 'flash back' to describe Soledad's, the Awful Grandmother's, childhood and adolescence was very revealing and took a character that could have been very two dimensional back far enough to give context for 'why she's so awful.' Cisneros does a great job of showing how women can perpetuate the sexism of patriarchal society via jealousy and strife. She also perfectly captures the sexism of machismo culture, an attribute of hispanic culture that I have personally experienced myself. Cisneros brings a reality to Cel...

Caramelo has specifically 2 quotes that resonated with me deeply. The first one if from part one, and the second one is from part 3, and I think a bit of the reason for that is I think that the ending and beginning of a story is always more memorable for me than even the climax. They are the reason that you kept reading, and the moment the author felt there was no more to say.  At the beginning she states "As soon as we cross the bridge everything switches to another language.....sweets sweeter, colors brighter, the bitter more bitter"(17). I think this quotes is so memorable for me because it reminds me of Haiti. If anyone reading this has not traveled outside of the US, I highly encourage that you do. There is something so amazing about seeing another culture, another language, another group of people who see the world not like you see it. Whether its Europe, Asia, or Africa, I guarantee you will see that everything you had been used to, from the shapes of the buildin...

Reading Caramelo, the thing that became crystal clear to me was the fact that Sandra Cisneros' book is almost scarily accurate when it comes to portraying hispanic families. My fiance is Puerto Rican, and I can see her fitting into Celaya's role in the family almost spot on, the one exception being that Yanira is an only child. As I've said before on Twitter, a female dominated society seems to be the norm for hispanic families, despite the values that they place on the males. This can be seen many times in the book, but the biggest indicator in my opinion is the character of the Awful Grandmother. Her imperious personality directly clashes with nearly everybody else, and she's seen as, well, awful. One of the largest giveaways to her nature is when she mentions that a baby was stillborn, and seems happy about it. "Elvis, Aristotle, and Byrom are Uncle Fat-Face and Aunty Licha's. The Grandmother says to Uncle Fat-Face, --How backwards that Licha naming those po...

I was not a fan of Caramelo. I tried to give it the benefit of the doubt in the beginning, but as I continued to read, it did not get better. The structure of the book was just all over the place. The fact that we don't really get the name of the narrator until chapter 5, made it kind of confusing. And even then we get her name in passing, "Yeah, Lala, Tikis adds. -- You were still dirt! Ha, ha!" (19). The story gets really confusing when we move on to part two and we have the Awful Grandmother and Lala telling the story, but you're not really sure who is who. But the actual words and the way that the author describes things in the book is magnificent. If you just forget the story line and focus on the words, they are beautiful, although the mix of Spanish and English was somewhat confusing when she did not explain what they meant in English. Cisneros does a great job of blending the beauty that is Mexican culture with the words of her story. When re...

I really did not enjoy reading Caramelo it was a difficult read for me and overall it was hard to keep my interest. However, the way the book being written is unique because of the way the culture is described in the novel. It is deeply rooted and I love the way she describes each seen as if we were there to witness it. The novel is so descriptive and it makes you really get an understanding of what is going on and how the setting of the particular seen really was. An example of this descriptive writing is when Lala’s father gave away her Bobby doll that had significant vale and meaning to her. “How can I explain, his one is my Bobby doll, two fingers missing on his left hand because I chewed them off when I was teething. (pg.26)” By her giving a vivid description of how the doll looked with two fingers and how the two fingers got that way it makes you realize how important that doll was to her. I also think that it is really cool how she uses both English and Spanish throughout th...

Often times throughout the course of the book, I found myself confused and uninterested. Caramelo was not an easy book to follow and I probably would not have chosen to read this book if it wasn’t assigned.  However, I do feel that the book is a powerful peace of art. Cisneros illustrates so much in this novel. She allows her reader to delve into the Mexican world and get a clear understanding of their world as it is a big difference than the culture of Americans. I found the hierarchy of men and women to be very different in the Mexican culture. In the text, the women seemed to always be the head of the household and the men had to follow their orders. In America, this is almost never the case. Men seem to always be in control and dominate over women in almost all situations. Cisneros also compares modern day American women to Mexican women and how they always seem to bump heads about what is right or how things should be done. My favorite part of the book is where awful Grandmot...

          Caramelo  wasn't necessarily a novel I enjoyed reading; the kind of poetic, long-winded style wasn't really up my alley, but I appreciated some of the beautiful lines and emotional scenes. Novels that span the entire history of a family aren't my favorite, but I did find the approach of Soledad's ghost communicating with Lala really interesting. I just don't have much personal interest in dysfunctional-family stories or novels that have such a broad scope and overabundance of elaborate, poetic lines. While I was reading I looked for something to feel connected to or inspired by and focused on the power of stories to the Reyes family and the continuing influence the past has over the conflicts and relationships in the present.           Stories seem to have such a power over each character, whether they use them to inflict pain or suppress them to avoid it. Soledad in particular seems to wield her history as a mode of pow...

            My overall reaction to reading Caramelo was that it was not a book that I would have chosen to read if I didn’t have to. I know they say that you should not judge a book by its cover, but with this book I did a little bit and was actually correct with my judgment. For me it is a book that starts off too slow. I don’t mind having a little prep and background before you get to the juicy part of the story, but for me I didn’t care for the way the story was set up. It took me a little minute to realize what was about to happen in part two, and how the narrator was beginning to change. I like that the book focused so much on the culture of Mexicans, and feels as though the author did a good job at getting her point across about what she wanted readers to get from the story.             One of the problems that I had while reading was reading about the different characters like the aunts ...

Caramelo is the first novel that I've read that includes cultural shock, generational differences, discrimination towards immigrants and so on. Because of this, I think the novel is informative in the sense of what it means to be culturally diverse. One of my favorite passages is when Lala describes what she sees as soon as she crosses over the border; she says, "everything switches to another language...colors brighter...children walking to school ...churches the color of flan," etc (17-18). Whenever they visit it seems as if it's a new experience; although nothing about the country has changed. Yet, because Lala's family lives in America and spends every year in Mexico her "mind forgets. But [her] body always remebers" (18). I think what makes the story beautiful is Cisnero's use of Spanish and English which also highlights her being bilingual. It's not very common to include two different languages in a novel; however, it symbolizes that reg...

           "Caramelo” by Sandra Cisneros is the story of the Reyes family over three generations and the duality that exists within their lives and between the borders of the United States and Mexico.  Cisneros uses the youngest daughter of the family, Celaya, to tell the stories of her family mostly through her point of view.  This is done very effectively in Part One of the novel as we learn about each of the different family members through Cisneros’ great use of description.  Through Celaya, Cisneros brings us into the lives of the major characters.  She draws a stark contrast between the two worlds that she moves through each of them.  When all three of the brothers and their families are traveling to Mexico together, Celaya embraces each of the five senses to bring the reader into this new and unfamiliar setting.  Cisneros’ use of descriptive language reads as poetry in some places in the novel.  My favorite example...

Cisneros tells a beautiful story about growing up, constantly being torn between two cultures—Mexican and American. She uses the Spanish and English languages to separate the cultures throughout Caramelo . I was fascinated specifically by the way names were used in the novel to reflect relationships between characters. I think that this is a telling illustration of the strict rules of language in Mexican culture. Most people use the name “Lala” when referring to Celaya Reyes in the novel. In the beginning of the book, she explains that “the younger ones couldn’t say the older ones’ names,” meaning her younger siblings shortened Celaya’s name, and it stuck (27). Her aunts, uncles, and other family members all refer to her as Lala.  I think it’s important to note that Celaya was not given any name at all until the sixth chapter of the book, and even then, it was only “Lala,” and was used by one of her brothers to introduce an embarrassing story about her (24). Her full nam...

            Reading this book made me so happy and so sad all at once, which is to say that I absolutely adored it. One of my all-time favorite books is The House on Mango Street (the introduction in it is one of the most beautiful things I have ever read, coming second only to Orhan Pamuk’s Snow ) and I am currently in the middle of Woman Hollering Creek , so I am thrilled about getting to read another one of Cisneros’ works. Cisneros has such a way with language, she really does. Also, her character development seems so real. I liken it to Game of Thrones in a way just because even the characters you hate and the people in the narrative you are not rooting for, you still identify with them on some level because you can rationalize their behavior and so you can still see their humanity (for the most part).             I did not personally have any problems with reading the text, although it di...

October 6 th 1991 letter Dear Charlie, I'm glad you met Sam and Patrick and that you're making friends. Friends are really important in high school but they're important in general too. Grades are also important, but friends are what make life really special. I thought it was pretty funny what you said about masturbation. I'm glad that Sam was nice about you having a crush on her. You don't have to feel bad about having a crush. It's pretty normal to have crushes on people. I think there is some truth to what your friend Patrick says about girls. Unfortunately they do copy their moms and magazines and what they see on tv. But not all of them are looking to change a guy. They are, like you, just trying to figure out who they are. Part of that involves putting on different identities, like disguises, and trying them out to see what fits.  I think it's okay that you think a lot too. I used to think a lot when I was a teenager. I think that...

Dear, Charlie                  Addressing your letter from August 23, 1992:           I don't know if people tell you this enough but you are important, and you are strong. You seem to identify with the world wallflower. Remember when Patrick said "You see things. You keep quiet about them. And you understand"(37)? That is very important quality to have and people love you for it. A wallflower's presence is felt, it is necessary even if they think nobody notices them. The wallflower is like the emotional mediator of the room, and without him everything is off balance. That is the reason that your entire family contacted you in the hospital, Sam sent you letters, and Patrick came to see you.          One of my favorite things you said in this book is "I'd like to blame my Aunt Helen, I would have to blame he dad for hitting her and the friend of the family that fooled around with her....I...

The differences of the experience of watching a movie versus reading a book is immense, especially when that book is as unique as “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”. A movie, almost by definition, is something you watch, and is thusly always a third-person experience. Books do not have this limitation and can be written in a variety of viewpoints depending on how the author wants to convey their story. In the case of “The Perks of Being a Wallflower”, that story is told through a series of letters by a 15-year-old named Charlie sent to his anonymous friend. Because the book is written from a first-person perspective, all the events of the novel are filtered through Charlie’s bias. Charlie is writing these letters after he has experienced the events he is writing down. This means he has time to reflect, edit, and censor himself for the sake of the letters, creating something of an unreliable narrator for the reader to how these events truly impacted him in the moment they occurred. This...

The letter that I am responding to is on page 208 dated August 23, 1992. I chose this letter because everyone finally found out what was going on between Charlie and Aunt Helen and can now get a better understanding of all the things that Charlie has gone through and still is going through because of the tragic events that occurred every Saturday. Also Charlie is now at a point in his life where he realizes that everything is going to be all right and even if its not at the moment, eventually it will be.  Dear Charlie,           I must start by saying that you've developed so much over the course of the year. I know that things this year weren't the best starting with the death of Michael and ending with your mental breakdown that led you to be put in the hospital for two months, but this journey has made you grow in so many remarkable ways. I am also glad that you had so much support during this time and I hope that this letter helps you with y...

The letter I chose to write about is Charlies epilogue letter on page 208. August 23, 1992 right before the start of school. The reason I chose to write about this letter is that throughout all the things Charlie faced throughout the book it seems as if everything is turning around for him now. Dear Charlie,             Sorry it has taken so long to get back to you. I’ve been really busy with college work and reading your letters. You have been faced with a lot but I seem as if now you are starting to participate and live your life. Charlie I hate that this situation occurred with your aunt Helen, I really think that it is important for you to forgive her. It is not good dragging baggage with you in your life and from your last letter it seems like you are doing just fine with that. It’s also great that you want to keep your family happy such as your sister, mother, father, brother, Sam and Patrick. I think that is import...

I am replying to the letter on page 108 dated February 8, 1992. This letter is pretty much in the middle of the story and it tells of the time where Charlie had to fill in for Craig in The Rocky Horror Picture Show. I chose this letter because I think that this is one of the very few times in the novel that Charlie is truly happy, and has no issues. It shows him participating in a high school activity with other kids and he is at the peak of his happiness. I also think that this letter is the climax, or the last time that everyone in their group is just happy and concentrating on being together as friends without any problems arising. Dear Charlie, I have to say how proud that I am of you for helping out and playing Rocky in front of all of those people. It took a great deal of courage to put yourself out there, and I am happy to report that you did it wonderfully. I am glad that this was the best night of your whole life (p. 110) and that most importantly that y...

The letter that I'm replying to is from page 50, and it's a short one. The letter was written on November 12th, 1991. This letter is written pretty early in the story, right after he meets Patrick and Sam, and after he finds out that his sister has a secret boyfriend. I chose to reply to this letter because this early letter really encapsulates Charlie's innocence, despite him already having been to the party and accidentally eating a pot brownie. The narrative he gives about mice and rats in cages is interesting to me as well, as I can metaphorically relate his fascination with the lab experiment his teacher taught him to how he currently feels with Sam and Craig dating. September 16th, 2016 Dear Charlie, I think it's great that you love twinkies! Are you sure that it's a reason to live though? I think that coming up with a lot of good reasons to live would do you some good, Charlie. Everybody needs to be reminded about how much they enjoy certain things eve...

I chose to reply to this letter because On the Road by Jack Kerouac is one of my favorite books. This is the letter Charlie writes right after reading the book and he describes discussing the book with Bill. Bill picked a great book to give Charlie because he can easily be compared to Sal Paradise of On the Road in that Sal fits the “wallflower” characterization. Sal befriends Dean Moriarty, an outgoing and adventurous character who helps him experience the thrills in life, just like Charlie befriends Sam and Patrick, who are standing up on the backs of trucks and experimenting with drugs. On page 28 of The Perks of Being a Wallflower , Charlie says this about the books Bill has been giving him: “It’s strange because sometimes, I read a book, and I think I am the people in the book.” Letter Date: February 2, 1992 - Page 106 Dear Charlie, I’ve also read On the Road . I really enjoy the way it’s written because Kerouac doesn’t conform to the traditional writing...