Framing Identity: Repudiating the Ideal in Chicana Literature

<p>In the 1960s Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzalez penned his now canonical, epic poem “I Am Joaquin.” The poem chronicles the historic oppression of a transnational, Mexican people as well as revolutionary acts of their forefathers in resisting tyranny<em>.</em> Coinciding with a series of renewed, sociopolitical campaigns, collectively known as the Chicano Movement, Gonzales’ poem uses vivid imagery to present an idealized representation of Chicanos and encouraged his reader to engage in revolutionary action. Though the poem encourages strong leadership, upward mobility, and political engagement the representations of women in his text are misogynistic and limiting.</p> <p>His presentation of the “black-shawled Faithful women” and “woman, sheltered beneath her shawl of black… Her rosary she prays and fingers endlessly” represent a culturally idealized framing of womanhood which draws heavily from traditional religious and cultural archetypes (Gonzalez 111-273). Chicanas, having a history of revolutionary action, recognized the contradictions of a movement that was fighting for civil rights and true justice, yet subordinated women. The representations of women in Chicana literature in the decades following the Chicano Movement, in works such as Sandra Cisneros “Woman Hollering Creek” and Cherríe Moraga’s poem “Loving on the Run,” sought to reject molds, revitalize myth, & create space for fluid movement through gender boundaries and sexual orientation.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Arts

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

English

Year dc:date.available

2014

Author dc:creator

• Flores, Michael A

Contributors dc:contributor

• Dr. Amy Hamilton

• I Am Joaquin
• Chicano
• Chicano Movement
• Chicana
• Cherrie Moraga
• Sandra Cisneros
• Mexican-American
• Mexican
• Southwest
• Literature
• American Literature
• Chicana/o Studies
• Ethnic Studies
• Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
• Indigenous Studies
• Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Studies
• Literature in English, North America
• Literature in English, North America, Ethnic and Cultural Minority
• Other American Studies
• Other Classics
• Other English Language and Literature
• United States History
• Women's History
• Women's Studies

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.nmu.edu/theses/16

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.nmu.edu:theses-1037