(This is my post on Padilla’s work and Islas. Dropbox did not allow me to open the “Mosquita y Mari”.)

Arturo Islas’ novel The Rain God is not praised in Chicano literature due to its unsavory characters and the threat people believe they have on the Chicano community. Islas presents a story composed of a main character, Miguel Chico, which comes across as gay. His uncle is called a coyote, which is a middle man for the Chicano labor workers and the American looking to contract these cheap employees.  His father is a character which is presented as being either too macho or not macho enough.  His father’s character is insecure with his role.  Miguel’s relationships, particularly with other men, are ruined by his father’s hyper masculinity. He has trouble trusting other men. Miguel’s mom is unloving and racist. All of these characters are personalities that exist among the Chicano community but Chicano literature could not accept his book.  Islas was strong supporter of the Chicano Movement and he believed that there was not one ideal type of Chicano. He believed that people did not have to be a pachuco or migrant worker to be called or identified as a Chicano (Padilla 2009). There are themes of sexuality both for men and women and “Islas claimed to be interested in examining relationships between sexuality and masculinity rather than in championing a particular notion of sexual identity”(Padilla 2009).  Throughout his novel, Islas never confirms if any of his characters are indeed gay. There are only references to being gay but the reader is left without knowing. Islas does not represent openly gay Chicanos in his work and this is one his failures. He carries the closeted Chicano identity throughout his work and never addresses issues of openly gay Chicanos.

How do you feel about the closeted nature of Islas’ work? Does this bother you or do you understand his choice in writing The Rain God as he did?

-Bridgett Gonzalez

The character I most fascinating in the book So Far From God was that of La Loca. I found her interesting because she was different than the others. I thought it was interesting that she didn’t like being around human but rather animals,I think a lot of us could relate to some aspect of this, i know for myself sometimes i would just rather be around my cat than to go out with friends. I also really enjoyed the aspect about her and that she pushed boundaries of being the traditional Chicana, unlike her mother. I found it funny when they mention shes allergic to people, because I always say things like that, when i dont feel like being around others, maybe thats why i was so drawn to her character because i found relate to so many aspects of her life.

What character do you feel you identified yourself with most, and why?

The novel, So Far From God author Ana Castillo discusses a lot about roles that Sophia and her daughters Fe, Esperanza, Caridad, y la Loca play throughout the novel. In the beginning of the novel, Sophia takes on the role of being the mother who provides support and economical well being for her daughters and herself since her husband abandon them. Despite her husband Domingo leaving her, Sofia did not give up on life and continues to go no matter the circumstances. Sofia demonstrates her masculine side by becoming the men of her house while still having to be a caring mother to her daughters. Even with the death of her daughters Sofia find a form of resistance to be a strong Chicana despite the obstacles. However, throughout the rest of the novel, the women and her daughters all go through life changing experiences that completely changes them and their ways of living. Sofia and her daughters Fe, Esperanza, Caridad, y la Loca represents the struggle that women have to face in life. The women went through a series of emotional and tragic struggles. For example, Caridad who struggles with the abandonment of her husband Memo, she is also brutally attacked which causes a tremendous impact in her life. While Esperanza, Fe, and la loca have their own experiences throughout that completely shape their lives as well. As I observed the women of the novel, I come to think that the issues that these women go through are similar to the contemporary issues that women continue to face today. What does the class think? Do the issues of the women in the novel connect to today women issues or gender roles in Chicana or Latina women today?

On the contrast, as I previously mentioned, the women in the novel come to face tragic life events. The novel illustrates other issues such as religion, psychological issues, heartbreaks, and death. Throughout the novel, the women encounter death. For example, Fe and Esperanza are both women are killed. Esperanza encounters death while working across sees while Fe dies from cancer caused by chemical exposure. However, Esperanza comes back home in spirit after her death but Fe does not. While reading the novel, the most interesting part of the novel is to see that Esperanza come back in spirit. Throughout the novel, Esperanza is seen as the good daughter that helps her mother Sofia with her sisters. Sofia looks at Esperanza as the daughter she can count on because of the mother and daughter bond (47). While Fe is the daughter is more distance from her family. Fe is portrayed as being “too ashamed of her family” because she did not want her family to meet Tom (31). I though it was interesting I got see that how both Fe and Esperanza are portrayed different but Esperanza is the sister that comes back to the family in spirit. I think that Esperanza comes back in spirit because she was helpful person to her and family while Fe was more distance had a different attitude that isolated herself from than her sisters and her mother. I believe that Esperanza spirit comes back for her family upon her death while Fe’s did not come back she was not as close to her family like her sister. Why do you believe that Esperanza spirit came back in spirit and Fe does not?

Ana Castillo’s So Far From God explores the lives of a Chicana/o family in Tome, New Mexico.  The book’s chapters are considered “episodes,” and each episode represents the different struggles and successes of the characters. Although this family has a close bond, each member carries different values and life perspectives. Sofi, the mother, is woman who had to learn how to be independent out of necessity. She left her home and married at a young age. She had four daughters (Esperanza, Caridad, Fe, and La Loca) with Domingo but their marriage eventually dissolved because of his addiction to gambling. He continued to make life difficult for his family since he wanted to gamble personal belongings and property. Apart from suffering the loss of her husband, Sofi also had to deal with the death of La Loca. During this time, she wondered what debt she owed God for making her suffer so much heartbreak. Sofi proves her resiliency and strength by refusing to give up anything to Domingo and supporting her family through tough times.

Through the novel, Sofia’s daughters struggle with their identities and this causes them to live in pain, suffering, and insecurity. Esperanza was the contemporary Chicana with the family who went against the traditional lifestyles her culture often imposed on women. She pursued a degree in Chiana/o studies and was determined to make a change in her community. Although one would think she was a strong, independent woman, her partner’s toxicity caused her to doubt her passions from time to time. Although she was able to leave the relationship, her life was still cut short because of masculine entities. She was sent to Saudi Arabia to report war events and her life was taken (along with others) because of the violence. Caridad was the daughter that followed the traditional values of her culture and ended up losing her identity once she lost the man whom she felt completed her existence. She had an abortion once she found out she was pregnant with his baby and soon began behaving like the “bad woman.” This “bad woman” behavior involved her going to bars late at night and bringing different men home. She then experienced a rape and her faith in men diminished completely. She decided to reclaim back her existence by exploring her spirituality and was on a mission to find inner peace. Unfortunately, exploring her identity and sexuality led her to the decision of ending her life with her lover Esmeralda since they thought that was the only way they can break free from control and judgment. Fe represents the daughter who assimilated into white culture. She got a hold of a career at a bank and developed a relationship with Tom. It seemed as though she had achieved the middle class life she always wanted but this ended once Tom left her. She would later marry her cousin but one could tell that she was miserable up until her life was taken by the chemicals caused by the military industrial complex. Finally, La Loca was the daughter that resurrected after her fatal accident. She is the figure in the family that maintained traditional skills in order to keep her culture’s values and history alive. In my opinion, I feel like she has ability to see the hypocrisy and malicious intentions in people which makes her want to keep her distance from humanity altogether.

One of the most intriguing parts of the story is how Esperanza was able to come back as a spirit, but Fe was not. Both girls led very different lives but patriarchal ideologies and US nationalism controlled their lives one way or another and eventually caused their deaths. Esperanza had so much love for the work that she did and although she loved her culture, she knew changes needed to be made. I think she was able to come back as a spirit because her work on Earth and among humans was not over yet. She always had a strong sense of determination so she wanted to make a difference even as a spiritual entity. Fe was disconnected from her culture and did not care much for staying in contact with them since she was miserable for most of her life. There was no reason for her to come back with the living since living was not something she enjoyed herself; her work on Earth was done and over with. It was time to leave it completely.

Questions:

Do you think spirituality can make a difference in someone’s journey towards healing?

Would you blame Chicana/o or Latina/o culture for the deaths and suffering of these women?

Do you think we really have control of our spiritual entities and be able to decide where we want to spend our afterlives?

Which character do you have the most sympathy for?

In the novel So Far From God by author Ana Castillo we are introduced to a mother and four sisters. The mother is Sofia who is a very empowering women because she is abandoned by her husband which is a gambler. He gambles away several items that belong to Sofia, however, the one thing he cannot get his hands on was her house. Sofia becomes the provider of the family once she is left with her four daughters. Sofia is the one that makes sure they are economically stable. She takes on a huge role when she becomes major of Tome, through her leadership skills the community becomes more collective, and are capable of supporting for themselves. The names of the four sisters are Esperanza, Caridad, Fe, and La Loca. Each sister is very different in their own way. However, they all resemble the significance of a strong women.

Esperanza is the oldest sister, and she represents a Chicana like many of us today because she goes to college and even majors in Chicana/o Studies. She faced a rough time in her relationship with Ruben because she was only being used he only cared about himself, and saw her as an object not a real women. Caridad was the traditional Chicana/Latina. Caridad loses herself when she is in the relationship with Memo. From this “good” women image she becomes a “bad” women. She is out at bars in the night and goes home with men. Fe was very different from the other sisters because her view was based upon the white middle class. She had a job in the financial institutions. However, she faces a tragedy when she is laughed at by Tom in the altar. She then becomes this resemblance of La Llorona. La Loca was a very interesting sister. At a young age she loses her name. Her characteristics are very odd because she is allergic to people and the only individual that was able to touch her was her mother.  La Loca inherited traditional skills like cooking, cleaning, and caring.

Esperanza after she is killed comes back to her family in a spiritual form. However, Fe does not come back at all. In my perspective I believe that she no longer comes back because she abandoned her culture. She became so assimilated with the white middle class, therefore there was no point in her coming back. On the other hand, Esperanza was so always so close to her mother because Sofia depended on her so much. What do you think is the reason for why one of the sisters came back, and the other did not?

What sister stood out to you the most in this novel?