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For this week's posting, please post your two tentative theses about In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd which you will be bringing in to class on Monday. You may use a revised version of your argument from your literary analysis paragraph you are working on; remember that you might use one of these thesis statements for your upcoming paper.
Also, if you like, one of your theses can be about Next Year in Cuba.
Step 1: Please post your 2 theses.
Step 2: Please take a careful look at the theses of the person before and after you on the list of comments. Come prepared with suggestions for revising the theses for both of these people for Monday. Type out your suggestions so that you can hand them to your classmates in class.
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11 comments:
Two tentative theses relating to In Cuba I was a German Shepherd:
1) Overall, the storms are a very effective literary element, imbuing the reader with a deeper understanding of the thoughts and feelings of some of the novel’s characters. More specifically, a window is created through which it is possible to view the nostalgic and painful memories of Cuba held by so many of the exiled persons described by the author.
2) The author’s use of Spanish phrases contributes to the feeling of a lost homeland, culture and previous life, allowing the reader to more effectively step inside the mind of an exiled individual and, therefore, better relate to the novel’s characters.
1.) As the stories unravel, Menendez uses characters to show signs of nostalgia for Cuba and the confusion that immigration can have on citizens in a new land.
2.) Menendez intertwines dreams into her stories to both shock the reader and explain extremist views that the characters are feeling.
Gustavor Perez Firmat’s assimilation into American society and slow deterioration of his Cuban ways shows that in order to be a part of a new culture you must either completely reject old traditions that contradict with the new or combine similar aspects from both cultures.
Although each chapter is a different story with different characters, they each share something in common, a sense of nostalgia. This nostalgia is what connects each and every one of them to each other and has each of them questions what if? What if they have never been in exile and left their homeland?
1.) Throughout the novel, Menendez uses the idea of memory to create a sense of nostalgia for the long loss Cuba and a reliving of the past through story telling, in which one can understand the effects of Exile and how it contributes to the deterioration of a culture and a family.
2.) Menendez’s use of many stories helps to convey the strong sense of family values and ideals, which ultimately lead to a sense of identity in a foreign country. This helps one to understand the effects of the American culture on immigrants who come here in search of a better life, but in the end lose their foundation, which are family relationships and bonds.
In Next Year in Cuba, Gustavo Pérez Firmat’s descriptions of the relationship between place and identity depict the Cuban American’s struggle for belonging: one’s identity often emerges from the places that most influence that person.
Ana Menéndez’s In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd portrays the overpowering nostalgia for the lost hopes and dreams of the past that Cuban exiles internalize. The author’s introduction of animals in the book metaphorically portrays these exiles’ feelings.
1. In this text, Menendez plays with memory in order to illustrate the pain associated with each character’s past. Bundles of dreams, wrongly remembered events and/or blatant inability to remember are some of the techniques utilized.
2. Nostalgia, in this text, takes on an unusual role in that it alters the character’s memories. Their longing is so passionate that they modify the memories in order to eliminate the horror associated with the past.
In Ana Menendez’s In Cuba I was a German Shepard, the author weaves together stories and characters to show the nostalgia that Cuban-Americans feel for their homeland. Instead of telling a linear story, the fragmentation Menendez uses allows the reader to see all facets of the characters and their nostalgia for Cuba.
Through her use of analogy and symbolism in many of the book’s stories, Menendez shows how characters have been affected by exile. By creating parallels with analogy and symbolism, Menendez shows how life in America has either separated or deepened the character’s connection with Cuban culture.
1) In the chapter In Cuba I Was a German Shepherd, Menendez uses place to represent one of the large differences the exiled felt between Miami and Cuba.
2) Menendez shows the characters strong feelings of nostalgia towards Cuba while being in Miami. Place is an extremely important factor that Menendez ties in throughout her stories.
1) Menendez uses memories and dreams throughout the story to bring back the pain that the exiles have gone through and what they are going through because they have been forced to leave their homeland for one reason or another.
2)The revival of Cuban culture in Miami makes it easy for the reader to understand the nostalgic views of the characters. Bringing pieces of Cuba to Miami helps some of the characters re-live their past.
1) The use of various inter-connected stories by Ana Menendez shows the diversity of experiences and persectives that come with exile, even among the same exile group. This can be seen in every short story as each character has a personal perspective on what exile is and what it means to living away from one's country of birth.
2)In "Next Year in Cuba," Firmat exposes the contradiction that exists among the one-and-a-half generation which stems from the fact that they are unable to find their place in America nor in Cuba.
1. Throughout Menendez's stories, there exists a clear separation between the cultural actions of different generations. This separation leads to greatly different feeling towards Cuba, and leads to a kind of muddled identity for the younger immigrants.
2. In several of Menendez's stories, the characters remain nameless. This anonymity is truly a metaphor for the lack of a clear identity for the Cuban exiles who are unsure of who they are and where they belong.
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