Welcome, my friends, to our Brooklyn College Core 10.01 class blog. Hopefully, this will be a place where we can all learn from one another. Be honest, be inquisitive, be challenging.
i picked a passage from the end of chapter 7. the minute i read it i was like- this paragragh is screaming close reading at me!! i just had to do it.
“ Standing in the rosy powdery sunlight in her frayed quilted light green robe, her black her gleaming in the dazzle of magnificent morning sun, Lupe gripped the bright green stem of her mop and sloshed it in the orange plastic bucket, making her own rainbow. Scattered about her feet on the ground were discarded bits of dissected toys, a torn blue wading pool, a small redbanded yellow boat, a redecorated red-orange truck without wheels, and several magenta, mauve, tan, black, and white building blocks. The children enjoyed digging up the soft friendly brown earth. It was just another day and, like all days, full of wonder and stunted promises and twisted dreams. There was so much that begged to be done, and dreams to be dreamt, and promises to be fulfilled, and anxieties to be assuaged, and demands to be met, and obstacles to be overcome, and so much life burning, bursting, aching, praying, yearning to be lived, to be lived, to be truly, really lived. And so little fun.” (End of chapter 7)
Lupe and Manuel came to America for a better life and the opportunity. They came to live the American Dream. Instead where they found themselves was in a state of poverty where Manuel had to work hard, they were in debt, and their children were not getting an education. This passage helps us analyze Lupe’s character, thoughts, and feelings about the American dream and the life she was living. The passage starts off with Lupe standing in the rosy sun while cleaning and mopping her house. The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful morning. Morning is the start of the day- the start of something new and fresh. She is wearing a green robe and using a green mop with an orange bucket, both very bright, loud, uplifting colors. Then it continues to say that she is making her own rainbow. So by using bright colors to clean her house- getting rid of the dirt- she is creating her own rainbow. To me rainbow represents hope and peace. Rainbows come after the rain so it’s a very the-worst-is-over-and-the-good-is-coming, a fresh start, kind of idea. From the beginning we get a sense of a cleansing process and freshness- the ability to start something new. But as we go on we begin to get a very confused opposite feeling. The toys on the floor are dissected. Toys represent youth and fun yet they are dissected and tattered. There’s a wading pool and a boat, which could represent water and cleansing and freedom, yet the pool is torn so you can’t swim in it, and the boat is redbanded- it’s bound, it can’t move. And then there’s a truck that’s redecorated so one thinks rejuvenated and fresh yet it has no wheels- it can’t go anywhere. There are building blocks which represent building up from scratch, the building of dreams yet they the colors are strange. So on one hand we have this impression of a new beginning- it’s morning, there’s a cleansing process going on, the image of water and freshness, yet on the other hand these toys that should represent youth and opportunity are torn and limited in a way. Then, after describing the toys we are told, “The children enjoyed digging up the soft friendly brown earth.” So they have all of these toys yet they’d rather play with the brown earth because it’s friendly. Here too we get opposite feelings. On one hand dirt is the source of life and food and it could represent growth. On the other hand dirt can also be taken as dirty and disgusting. The exact thing that Lupe is trying to rid her house of while cleaning. And then to further add to the complexity Lupe goes on to think about how the day is filled with dreams and promises and wonder and anxiety and obstacles and yet so little fun. This passage tells us a lot about Lupe’s character and her struggles in life. Our first impression of Lupe is a mother. A mother who cares for her kids. Her kids are her future, her “promise” in life. America was supposed to be her fresh start. A new life for her kids. Represented in our passage by the morning- a start of a new day. Yet all their toys which are supposed to represent this new life are dissected, torn, divided, bound. But they enjoy playing with the dirt. It is brown and friendly- it is all they ever knew. Then there’s the whole idea of the rainbow that Lupe draws. This could be looked at as an allusion to the bible. The rainbow was God’s symbol that he would never destroy the world again. It’s also the symbol of a fresh start of a “promise.” Lupe’s promise is her children. The rainbow represents them being able to live and be happy. Yet it was just another day in Lupe’s life. “Full of wonder and stunted promises and twisted dreams.” She is constantly just wondering and worrying if her children will have enough to eat and if everything will be ok. And she still dreams and knows that life is full of obstacles that have to be overcome. But we see that there will always be this part inside of her that is bursting out- this life that is yearning to be lived. This American dream full of opportunity without struggle or pain or worries. “And so little fun.” This is how Barrio decided to end the chapter. Although Lupe can dream and hope that her kids will be ok she is brought back to the reality that there really isn’t much fun for her. Since the day is filled with all of those other things- this leaves little room for her to have fun and to be truly happy.
There are many things one would do to fit in, but despite all they do what they get in return is the feeling of not belonging. In “The Plum Plum Pickers”, Raymond Barrio writes about the struggle of Mexican immigrants that are trying to make a living by picking fruits. He writes about all their dreams, desires, troubles, and frustrations, and he captures the true essence of what it feels like to be an uneducated, underprivileged immigrant to the United States. When one thinks about America they automatically mention the land of possibilities, the place where one can strive to their fullest potential and create a future for themselves and their families. It is known as the land of the free, where one can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and however they want, or at least it is what is seen from the outside. What is America like for those people that aren’t citizens, those that flee from another country to make their lives better? According to the novel written by Raymond Barrio, life on the other side of the border isn’t what it seems to be. Immigrants come to America with their own dreams, but as seen in the book, they lose sight of their dreams because reality hits them. These Mexican immigrants don’t have their original dreams anymore, but rather they realize that in order for them to have dreams they need to be the American dream. On page 219 of the novel Barrio writes “the dream was now his: the thing was to proceed, to make the best of it, to make the American system a human system”. This shows us, the readers, that Ramiro Sanchez, after many years of solitude and hard work, has realized that the only way he will become like Mr. Turner, the epitome of the American dream, he must think like an American. Throughout the whole novel, Manuel, Lupe, Pepe and Ramiro, just like practically every other Mexican mentioned, have all held on to their Mexican heritage. They have held on to their original dreams, their memories of Mexico and their forefathers, and they haven’t truly accepted the idea that they are in America. Grant it, they know that they are in America because of their labor and low salary, but the fact that they still dream about how it was in Mexico and why the came to the states holds them back from actually grasping the big picture, which is living in America. You have these constant flashbacks about their land, and who constantly get this feeling that they desire going back to the place they remember. It doesn’t quite hit them that the reason they left was because poverty had overcome them, and life in Mexico was horrible for the poor. What they remember is their childhood and how it used to be, but not how it was now. Ramiro has gotten to the point in the novel where he realizes that there is no better place than America, as miserable as it is, so he has to make the best out of it because in reality there are no other options. He has to take this lifestyle in as if it was his own, as if it was natural to him, and make this “American system” his own “human system”. Throughout the novel we see that the author jumps from one viewpoint to another, allowing us, the readers, to understand the story from many different perspectives. Barrio, at this point in the book, allows us to see how Ramiro feels, a young man without a family, but in love with the daughter of a fellow picker. This character brings a different attitude to the book, because not only does he have no ties, but also he is willing to risk all that he has. He is the rebel in the book, the one who doesn’t care what other think or say about him because he has nothing to lose. We have gone through the whole novel thinking that Ramiro is a Mexican immigrant who doesn’t care to assimilate to the American ideals, but now we have come to realize that making a life for himself in America is what he wants. He has finally found a reason to stay still, a reason to stop moving around like a nomad, and settle down. He has Margarita, the girl he is in love with and the one he is willing to become American for. Barrio goes on to say on page 219, “to grow, to save, to plan, to plant, to buy, to invest. Invest in futures. Send their kids through school. And keep them going to school.” This is what Ramiro has come to realize will make him successful in America, and what will allow his children to be successful as well. Planning and saving was something he wasn’t used to, just like all the other Mexican immigrants, but now he knows that it is necessary in order to make America the land of opportunities and dreams. Education will be the key to his wife and children’s success, and he is willing to give up his ways for that life, that American life. Raymond Barrio overtly writes about what it was like to come into America as a Mexican immigrant, working very hard and getting paid very little. He explicitly shows the readers what life was like back then for a wealthy landowner, a middle-class worker, and a struggling picker, and he did it in an unconventional way. Reading Barrio’s novel evokes feelings about certain issues that we face in America to this day, and it allows us to see that Americans aren’t the ones that might suffer from decisions that are being made at this very moment.
CC 10.01 Raquel Arnao Close reading for The Plum Plum Pickers
“What was the matter? Nothing. Lupe, almost in tears, and the day not yet begun, held her tongue. This rickety stove was what was the matter. This stupid bare splintered wooden floor was what was the matter. This one simple room was the matter. This lack of privacy was also the matter. This having to walk down to the public bathroom, sharing it with fifteen other families, was the matter. Those skimpy curtains were the matter too. And no hot water was the matter” (Barrio, 39).
This passage is written from Lupe’s perspective. Obviously unsatisfied with her life, she tells Manuel that everything is fine. Lupe cannot find any solution to her family’s problems so she leaves her worries unsaid. In addition, she might not want to make her husband upset by reminding him of his shortcomings. If Lupe were to say something, Manuel might think that she was complaining instead of being concerned. Technically there is no problem; nothing is out of the ordinary. Yet, on a deeper level, Lupe knows that Manuel’s work and the family’s living situation could be much improved. Knowing that her family has to endure this proletariat kind of life is her constant inner struggle. Lupe is “almost in tears” just thinking about the horrible conditions that they face in their daily lives. The fact that Lupe holds her tongue demonstrates her submission to her circumstances. She has already admitted defeat by acknowledging American ideologies. Lupe has realized her inferior position in America; she accepts that nothing is going to change and since life cannot get any better than this there is no sense in reminding the family of their misfortunes. Lupe’s decision to remain silent also provides insight into her character. She is not the most outgoing individual since she does not express her thoughts outright. If she cannot even admit to what she is thinking about, then readers would not expect her to act on these beliefs. When we read Lupe’s thoughts, she keeps repeating the phrase “the matter”. There are so many things wrong with the Gutierrez’s lifestyle that Lupe can go on with her list of problems. Since this is the first time we see Lupe’s point of view, readers get a distinct picture of how crummy life is for this family. Migrant workers are barely treated like civilized beings since they are not entitled to such luxuries as separate rooms, excess furniture, a private bathroom, even hot water. The redundancy of this phrase emphasizes the disparity between migrant workers and the higher class American citizens such as Mr. Quill and Mr. Turner. Lupe is very aware of the poor conditions at Western Grande. Her list of complaints is recited in her head very easily, as if she practices this speech daily. Lupe’s discontent is almost palpable in the negative way she describes living conditions at the compound. Her unhappiness seems to be growing every day, like her growing children and the family’s growing debt. There is a sense that tension is mounting every time Lupe repeats what “the matter” is. Lupe’s perspective clues readers in to the major conflict of the novel. While she does not want to rob Manuel of his attempts at happiness, she feels that he wastes a day’s wages every week by going to the cantina. In thought, Lupe complains that she never has a day off from her duties, yet she does not dare tell her husband that she needs a break too. She exhibits a pattern of silence and submission in her role as migrant housewife. Lupe is constantly observing her life compared to other characters. She thinks that most people on the compound are better off than she, even Phyllis Ferguson who has resorted to prostitution to earn some money. Lupe considers following Phyllis’ lead for a minute, in her thoughts of course. She acknowledges that she would never really do it. This is more proof that Lupe favors thought over action. It would take something very extreme for Lupe to revolt against the way migrants are treated.
The novel, Plum Plum Pickers brings up the difficulties immigrants face in America. Though there are realistic situations where difficulties and sufferings take place in the immigrants life, it seems, however, that this novel’s purpose is biased. It seems to me that the author emphasizes the negative parts of American life of immigrants to deliver his political intention. He seems to prove the negative sides of the capitalist system in America through the difficulties of immigrants.
“Human parasites. Worse than their own pests. Had to fight them off. Get them off his back, out of his system, out of his brain; out of his marrow; out if his prune pit; out of his inner ear (p. 101-2).”
Ramiro Sanchez, one of the characters of Ramiro’s Barrio novel, Plum, Plum Pickers is the main focus of the narrator at the 16th chapter. The narrator describes his inside world- his consciousness, his nature, his perception for the nature of Americans and their social system. All of these aspects lead to the idea that America’s system is hard and does not make the life so easy especially for immigrants and does not bring equality. All of these aspects come through a strange language that takes different turns and become the narrator's tool to indicate political issues that take place in Ramiro's identity. Let me start with the language. It is strange how the narrator plays with it. He starts with words that form no sentences, and ends with sentences that have no subjects. However, this language is in function of the nature of our character. “Human parasites”, or “worse than their own pests” are the first sentences which carry the Ramiro's delusion, anger, and desperation. The narrator refers to parasites and pests in a metaphoric sense to reach a political point;this system, different from Ramiro’s, is where people try to profit and get rich from others’ poverty. Also, by reading "had to fight them off. Get them off his back", results that there is no subject, and it's hard to understand who is speaking, the narrator or the character. Thus, these sentences lead to infinite interpretations. To me, they seem to carry a call for Mexicans to wake up and realize that they have power to change their situation-they are used- but that Ramiro’s solution seems to have no direction of how except the aggressive reaction. By reading "out of his system, out of his brain; out of his marrow; out if his prune pit; out of his inner ear" seems like the narrator repeats "out" and creates a rhythm of the words that come after "out", system, brain, marrow, prune pit, and inner ear, and this list takes a poetic sense and is in function of Ramiro’s identity-different from the Americans'. However the poetic sense is not so easy to be understood. What does it mean to say, get them off his back, out of his system, out of his brain,… ? A revolt may be, or a battle, or a point that makes the character leave America and find a place where he would enjoy the life as he dreams? It is apparent that Ramiro’s consciousness is wounded. He sees his identity from an outsider perspective. He is angry for assuming himself as a stranger or an alien in a country which he, as it apparent, expected to be different. Here, the narrator sets a binary, the one of illusion versus of the reality. Ramiro’s nature is angry for assuming to be part of the Americans’ commodity- Americans become rich and immigrants only a tool for their richness without any profits in turn- thing that furies him as he states. He is conscious that he is not part of this world; he claims to belong in another “system” that looks to be against the capitalist system; however, he doesn’t try to reject himself from this land and find a place where he can live happy, but he ends up in aggressive and absurd conclusion when he says, “Had to fight them off. Get them off his back, out of his system, out of his brain; out of his marrow; out if his prune pit; out of his inner ear.” But why? It seems that the narrator wants to prove his Marxist ideas for the capitalist system through this character’s inside world. Looking the situation from this character’s point of view allows him space to indicate that, “Hey, people wake up. Look where you are running. You are in world where is no hope, because here is what the capitalist system causes- angriness and inequality. The system Ramiro feels part to be is apparently a different system where workers and employees would have the same benefits. That is Marxist ideology, is ideal, but utopist. Why does Ramiro see the Americans’ charity in that direction? We are left with the idea that the book offers us to think in behind the reality. The book does not make the reader enthusiastic for the American life. The propagandas, advertisements intend to show the charity of the Americans, their will to offer jobs and place to live happy immigrants, but in fact, looked from the narrator’s perspective this reality is complete different. From another plan, from another perspective, from the characters’ point of views, their dreams, the narrator offers to deeply see the reality not in the advertisement’s perspectives. However, the communication makes the meaning difficult. The poetic sense of the book doesn’t make it so easy, fluent, and understandable. We get the alienation sense of the characters’ identity.
“Only at one stall did Lupe dearly want to give in: at the ceramic stand, where the garishly colored flocked bulls from Tijuana stood in tight, even rows. Not the bulls; she didn’t like them; they were terrible; but behind them were some tall slim Greek maidens, heads demurely bowed in pure innocence, wrapping all the premise of an angelic world in their long glowing robes, with only the barest peep of sandaled toes peeping out. She wondered why God had been so careless as to give her such a lumpy figure. She dreamed of a paradise where she might hold herself slim and erect and virginal all over again, with thin breasts barely protruding through her silky gauze gown.” (Barrio, 77)
In this paragraph Lupe is feeling inferior to these ceramic Greek maidens. She starts by describing the bulls as “garishly colored flocked bulls from Tijuana”, “she didn’t like them; they were terrible”, she is describing herself symbolically. The bulls are from Tijuana which is in Mexico her own homeland. She doesn’t seem to like herself too much. She is not happy with her appearance or her life. She doesn’t feel feminine enough. She then goes on to describe the Greek maidens in such a way that gives you that sense that she is putting these statues up on a pedestal. The Greek maidens were the utter opposite of what Lupe was. They were tall and slim, “heads demurely bowed in pure innocence” as opposed to Lupe who was short and chubby. She calls a place where she could be that way a paradise. These statues represented all that Lupe wished to be. This passage had a lot of heavenly references. The maidens bowed their heads in pure innocence, wrapped in an angelic world, long glowing robes, the sandaled toes, she suggests that God made her lumpy, paradise. These are all religious undertones. It was as if Lupe seemed to want to be heavenly and divine. Later on in the passage she says, “…she wanted to own one of these white goddesses, Why? Suddenly she felt a surge of wanting to smash them to bits. She would send the chips flying in all directions. She would grind them back to dust, back to marbly golden dust, turning the dust into paste with her tears. What new form could she make that would make her glad?” (Barrio, 77) She is taking out her frustrations in thinking about smashing these perfect, beautiful statues. In a way, wanting to break the line of distinction between the statues and herself. She wanted to grind the bits and pieces of these statues into a paste and recreate what she thought would be acceptable. When I read this I thought about the possibility that this is what she felt society wanted from immigrants. They wanted to recreate and remold the person that they are into someone that would be acceptable to the whole world. It seemed that it had already happened to Serafina, Pepe and their family. “What new form could she make that would make her glad?” She felt the need to change herself. In class, we also discussed how this passage was a symbol of how she lost her sense of femininity. It seems very typical of a housewife to feel this way. Even to this day you still hear the same feelings from plenty of women. My own mother even has the same feelings, she feels that her life is isolated to the confines of the house and taking care of the kids. Housewives have that sense that they are no longer beautiful. Lupe’s life consists of taking care of the house (or whatever they consider a house), taking care of the kids, doing laundry and cooking the meals, that is basically it. Manuel doesn’t take her places, the most they do is go to the Flea Market to do some food shopping. She doesn’t have any beautiful clothes to put on and make herself feel beautiful. So, she doesn’t have that sense of youth and femininity any longer. She feels older and matronly. When she wants to recreate these statues in what would make her glad she wishes she could be different. Lupe wants to be different enough to feel alive and beautiful again.
In a novel about the less than luxurious life of Mexican-American field workers, Raymond Barrio seems to use language and technique that attempt to exaggerate the workers’ helpless situations. He makes it seem as if the workers are the lowest beings within the setting of the story. This may very possibly be done to exaggerate his anti capitalist propaganda. Barrio, in his detailed chapter about Ramiro Sanchez, introduces a comparison with other life forms. Specifically he describes a black widow watching Ramiro do his work. He also details the spiders work in comparison as it, “deliberately, carefully… spun another strand to her web” (Barrio 98). With this sentence we can see a possible comparison between the spiders work, and that of a typical field worker. This comparison is one that degrades any human being as it is an inferior comparison. The author, however, does not stop there. After the plot continues to describe Sanchez’s internal frustration toward such issues as the lowly work that he is performing in the field, he adds another sympathetic statement. Specifically, as Ramiro internally questions the motive of his labor, he bring up points like, “how could he build? What could he build? What good was what he built?”(Barrio 100) At this point Barrio is noting that people such as Sanchez, are so low down that they cannot even own, “the cheapest material on Earth,” being dirt. The conclusion of that very paragraph can further support Barrio’s extreme ridicule of the unfortunate situation. Following Ramiro’s internal questioning, it seems that the author makes a point to revisit the black widow from earlier in the chapter. At this point the spider is almost rubbing in Sanchez’s own questioning. Directly following his frustration about his building having no purpose, he immediately sees the, “dumb spider spinning her web” (Barrio 100). Barrio seems to compare the pointlessness of the average field worker’s toil to the importance of the work by the lowly spider, once again ridiculing the position of the Mexican- American. These examples may show how the author uses comparative situations to get his point across. He does not simply explain that the work being done is inferior work; he makes sure that the reader sees exactly what inferior means. Simply explaining that one is a lowly human has on effect, but Barrio takes it to the next level.
6 comments:
i picked a passage from the end of chapter 7. the minute i read it i was like- this paragragh is screaming close reading at me!! i just had to do it.
“ Standing in the rosy powdery sunlight in her frayed quilted light green robe, her black her gleaming in the dazzle of magnificent morning sun, Lupe gripped the bright green stem of her mop and sloshed it in the orange plastic bucket, making her own rainbow. Scattered about her feet on the ground were discarded bits of dissected toys, a torn blue wading pool, a small redbanded yellow boat, a redecorated red-orange truck without wheels, and several magenta, mauve, tan, black, and white building blocks. The children enjoyed digging up the soft friendly brown earth. It was just another day and, like all days, full of wonder and stunted promises and twisted dreams. There was so much that begged to be done, and dreams to be dreamt, and promises to be fulfilled, and anxieties to be assuaged, and demands to be met, and obstacles to be overcome, and so much life burning, bursting, aching, praying, yearning to be lived, to be lived, to be truly, really lived.
And so little fun.” (End of chapter 7)
Lupe and Manuel came to America for a better life and the opportunity. They came to live the American Dream. Instead where they found themselves was in a state of poverty where Manuel had to work hard, they were in debt, and their children were not getting an education. This passage helps us analyze Lupe’s character, thoughts, and feelings about the American dream and the life she was living.
The passage starts off with Lupe standing in the rosy sun while cleaning and mopping her house. The sun is shining and it’s a beautiful morning. Morning is the start of the day- the start of something new and fresh. She is wearing a green robe and using a green mop with an orange bucket, both very bright, loud, uplifting colors. Then it continues to say that she is making her own rainbow. So by using bright colors to clean her house- getting rid of the dirt- she is creating her own rainbow. To me rainbow represents hope and peace. Rainbows come after the rain so it’s a very the-worst-is-over-and-the-good-is-coming, a fresh start, kind of idea. From the beginning we get a sense of a cleansing process and freshness- the ability to start something new.
But as we go on we begin to get a very confused opposite feeling. The toys on the floor are dissected. Toys represent youth and fun yet they are dissected and tattered. There’s a wading pool and a boat, which could represent water and cleansing and freedom, yet the pool is torn so you can’t swim in it, and the boat is redbanded- it’s bound, it can’t move. And then there’s a truck that’s redecorated so one thinks rejuvenated and fresh yet it has no wheels- it can’t go anywhere. There are building blocks which represent building up from scratch, the building of dreams yet they the colors are strange. So on one hand we have this impression of a new beginning- it’s morning, there’s a cleansing process going on, the image of water and freshness, yet on the other hand these toys that should represent youth and opportunity are torn and limited in a way.
Then, after describing the toys we are told, “The children enjoyed digging up the soft friendly brown earth.” So they have all of these toys yet they’d rather play with the brown earth because it’s friendly. Here too we get opposite feelings. On one hand dirt is the source of life and food and it could represent growth. On the other hand dirt can also be taken as dirty and disgusting. The exact thing that Lupe is trying to rid her house of while cleaning. And then to further add to the complexity Lupe goes on to think about how the day is filled with dreams and promises and wonder and anxiety and obstacles and yet so little fun.
This passage tells us a lot about Lupe’s character and her struggles in life. Our first impression of Lupe is a mother. A mother who cares for her kids. Her kids are her future, her “promise” in life. America was supposed to be her fresh start. A new life for her kids. Represented in our passage by the morning- a start of a new day. Yet all their toys which are supposed to represent this new life are dissected, torn, divided, bound. But they enjoy playing with the dirt. It is brown and friendly- it is all they ever knew. Then there’s the whole idea of the rainbow that Lupe draws. This could be looked at as an allusion to the bible. The rainbow was God’s symbol that he would never destroy the world again. It’s also the symbol of a fresh start of a “promise.” Lupe’s promise is her children. The rainbow represents them being able to live and be happy.
Yet it was just another day in Lupe’s life. “Full of wonder and stunted promises and twisted dreams.” She is constantly just wondering and worrying if her children will have enough to eat and if everything will be ok. And she still dreams and knows that life is full of obstacles that have to be overcome. But we see that there will always be this part inside of her that is bursting out- this life that is yearning to be lived. This American dream full of opportunity without struggle or pain or worries.
“And so little fun.” This is how Barrio decided to end the chapter. Although Lupe can dream and hope that her kids will be ok she is brought back to the reality that there really isn’t much fun for her. Since the day is filled with all of those other things- this leaves little room for her to have fun and to be truly happy.
There are many things one would do to fit in, but despite all they do what they get in return is the feeling of not belonging. In “The Plum Plum Pickers”, Raymond Barrio writes about the struggle of Mexican immigrants that are trying to make a living by picking fruits. He writes about all their dreams, desires, troubles, and frustrations, and he captures the true essence of what it feels like to be an uneducated, underprivileged immigrant to the United States.
When one thinks about America they automatically mention the land of possibilities, the place where one can strive to their fullest potential and create a future for themselves and their families. It is known as the land of the free, where one can do whatever they want, whenever they want, and however they want, or at least it is what is seen from the outside. What is America like for those people that aren’t citizens, those that flee from another country to make their lives better? According to the novel written by Raymond Barrio, life on the other side of the border isn’t what it seems to be. Immigrants come to America with their own dreams, but as seen in the book, they lose sight of their dreams because reality hits them. These Mexican immigrants don’t have their original dreams anymore, but rather they realize that in order for them to have dreams they need to be the American dream. On page 219 of the novel Barrio writes “the dream was now his: the thing was to proceed, to make the best of it, to make the American system a human system”. This shows us, the readers, that Ramiro Sanchez, after many years of solitude and hard work, has realized that the only way he will become like Mr. Turner, the epitome of the American dream, he must think like an American. Throughout the whole novel, Manuel, Lupe, Pepe and Ramiro, just like practically every other Mexican mentioned, have all held on to their Mexican heritage. They have held on to their original dreams, their memories of Mexico and their forefathers, and they haven’t truly accepted the idea that they are in America. Grant it, they know that they are in America because of their labor and low salary, but the fact that they still dream about how it was in Mexico and why the came to the states holds them back from actually grasping the big picture, which is living in America. You have these constant flashbacks about their land, and who constantly get this feeling that they desire going back to the place they remember. It doesn’t quite hit them that the reason they left was because poverty had overcome them, and life in Mexico was horrible for the poor. What they remember is their childhood and how it used to be, but not how it was now. Ramiro has gotten to the point in the novel where he realizes that there is no better place than America, as miserable as it is, so he has to make the best out of it because in reality there are no other options. He has to take this lifestyle in as if it was his own, as if it was natural to him, and make this “American system” his own “human system”.
Throughout the novel we see that the author jumps from one viewpoint to another, allowing us, the readers, to understand the story from many different perspectives. Barrio, at this point in the book, allows us to see how Ramiro feels, a young man without a family, but in love with the daughter of a fellow picker. This character brings a different attitude to the book, because not only does he have no ties, but also he is willing to risk all that he has. He is the rebel in the book, the one who doesn’t care what other think or say about him because he has nothing to lose. We have gone through the whole novel thinking that Ramiro is a Mexican immigrant who doesn’t care to assimilate to the American ideals, but now we have come to realize that making a life for himself in America is what he wants. He has finally found a reason to stay still, a reason to stop moving around like a nomad, and settle down. He has Margarita, the girl he is in love with and the one he is willing to become American for. Barrio goes on to say on page 219, “to grow, to save, to plan, to plant, to buy, to invest. Invest in futures. Send their kids through school. And keep them going to school.” This is what Ramiro has come to realize will make him successful in America, and what will allow his children to be successful as well. Planning and saving was something he wasn’t used to, just like all the other Mexican immigrants, but now he knows that it is necessary in order to make America the land of opportunities and dreams. Education will be the key to his wife and children’s success, and he is willing to give up his ways for that life, that American life.
Raymond Barrio overtly writes about what it was like to come into America as a Mexican immigrant, working very hard and getting paid very little. He explicitly shows the readers what life was like back then for a wealthy landowner, a middle-class worker, and a struggling picker, and he did it in an unconventional way. Reading Barrio’s novel evokes feelings about certain issues that we face in America to this day, and it allows us to see that Americans aren’t the ones that might suffer from decisions that are being made at this very moment.
CC 10.01 Raquel Arnao
Close reading for The Plum Plum Pickers
“What was the matter?
Nothing.
Lupe, almost in tears, and the day not yet begun, held her tongue. This rickety stove was what was the matter. This stupid bare splintered wooden floor was what was the matter. This one simple room was the matter. This lack of privacy was also the matter. This having to walk down to the public bathroom, sharing it with fifteen other families, was the matter. Those skimpy curtains were the matter too. And no hot water was the matter” (Barrio, 39).
This passage is written from Lupe’s perspective. Obviously unsatisfied with her life, she tells Manuel that everything is fine. Lupe cannot find any solution to her family’s problems so she leaves her worries unsaid. In addition, she might not want to make her husband upset by reminding him of his shortcomings. If Lupe were to say something, Manuel might think that she was complaining instead of being concerned.
Technically there is no problem; nothing is out of the ordinary. Yet, on a deeper level, Lupe knows that Manuel’s work and the family’s living situation could be much improved. Knowing that her family has to endure this proletariat kind of life is her constant inner struggle. Lupe is “almost in tears” just thinking about the horrible conditions that they face in their daily lives. The fact that Lupe holds her tongue demonstrates her submission to her circumstances. She has already admitted defeat by acknowledging American ideologies. Lupe has realized her inferior position in America; she accepts that nothing is going to change and since life cannot get any better than this there is no sense in reminding the family of their misfortunes. Lupe’s decision to remain silent also provides insight into her character. She is not the most outgoing individual since she does not express her thoughts outright. If she cannot even admit to what she is thinking about, then readers would not expect her to act on these beliefs.
When we read Lupe’s thoughts, she keeps repeating the phrase “the matter”. There are so many things wrong with the Gutierrez’s lifestyle that Lupe can go on with her list of problems. Since this is the first time we see Lupe’s point of view, readers get a distinct picture of how crummy life is for this family. Migrant workers are barely treated like civilized beings since they are not entitled to such luxuries as separate rooms, excess furniture, a private bathroom, even hot water. The redundancy of this phrase emphasizes the disparity between migrant workers and the higher class American citizens such as Mr. Quill and Mr. Turner.
Lupe is very aware of the poor conditions at Western Grande. Her list of complaints is recited in her head very easily, as if she practices this speech daily. Lupe’s discontent is almost palpable in the negative way she describes living conditions at the compound. Her unhappiness seems to be growing every day, like her growing children and the family’s growing debt. There is a sense that tension is mounting every time Lupe repeats what “the matter” is. Lupe’s perspective clues readers in to the major conflict of the novel.
While she does not want to rob Manuel of his attempts at happiness, she feels that he wastes a day’s wages every week by going to the cantina. In thought, Lupe complains that she never has a day off from her duties, yet she does not dare tell her husband that she needs a break too. She exhibits a pattern of silence and submission in her role as migrant housewife.
Lupe is constantly observing her life compared to other characters. She thinks that most people on the compound are better off than she, even Phyllis Ferguson who has resorted to prostitution to earn some money. Lupe considers following Phyllis’ lead for a minute, in her thoughts of course. She acknowledges that she would never really do it. This is more proof that Lupe favors thought over action. It would take something very extreme for Lupe to revolt against the way migrants are treated.
Close reading to
Plum Plum Pickers
The novel, Plum Plum Pickers brings up the difficulties immigrants face in America. Though there are realistic situations where difficulties and sufferings take place in the immigrants life, it seems, however, that this novel’s purpose is biased. It seems to me that the author emphasizes the negative parts of American life of immigrants to deliver his political intention. He seems to prove the negative sides of the capitalist system in America through the difficulties of immigrants.
“Human parasites. Worse than their own pests. Had to fight them off. Get them off his back, out of his system, out of his brain; out of his marrow; out if his prune pit; out of his inner ear (p. 101-2).”
Ramiro Sanchez, one of the characters of Ramiro’s Barrio novel, Plum, Plum Pickers is the main focus of the narrator at the 16th chapter. The narrator describes his inside world- his consciousness, his nature, his perception for the nature of Americans and their social system. All of these aspects lead to the idea that America’s system is hard and does not make the life so easy especially for immigrants and does not bring equality. All of these aspects come through a strange language that takes different turns and become the narrator's tool to indicate political issues that take place in Ramiro's identity.
Let me start with the language. It is strange how the narrator plays with it. He starts with words that form no sentences, and ends with sentences that have no subjects. However, this language is in function of the nature of our character. “Human parasites”, or “worse than their own pests” are the first sentences which carry the Ramiro's delusion, anger, and desperation. The narrator refers to parasites and pests in a metaphoric sense to reach a political point;this system, different from Ramiro’s, is where people try to profit and get rich from others’ poverty.
Also, by reading "had to fight them off. Get them off his back", results that there is no subject, and it's hard to understand who is speaking, the narrator or the character. Thus, these sentences lead to infinite interpretations. To me, they seem to carry a call for Mexicans to wake up and realize that they have power to change their situation-they are used- but that Ramiro’s solution seems to have no direction of how except the aggressive reaction.
By reading "out of his system, out of his brain; out of his marrow; out if his prune pit; out of his inner ear" seems like the narrator repeats "out" and creates a rhythm of the words that come after "out", system, brain, marrow, prune pit, and inner ear, and this list takes a poetic sense and is in function of Ramiro’s identity-different from the Americans'. However the poetic sense is not so easy to be understood. What does it mean to say, get them off his back, out of his system, out of his brain,… ? A revolt may be, or a battle, or a point that makes the character leave America and find a place where he would enjoy the life as he dreams?
It is apparent that Ramiro’s consciousness is wounded. He sees his identity from an outsider perspective. He is angry for assuming himself as a stranger or an alien in a country which he, as it apparent, expected to be different. Here, the narrator sets a binary, the one of illusion versus of the reality.
Ramiro’s nature is angry for assuming to be part of the Americans’ commodity- Americans become rich and immigrants only a tool for their richness without any profits in turn- thing that furies him as he states. He is conscious that he is not part of this world; he claims to belong in another “system” that looks to be against the capitalist system; however, he doesn’t try to reject himself from this land and find a place where he can live happy, but he ends up in aggressive and absurd conclusion when he says, “Had to fight them off. Get them off his back, out of his system, out of his brain; out of his marrow; out if his prune pit; out of his inner ear.” But why?
It seems that the narrator wants to prove his Marxist ideas for the capitalist system through this character’s inside world. Looking the situation from this character’s point of view allows him space to indicate that, “Hey, people wake up. Look where you are running. You are in world where is no hope, because here is what the capitalist system causes- angriness and inequality.
The system Ramiro feels part to be is apparently a different system where workers and employees would have the same benefits. That is Marxist ideology, is ideal, but utopist. Why does Ramiro see the Americans’ charity in that direction?
We are left with the idea that the book offers us to think in behind the reality. The book does not make the reader enthusiastic for the American life. The propagandas, advertisements intend to show the charity of the Americans, their will to offer jobs and place to live happy immigrants, but in fact, looked from the narrator’s perspective this reality is complete different. From another plan, from another perspective, from the characters’ point of views, their dreams, the narrator offers to deeply see the reality not in the advertisement’s perspectives. However, the communication makes the meaning difficult. The poetic sense of the book doesn’t make it so easy, fluent, and understandable. We get the alienation sense of the characters’ identity.
The Plum Plum Pickers Response
“Only at one stall did Lupe dearly want to give in: at the ceramic stand, where the garishly colored flocked bulls from Tijuana stood in tight, even rows. Not the bulls; she didn’t like them; they were terrible; but behind them were some tall slim Greek maidens, heads demurely bowed in pure innocence, wrapping all the premise of an angelic world in their long glowing robes, with only the barest peep of sandaled toes peeping out. She wondered why God had been so careless as to give her such a lumpy figure. She dreamed of a paradise where she might hold herself slim and erect and virginal all over again, with thin breasts barely protruding through her silky gauze gown.” (Barrio, 77)
In this paragraph Lupe is feeling inferior to these ceramic Greek maidens. She starts by describing the bulls as “garishly colored flocked bulls from Tijuana”, “she didn’t like them; they were terrible”, she is describing herself symbolically. The bulls are from Tijuana which is in Mexico her own homeland. She doesn’t seem to like herself too much. She is not happy with her appearance or her life. She doesn’t feel feminine enough. She then goes on to describe the Greek maidens in such a way that gives you that sense that she is putting these statues up on a pedestal.
The Greek maidens were the utter opposite of what Lupe was. They were tall and slim, “heads demurely bowed in pure innocence” as opposed to Lupe who was short and chubby. She calls a place where she could be that way a paradise. These statues represented all that Lupe wished to be. This passage had a lot of heavenly references. The maidens bowed their heads in pure innocence, wrapped in an angelic world, long glowing robes, the sandaled toes, she suggests that God made her lumpy, paradise. These are all religious undertones. It was as if Lupe seemed to want to be heavenly and divine.
Later on in the passage she says, “…she wanted to own one of these white goddesses, Why? Suddenly she felt a surge of wanting to smash them to bits. She would send the chips flying in all directions. She would grind them back to dust, back to marbly golden dust, turning the dust into paste with her tears. What new form could she make that would make her glad?” (Barrio, 77) She is taking out her frustrations in thinking about smashing these perfect, beautiful statues. In a way, wanting to break the line of distinction between the statues and herself.
She wanted to grind the bits and pieces of these statues into a paste and recreate what she thought would be acceptable. When I read this I thought about the possibility that this is what she felt society wanted from immigrants. They wanted to recreate and remold the person that they are into someone that would be acceptable to the whole world. It seemed that it had already happened to Serafina, Pepe and their family.
“What new form could she make that would make her glad?” She felt the need to change herself. In class, we also discussed how this passage was a symbol of how she lost her sense of femininity. It seems very typical of a housewife to feel this way. Even to this day you still hear the same feelings from plenty of women. My own mother even has the same feelings, she feels that her life is isolated to the confines of the house and taking care of the kids. Housewives have that sense that they are no longer beautiful. Lupe’s life consists of taking care of the house (or whatever they consider a house), taking care of the kids, doing laundry and cooking the meals, that is basically it. Manuel doesn’t take her places, the most they do is go to the Flea Market to do some food shopping. She doesn’t have any beautiful clothes to put on and make herself feel beautiful. So, she doesn’t have that sense of youth and femininity any longer. She feels older and matronly. When she wants to recreate these statues in what would make her glad she wishes she could be different. Lupe wants to be different enough to feel alive and beautiful again.
Marc Gamss
Professor Hopes
CC 10.01
Close reading: Plum Plum Pickers
In a novel about the less than luxurious life of Mexican-American field workers, Raymond Barrio seems to use language and technique that attempt to exaggerate the workers’ helpless situations. He makes it seem as if the workers are the lowest beings within the setting of the story. This may very possibly be done to exaggerate his anti capitalist propaganda.
Barrio, in his detailed chapter about Ramiro Sanchez, introduces a comparison with other life forms. Specifically he describes a black widow watching Ramiro do his work. He also details the spiders work in comparison as it, “deliberately, carefully… spun another strand to her web” (Barrio 98). With this sentence we can see a possible comparison between the spiders work, and that of a typical field worker. This comparison is one that degrades any human being as it is an inferior comparison.
The author, however, does not stop there. After the plot continues to describe Sanchez’s internal frustration toward such issues as the lowly work that he is performing in the field, he adds another sympathetic statement. Specifically, as Ramiro internally questions the motive of his labor, he bring up points like, “how could he build? What could he build? What good was what he built?”(Barrio 100) At this point Barrio is noting that people such as Sanchez, are so low down that they cannot even own, “the cheapest material on Earth,” being dirt.
The conclusion of that very paragraph can further support Barrio’s extreme ridicule of the unfortunate situation. Following Ramiro’s internal questioning, it seems that the author makes a point to revisit the black widow from earlier in the chapter. At this point the spider is almost rubbing in Sanchez’s own questioning. Directly following his frustration about his building having no purpose, he immediately sees the, “dumb spider spinning her web” (Barrio 100). Barrio seems to compare the pointlessness of the average field worker’s toil to the importance of the work by the lowly spider, once again ridiculing the position of the Mexican- American.
These examples may show how the author uses comparative situations to get his point across. He does not simply explain that the work being done is inferior work; he makes sure that the reader sees exactly what inferior means. Simply explaining that one is a lowly human has on effect, but Barrio takes it to the next level.
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