Jen Hair - Writing Portfolio

          \In Black Widow’s Wardrobe, Lucha Corpi explores the evolution of Latina stereotypes by introducing strong, intelligent, independent female characters who resist traditional roles to which they were born. Corpi employs rich imagery of Hispanic cultural events, folklore, and legends to add layers of intrigue to a modern-day mystery. On a cold and misty November evening, the novel opens with the main character, Gloria Damasco, participating in a parade commemorating Día de Muertos, Day of the Dead, a celebration for Hispanics to remember their deceased loved ones. In a sea of celebrants wearing black, Gloria notices a woman in all white, she later learns is the Black Widow (Licia Lecuona), notorious for killing her husband 20 years before. Gloria later witnesses an attempt on Licia’s life and is further drawn into the mystery that surrounds her life and notoriety. Gloria learns that Licia killed her husband after suffering yea...

In  Woman Hollering Creek  (1991), a collection of short stories, Sandra Cisneros shares urban experience of the present-day Chicano. The stories tell stories of devotion to family, culture, and religion.  They also detail characters feelings of not being ethnic enough, yet not being Anglo enough either.  The characters also deal with fidelity and infidelity in romantic love.  The collection starts off with an essay about a young girl and Lucy, her friend. The narrator of “My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn,” brings attention to all the things about Lucy that make her appear “more” Mexican than herself, pointing out how she falls short.  “I'm going to sit in the sun, don't care if it's a million trillion degrees outside, so my skin can get so dark it's blue where it bends like Lucy's” (3).  By the end of the story, she lists all of the things she will do with Lucy, making it seem as though they are the same person, there will be no...

The Chicano search for identity is explored by poet Rodolfo Gonzales in his epic tale,  Yo  Soy Joaquín  -  I Am Joaquín .  The opening line, “I am Joaquín”, is not only a statement of fact, it is also an invitation for the reader to join along on the author’s existential autobiographical journey.  Joaquín is a metaphorical representation of the Chicano.   Yo Soy Joaquín -  I Am Joaquín  was written at the precipice of Chicano Movement of the late 60’s and early 70’s and has been credited as the premier work of the Chicano Literary Renaissance which began during this time of social and racial upheaval in the United States. (Hartley) The poem begins with Joaquín identifying the basic conditions of his life to this point: confusion, manipulation, loss of history, and the struggle to regain the culture of his people.  As the story progresses, it becomes clear thatJoaquín’s ancestry is extremely d...

  In Luis Valdez’s play  Zoot Suit,  the plight of the Hispanic search for identity is exposed.  Although the play is set in the early 1940’s, issues it highlights are still problems for Hispanics today.  Henry Reyna, along with twenty other Hispanic youth, all Pachucos, is arrested and tired for a in August of 1942.  From the outset, it is clear, the “gang” of Pachucos being held will not be able to get a fair trial due to the continual criminalization of the young adults by The Press.  The play is narrated by El Pachuco ( The  Pachuco), who resides in Henry’s subconscious, as the metaphorical embodiment of Pachuco culture, the “secret fantasy of every bato, in or out of the Chicanda” (Valdez 26). From his duck hat to his tailored tacuhe (suit), El Pachuco embodies all that is to be pachuco.  He is the quintessence of Hispanic pride and defiance, he is outspoken regarding injustice towards Hispanics, keeping the spotlight...

            The Rubio family in Jose Antonio Villareal’s Novel  Pocho , immigrates from Mexico to California in 1923 after the death of Poncho Villa.  As they settle in Santa Clara, CA, among an eclectic community of other immigrants and laborers, the family encounters many challenges.  While the family clings to traditional values and roles to keep in touch with their Mexican roots and culture Richard, the only son, often finds himself stuck between two cultures, questioning which to follow.  The family faces conflicts whilst balancing between two cultures, navigating new social norms, and clinging to the traditional values of their culture.             The story begins with Juan Rubio, the patriarch, at the end of the Mexican Revolution.  Juan exemplifies the typical rough riding, solitary revolutionary fighter; assured of...

In his story,  The Labyrinth of Solitude , Octavio Paz details the existential crisis that appears to have gone on in Mexico for generations.  Mexico is a seemingly a country whose history was taken by conquest; however, it is also a country steeped in cultural tradition, mysticism, and religion.  “Our hermeticism is baffling or even offensive to strangers, and it has created the legend of the Mexican as an inscrutable being.” (65). The chapter,  The Sons of La Malinche , delves deeper into events that caused this disconnect. During the time of the Spanish Conquest (1519-1521), when Mexico was taken as a colony of Spain, and the Spanish-Aztec war raged, the Aztec empire fell.  A few hundred Spaniards wiped out millions of Aztec due to “non-native diseases such as microbes, smallpox, influenza, mumps and measles” (“How Much”).  The Spanish essentially destroyed the indigenous Mexican culture, captured natives as slaves and pillaged natura...

“I am an intelligent person who has this love and passion for educating kids” (Dana Goldstein, The Teacher Wars, 2014, p.262). This statement is reminiscent of the mantra I have repeated since the start of my M.Ed. program. Having been away from school for many years, I realized that although I still could write, I was seriously out of practice. Taking this class, Rhetoric for Written English, has given me an opportunity to renew confidence in my writing ability and to cultivate my personal writing process. Over two decades have passed since I last sat down to complete a writing assignment for a grade. On the first day of class my mind raced. Could I craft a cohesive and convincing argument? Did I understand the assignment? Would anyone find my thoughts interesting? I was out of practice and knew I had forgotten the nuances of practiced writing. For 20 years I have composed emails, business letters, and even press releases now and then, nothing that would be submitted ...