Write a 250-400 word literary analysis (Links to an external site.) in which you analyze one of the assigned poems (but not either of the two you used for the discussion) for its theme and one other literary element.
Your literary analysis should be typed, double-spaced, and formatted according to MLA Style Guidelines (Links to an external site.). It must include in-text citations and a Works Cited page. That means that you must include quotes from the text to support your observations/claims. For more tips on writing your analysis paper, visit our Resources page and the Tips for Writing a Literary Analysis.pdf downloaddocument.
I highly encourage you to submit your papers for tutoring via the Stone Writing Center. (Links to an external site.) Of course, for the tutoring to help you with your papers, you need to submit early enough to not only receive feedback, but to apply their suggestions for improvement.
When you submit this assignment, you must include a comment that shares the two pieces you used in the discussion and how the piece you’ve selected for this literary analysis differs. It would look something like this: “In the discussion, I focused on Luis J. Rodríguez’s, “Tía Chucha” and Carmen Tafolla’s, “Tía Sofía.” My literary analysis focuses on Juan Felipe Herrera’s, “Inside the Jacket.”
Ricardo Sánchez, “Soledad Was a Girl’s Name” (107-111);The speaker remembers a girl named Soledad Guerra, which means “solitude and war.”This definition serves as a springboard for contemplating his life in prison and its many contradictions.The speaker is an inmate.Literary elements: symbolism, characterization, theme.Tino Villanueva, “I Too Have Walked My Barrio Streets” (182-183;184-186);Opens with an excerpt from the poet Pablo Neruda, which serves as a springboard.The speaker describes the poverty of his neighborhood, the treatment of Mexican Americans in school, and their working conditions.He then addresses Neruda directly and questions the power of poetry to inspire change.Literary elements: structure, allusions, repetition, theme.Pat Mora, “Elena” (288-289);An immigrant woman worries about losing touch with her American children, so she secretly tries to learn English.Explores the idea of conformity and the emotionsLiterary elements: imagery, point of view, and themeJuan Felipe Herrera, “Inside the Jacket” (201-202; 203);A passerby observes a Mexican man sewing in a sweatshop.Literary elements: internal rhyme, alliteration, assonance, consonance, and theme.Alberto Álvaro Ríos, “True Story of the Pins” and “Old Man on the Hospital Porch” (234-236);Alberto Ríos grew up in a time when speaking Spanish at school was against school rules. Ríos says that this loss of Spanish has taught him a “third language of non-words.In “true story of the Pins,” a man asks to borrow pins for his butterfly collection. When his daughter refuses, he gets very angry and dies from his rage.In “old Man on the Hospital Porch,” the speaker tries to have a conversation with an old man who has lost his ability to communicate.Literary elements: simile, metaphor, and theme.Carmen Tafolla, “Tía Sofía” (188-191);The speaker remembers a favorite aunt who has just passed away. She shares how her aunt loved music and recalls a few humorous anecdotes.Literary elements: code-switching, stanza structure, figurative language, and theme.Luis J. Rodríguez, “Tía Chucha” (327-329);The speaker remembers a beloved aunt. His family thinks she’s crazy, but he secretly admires her.Literary elements: metaphor, simile, tone, and imagery.Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales, “I am Joaquín” (63-76)An epic poem that recounts the struggles of the Chicano people.Gives a historical overview beginning with pre-Columbian Mexico and ending with the United States of the 1960s.Serves to reconcile the European and Indian ancestry of Chicanos.Ends with a call to action asking Chicanos to endure the struggle and fight for equal rights.Literary elements: tone, motif, allusion, and theme.Watch: www.dailymotion .com/video/xgbpxr_i-am-joaquin-1969_shortfilmsAngela De Hoyos, “GO AHEAD, ASK HER” and “YOU WILL GROW OLD” (113-115)These two poems come from a collection called Woman, Woman. As the book title suggests, the poems focus on themes specific to women, in particular how men relate, or fail to relate, to them.Literary elements: tone, ellipses, connotation, and theme.
