Dominican LTS
DB 12
04/17/2020
DO PART 1 & 2
Part 1
Questionsfor discussion,answer at least twoand reply to others (2 replies). Please, avoid general comments, and support them with quotes from the text.
1.Does the labelnonfictionguide your reading? How did you read this story? Give examples from the text.
2.Do you think that writing is helpful to heal a trauma? Are you familiar with the use of writing as therapy? Give examples.
3.What is the role of the narrator and her approach to the father? How does she position herself in relation to him? How does she look at him? Give examples.
4.What are the roles of the women in the story? Give examples.
Since last week we have been talking about gender in the Dominican American production while analyzing Ana Maurine Lara and Junot Díaz’sstories. This week we will continue discussing this topic through “Writing Toward Forgiveness”, by Angie Cruz. This story is included in Erika Martínez’s anthology,Daring to Write, a collection of stories by Dominican authors and its diaspora.
When we study the Dominican American production, we necessarily have to speak about gender. First of all, because female authors predominate upon male authors as you have noticed in the syllabus of this course. Junot Díaz is the most prominent author of this group. A Pulitzer prize in 2008 for his novelThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao(Riverhead XXXXXXXXXXHe has also been a recipient of many other honors in the nation and internationally. Even though male authors have more visibility than their counterparts in anthologies and syllabi, it is interesting that this is not the case in the Dominican American production.
Secondly, most of the female Dominican American authors narratives are contesting to the hegemonic masculinity in the Dominican Republic and its diaspora.
It is important to notice that besides publishing in English, there are many Dominican writers in the US who keep writing and publishing in Spanish, as we saw when studying Las Tertulias(The soirée), a group of Latinx female writers, gathered by Dr. Daisy Cocco de Fillippis in her house in Queens.Lastertuliaswere held every month since 1994 until the beginning of the twentieth century, and they created a space for those authors to publish their books, organize conferences and readings, among other events.
Anthologies likeDaring to Write.Contemporary Narrative of Dominican Women,edited by ErikaMartínez,are following the path thatCoccodeFillippisinitiated in the 1990s withTertuliando/Hanging Out(1997), a bilingual anthology that reunited their members and friends ofLa Tertulia.Angie Cruz was a member of Las Tertulias. She is the author of the novelsSoledad, Let It Rain Coffee,andDominicana.In the latter,she narrates the story of Ana, a Dominican girl who is obligated by her family to marry an old man in order to immigrate to the US. I consider “Writing Toward Forgiveness” as a draft ofDominicana. Also, I think that labeling this story as nonfiction, guide the reader to approach the story as a testimony. A testimony is defined as “an oral narrative told in the first person by a narrator who is also the real protagonist of the story” (Denegri 2003
PART 2
Comment at least a paragraph on each passage bellow
Passage 1
By Jeritza Sanchez
Question #2
I think that writing is helpful to heal trauma because it is a healthy and positive way to express yourself. You can express your thoughts and feelings by writing them down. This is a great strategy or coping mechanism for people who do not have anybody to talk to or people who have a difficult time opening up to others. Whatever you are feeling you can write it down. I am familiar with the use of writing as therapy because when I was younger I kept a journal. I would write down my feeling/thoughts and experiences in my daily life. This is familiar with therapy because you are opening up on a piece of paper the same way you would do with a therapist.
Question #4
The role of the women in the story are very powerful because it demonstrates the strength it took to overcome obstacles during the diaspora. The author Angie Cruz talks about how she had to deal with her alcoholic father. Her father was an overweight diabetic alcoholic who was about to die. He was a very toxic person in her life that caused a lot of pain as a child. (page 9). It is amazing to read about how she was able find the strength to visit her dad before he passed away even though she really didn’t want to. She traveled to the Dominican Republic and spoke to him about his childhood, his choices in life to kind of understand him a little better and be open to forgiveness. This shows the power of writing because she interviewed her father and used research on her trip. This helped her to heal from the pain.
Passage 1
By Terrell Rozing
Do you think that writing is helpful to heal a trauma? Are you familiar with the use of writing as therapy? Give examples.
Yes, I do believe that writing is helpful to heal trauma, as it is a form of expression. With any art form it provides a platform for self-expression. I love music dearly and the lyrics to songs are a form of writing that is used to express a range of emotions from joy to sorrow. In the text the narrator describes how the trials of writing about her family has changed her perspective on her farther. “For four years I’ve been working on my third novel, In Search of Caridad. The first few drafts of the book characterized my mother as a saint and condemned my father. With each revision, the process of turning my father into a full-fledged character with his own struggles and ambitions has allowed me to sympathize with him, as a writer and, ultimately, as his daughter” (Cruz, 15). The narrator affirms her view of her father has changed through the use of writing her novel and acknowledging her previous emotions.
What are the roles of the women in the story? Give examples.
The roles of the women in the story are to be nurturers, and supportive. The narrator details the night she was born and how this affected her mother. “When they all took off, including my father, who worked nights, my mother was left alone to clean up the mess and care for me. Exhausted and still recuperating from the labor, she began to hemorrhage, and just when she was going to lose consciousness, Caridad called” (Cruz, 11). This quote details how the narrator’s mother was left to clean up after a party for giving birth and was left alone, which resulted in her needing to be rushed to the hospital. Women are the nurtures, as Caridad was her father’s other love interest and assisted her mom at a time when she was ill. “My mother remembers Caridad in the hospital room looking after her, keeping her company, her children waiting with her. Caridad holding me, feeding me, soothing me” (Cruz, 11). Caridad is mentioned to have taken care of her own family while also attending to the narrator and her mother. This is imagery of a nurturer and supporter.