Short Writing 1
Summarize the events of "The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez" (H 118). Why do you think this particular narrative has such wide-spread appeal? What does it say about border culture?

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Short Writing 2
Rudolfo Anaya's Antonio is a border character in many ways, caught between two opposing forces. Make a list and briefly explain the various oppositions that characterize Antonio's experience in the novel.

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Short Writing 3
There are a number of belief systems in the novel: Ultima's curanderismo, Catholicism, and Cico's belief in an earth deity (embodied in the Golden Carp). How do these systems come into conflict in the novel? What does that conflict tell us about the culture of the U.S. Southwest?

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Short Writing 4
Spend some time looking up on the Internet some information about the background, history, significance, and influence of one of the following women. Briefly summarize (in about one page) what you find. Although you are grouped for the assignment, you need to complete it individually.
          Group 1:   La Malinche (Malintzín Tenepal, Doña Marina)
          Group 2:   La Virgen de Guadalupe
          Group 3:   La Llorona
          Group 4:   Coatlicue
          Group 5:   the curandera and the bruja

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Short Writing 5
What connection(s) can you make between Corky Gonzales's "I Am Joaquín" and the corrido "Joaquín Murieta"?

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Short Writing 6
Choose one symbol from The House on Mango Street and trace it through three chapters of the novel. Use specific examples and explain what the symbol means in each chapter. Does the meaning build consistently? Or does the meaning change or even contradict itself from chapter to chapter? Either way, what is its significance in temr of one/some of the larger themes of the novel?

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Short Writing 7
Much of Piri Thomas's Down These Mean Streets describes his various identities, particularly as they come into conflict. How does he discover the hierarchy of identities that exists in the United States? What is the most important dimension of his identity? Use specific examples from the text to support your answer.

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Short Writing 8
Compare and contrast the urban space of Thomas's Down These Mean Streets to Cisneros's The House on Mango Street.

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Short Writing 9
The readings for this week explore the interconnections among language, race, ethnicity, and nation. Choose one of these markers of identity (language, race, ethnicity, and nation) and, using TWO of the readings for this week, analyze the connections that the writers make between their own identity that that marker.

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Short Writing 10
Why is Uncle Claudio returning to Puerto Rico?

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Short Writing 11
Describe the way(s) that Alvarez uses point of view in How the García Girls Lost Their Accents. Why does she make the choices she does in terms of point of view?

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Short Writing 12
Describe the structure of Alvarez's novel. What effect does this structure have on the theme(s) of the book? Why does she structure the book the way she does?

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Short Writing 13
Using the "Testimonial Dictionary," choose one or two concepts and apply them to Demetria Martínez's novel. Can it be read as a testimonio?

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Short Writing 14
See Final Exam Study Guide.

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