Chicano’s Culture vs. Anglo Culture

3. Chicano’s Culture vs. Anglo Culture

The experience that the Chicanos had is different from the dominant society, the Anglos. The difference of racial, ethnic, or cultural experiences of the Chicanos in the U.S creates the Chicano identities that are different from the Anglos‟. The differences between the Chicano identities and those of the Anglos can be seen in BMU. The cultural aspect implied in the novel is actually traced back through the connection with the roots which determine culture and history. For Chicanos, their identities are not as simple as defining that Chicano‟s are Indian and Spaniard (Portilla cited in Contreraz, 2008).

The cultural and historical realities experienced by Chicanos as mestizaje (Indian and Spanish descendants) are concrete accounts of their ancestral ties.

Common percep tion toward the Chicanos‟ respect towards their Hispanic roots is seen through their adherence and maintenance of the Spanish language. Within the Chicano culture, Spanish language has always been an important part. Spanish language is the language of the people, the ancestors, and also the home before the land acquired by the Americans, before English progressively became the dominant language.

During the postwar era, there were still a lot of Chicanos who preserved Spanish language as mother tongue, especially those of the elders During the postwar era, there were still a lot of Chicanos who preserved Spanish language as mother tongue, especially those of the elders

New Mexico still held onto their Spanish tongue. The dialogue between Antonio and Jasón ‟s mother really shows that the Chicanos speak Spanish as their first language in their family and community life; and even they do not understand English at all.

“¡Jasón!” I called at the kitchen door. I had run hard and was panting. His mother appeared at the door.

“Jasón no está aquí,” she said. All of the older people spoke only Spanish, and I myself understood only Spanish. It was only after one went to school that one learned English.

“¿Dónde está?” I asked. She pointed towards the river, northwest, past the railroad tracks to the dark hills [...]

(Anaya, 1999, p.10)

In the story, Antonio communicated with Jasón ‟s mother in Spanish. “Jasón no está aquí” means “He‟s not here”. Antonio came to Jasón‟s house looking for him, Jasón ‟s mother said in Spanish telling that he is not at home.

Then, Antonio answered in Spanish because Antonio had no contact with the English speaking people and school. Through the influence of school, Chicanos are introduced to the bilingualism system that they have to speak and understand English and at the same time still maintain to speak Spanish in the family.

already had contact with the Anglos and school. No good ability in English somehow seems to be the barrier with the dominant society, as Chicanos speak less English. For example, Antonio who needed to learn English at the time he was about to go to school; and his sister, Deborah, who already spoke good English since she had been in school for two years. She kept speaking English and taught her sister, Theresa, a little about English too; then Antonio realized the existence of himself as Chicano and the importance of speaking English.

“Ready, mama,” Deborah called. She said that in school the teachers let them speak only in English. I wondered how I would be able to speak to the teachers.

(Anaya, 1999, p.35)

She had been to school two years and she spoke only English. She was teaching Theresa and half the time I didn’t understand what they were saying.

(Anaya, 1999, p.12)

From those excerpts, it is understood that somehow their mother tongue should be abandoned in order to follow the dominant society from which Chicanos start to realize that they are different, that they are Chicanos, and that is the making sense of being Chicanos. Antonio realized that he could no longer speak only Spanish after he went to school, he must learn English. It highlights how school undermines the monolingualism and promotes bilingual

absorb American values and enforce children to decline the Spanish language. The greatest sense of being lost and marginalized in the middle of Anglos is portrayed vividly when Antonio arrived at the school looking for Miss Maestas, a teacher who spoke Spanish. At this point, Antonio realized the great barrier between his world and that of the Anglo society; he tried to understand what the Anglos spoke, but it seemed so strange and hard for him to understand.

Somehow I got to the school grounds, but I was lost. The school was larger than I had expected. Its huge, yawning doors were menacing. I looked for Deborah and Theresa but every face I saw was strange. I looked again at the doors of the sacred halls but I was too afraid to enter. My mother had said to go to Miss Maestas, but I did not know where to begin to find her. I had come to the town, and I had come to school, and I was very lost and afraid in the nervous, excited swarm of kids.

[…] I turned and looked into the eyes of a strange red-haired boy. He spoke English, a foreign tongue. “First grade” was all I could answer.

(Anaya, 1999, p.60)

[..] She pointed at me but I did not understand her. Then the other boys and girls laughed and pointed at me. I did not feel good. Thereafter I kept away from the groups as much as I could and worked alone. I worked hard. I listened to the strange sounds. I learned new names, new words.

(Anaya, 1999, p. 61)

From the excerpts, it is understood that it is not easy for Chicanos to melt with Anglos culture, especially for adolescence like Antonio who was still figuring out the sense of self from the surrounding. The more Antonio saw the From the excerpts, it is understood that it is not easy for Chicanos to melt with Anglos culture, especially for adolescence like Antonio who was still figuring out the sense of self from the surrounding. The more Antonio saw the

environment. This part of the story actually reveals the part of Anaya‟s reality of childhood experience in his early years spent in school; how Anaya got

“shocked” moving from Spanish-speaking community into English-speaking community, although finally survived with the help of his teacher. Anaya,

who had been speaking Spanish since childhood in the family, had to face his first ethnic awareness as Chicanos, which is different from the Anglos. “I had

always known that I was brown, that I was mejicano, in the language of my community, that we were poor. But those had been elements of pride, and now something had come to separate us” (Olmos, 1999, p. 4).

The return of Antonio‟s brothers also made Antonio examine the differences around him. Antonio noticed the difference in his brothers since

they went back from war. His brothers seemed like lost men for Antonio. They would not listen to his parents‟ dream, they hoped for living a life of

their own. Antonio‟s firstly noticed the changes in his brothers were due to the war sickness. Yet, gradually, Antonio realized that it was because the

American values that they got since they were gone for war; Antonio‟s brothers felt they got self-reliance during fighting the war, they could

determine their future without being tied to their parent‟s dreams.

down! I can ’t breathe!” “And papa is still talking about California,” Leon said dreamily “That’s a bunch of bullshit!” Gene spit. “He knows damn well mama would never move —“ “And that we won’t go with him,” Andrew finished. Eugene scowled. “That’s right! We won’t! He doesn’t realize we’re grown men now. Hell, we fought a war! He had his time to run around, now he’s getting old, and he still has the kids to think about. Why we should be tied down to him?” Andrew and Leon looked at Gene and they knew he was speaking the truth. The war had changed them. Now they needed to lead their own lives.

(Anaya, 1999, p.69-70)

Antonio got an empty feeling when he saw his brothers, he did not feel that they were like they used to before they went for war. The way Eugene spoke with cursing and the views that his brothers had for the future were all different from Antonio‟s. The understanding that Antonio got so far was

positioned oppositely to his brothers. Although Antonio still would not know whether he followed his mother or father‟s dream, but he did not want to

betray the hope his parents had for him. Antonio saw that his brothers would rather follow their own wants than followed their parents‟.

“I mean papa’s dream about moving to California, and mama’s wanting us to settle along the valley —“ he said. They looked at each other uneasily. All their lives they had lived with the dreams of their father and mother haunting them, like they haunted me.

“Hell, Andy,” Gene said softly, “we can’t build our lives on their dreams. We’re men, Andy, we’re not boys any longer. We can’t be tied down to old dreams —“ “Yeah,” Andrew answered, “I guess inside I know you’re right,” I felt very sad when he said that. “And, they still have Tony,” Gene said and looked at me. “Tony will

be her priest,” he laughed. “Tony will be her farmer,” Leon added.

shouted.

(Anaya, 1999, p.71)

The excerpt above shows the refusal of Antonio‟s brother to follow the dreams of their parents. In other words, they thought that Antonio was the one to make their parents dream come true to cherish the cultures and way of life

of the Chicanos. In contrast, Antonio‟s brothers felt free and got more freedom to continue the life of their own. The desire of Antonio‟s brothers to pursue their own life illustrates the conflict between two aspirations surrounding Antonio. On the other hand, there is the aspiration to live for new opportunities in America, to be free from tradition; and on the other hand, the wishes of the parents to make their children keepers of the old values. Even

though Antonio also felt haunted by his parents‟ dream, he did not want to make them sad.