Contemporary Fiction

This week's reading explores contemporary fiction. It deals with authors Toni Morrison, Leslie Marmon Silko, and Sandra Cisneros, to name a few. Their stories, like the contemporary poetry, are bold in both style and subject matter. My personal favorite from this selection is "Woman Hollering Creek" by Sandra Cisneros. Cisneros writes in English, but her style incorporates certain Spanish words and phrases into her work. A few examples are "en el otro lado," "farmacia," "burro," and "arroyo." The efect is that her work is very regional, in the sense that we never forget Cisneros's background. However, her subject matter--gender inequality--is so universal that it is not limited to any particular region.

Her work differs from other writing about gender discrimination in that it takes a very informal approach. That is, her language is conversational rather than flowery. Cisneros creates an image of a woman holding the "bloody fork she used to salvage her good name"--a reference to an abortion--describes her husband as a "man who farts and belches and snores," and says that the flowers are so red that they appear to be "bleeding a thick menstrual color." Before this contemporary period, literature focusing on women's rights did not take such a vulgar tone. But I believe the point of this period we are in is to challenge convention, to do something that has not been done before, and Cisneros accomplishes that.

The story has a happy ending: Cleofilas escapes her abusive husband in a pick-up (not some "pussy car," Cisneros says) and experiences cathartic laugher as she crosses Woman Hollering Creek--a symbolic name because not many places in the area are named after women. Cleofilas succeeds in fleeing from her inferior position in the relationship, therefore Cisneros succeeds as a women's rights advocate. I like her style because she empowers women to take a stand without presenting an angry critique of males in general and without glorifying women to the point that they almost appear on a higher pedestal than men. Her work is fresh and that is a nice change of pace from the classic literature to which our society gives so much importance.