Borderlands

While reading this chapter named The Homeland, Aztlan gave me two different perspectives on what the border means to both Chicanos and Americans. In the beginning, the poem was extremely creative when describing simple items. The wind is described as tugging at their sleeves and feet sinking into the sand as if describing quicksand or the idea of being swallowed whole by the land itself. However, other personification examples are more violent and give gruesome imagery as to what Gloria Anzaldua is trying to show us. Zoomorphism also appears a lot in the two opening pages. Going further into the reading the view as to what the border meant to Chicanos shows how savage the "gringos" are seen in the Chicanos eyes and how privileged they are. By describing the history of what occurred in the eyes of the Chicanos the reader is able to see the perspective of being invaded and being kicked out of your homeland by trespassers. Later for you to be seen as a trespasser in a land that once was your home. Furthermore, it tells on how Chicanos had to mate with these new trespassers because of their will to survive from smallpox, measles, and types. However, midway through the chapter, there is a flipped perspective and a new narrative comes along that gives the perspective of how it is in textbooks. The next half of the chapter is whitewashed and seen the conquest as a thing that benefits America and also slightly benefits Chicanos that needed work. Towards the end, the whitewashed version began to seem better for the Chicanos especially when it came to the book published with the mother's recipe for enchiladas and the pride that came with that kind of achievement. The borderlands that are made up of wire fences will change after time but will forever be seen as the thing that keeps Chicanos in a place of disadvantage.