In This Culture

In this Culture

Gary Soto and Cathy Song, the authors of Black Hair and Lost Sister, along with so many other ethnic backgrounds in the United States have had to come to terms with their culture. Living in America, it’s hard to think outside the box because of stereotypes and pre-dispositions. In order to find you’re self and come to terms with who you are as a person apposed to what the rest of the world may view you as, you have to approach the stereotypes head on and grow from them. Both of the speakers in Black Hair and Lost Sister has had to recognize the short comings of their culture to be accepted and grow in the American Culture.

Gary Soto was born in a third-generation Mexican American family in Fresno, California (Criticism 368). He was first inspired by Robert Creeley’s anthology The New American Poetry and began to attend workshops with poet Philip Levine, who mostly wrote about urban living (Criticism 368). Even as a young boy Mr. Soto has recognized two totally different cultures in his life. Most of Mr. Soto’s poetry documents his life growing up as a Chicano in California. In most of his poetry he emphasizes on the typical Mexican American life- such as the “frustration over discrimination and limited opportunities and the appreciation of Hispanic culture (Criticism 368).”

In Black Hair, the young narrator talks about his childhood or immediate life. The speaker is infatuated with baseball and idolizes Hector Moreno, a fellow Mexican American who broke barriers when he became a professional baseball player; becoming the symbol of hope and new opportunities for his fellow Mexican Americans. “I came here because I was a Mexican, a stick of brown light in love with those who could do it (Legacies 148).” This excerpt tells us that he didn’t only come to the game because he loves baseball, but that a Mexican was playing, and that he was supporting