Cisneros, Sandra (1992). Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories. New York: Vintage Books. 165 pp.

Grade Range: 10-12

Genre: short stories

Summary and Critique

Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories is a collection of short stories told through Latina voices on both sides of the U.S. - Mexico border. The stories deal with a range of topics, from a young girl's thoughts and reflections on friendship, family, and growing up in "My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn," "Eleven," and "Mericans" to the more mature reflections on love and relationships in stories such as "Woman Hollering Creek," "Remember the Alamo," and "Never Marry a Mexican." Cisneros constructs her characters as subjects of experience; each story takes on a distinct voice to represent the age, location, and condition of its narrator and its characters. Yet the collection is unified by the culturally, regionally, and socio-historically located voices that Cisneros creates through her often informal, always fluid prose.

Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories addresses the Latina experience in mature and sometimes explicit ways. The collection is divided into three sections: "I. My Lucy Friend Who Smells Like Corn," "II. One Holy Night," and " III. There Was a Man, There Was a Woman." The stories comprising the first section maintain a younger voice. The stories deal with complex issues but are generally appropriate for high school readers. The second and third sections are written with more mature perspectives and voices. Stories in these sections deal with subjects such as adult familial and sexual relationships, sexuality and sexual orientation, as well as domestic abuse and domestic violence. These stories may, however, find an audience among older, more mature twelfth-grade readers. In any case, teachers must exercise careful judgment in selecting stories from Woman Hollering Creek for classroom use.

Themes/Topics

Families

Friends and Enemies

Generations

Race, Ethnicity, and Culture

Challenges and Triumphs

The Individual vs. Society

Love, Sex, and Romance

Author Information

Though born in Chicago in 1954, Sandra Cisneros, her six brothers, and their parents divided their time between Mexico City and Chicago. She has earned both a B.A. and an M.F.A. from Loyola University of Chicago and University of Iowa's Writer's Workshop, respectively. In addition to writing, she has also taught at the Latino Youth Alternative High School been a minority student counselor at Loyola.

For more information on Sandra Cisneros:

http://www.lasmujeres.com/sandracisneros/ Biographical information, a book review, and related links.

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/poets/a_f/cisneros/bio.htm Biographical information.

http://www.sandracisneros.com/home.html Biographical information, a bibliography, interviews, reviews, and study guides for her works.

Media Connections

Movies

My Family/Mi Familia (1995) – Explores the struggles and triumphs of three generations of a Mexican-American family, beginning with one man's emigration from Mexico to Los Angeles in the 1930s and concluding with his descendants in the 1990s.

El Norte (1983) The story of a brother and sister pair who leave their Guatemalan village to make a new life in Los Angeles.

Arab Diaries, Part 2: Youth (2001) Looks at the dilemmas of young women in three Arab countries.

Becoming American: The Chinese Experience (2003) A three-part PBS special hosted by Bill Moyers about Chinese immigration to America.

Boyz N the Hood (1991) Three friends in a violent South Central Los Angeles neighborhood approach their similar lives in very different ways.

Chicano! History of the Mexican-American Civil Rights Movement (1996) A documentary covering the Mexican-American community's fight for equal rights in America.

Gandhi. (1982). Explores the life of Mahatma Gandhi, a man determined to make India a better place through the use of nonviolent resistance.

The Joy Luck Club (1993) Explores the lives of four Chinese women and their relationships with their four Chinese-American daughters.

Selena (1997) Set in south Texas, Selena focuses on the life and eventual murder of Latin music star Selena.

Soul Food (1997) Explores such issues as modern life versus tradition, a matriarchal family, loss of loved ones, and the African American experience.

Online Resources

http://www.texasescapes.com/TexasFolklore/WomanHolleringCreek/WomanHolleringCreek.htm Provides information regarding Woman Hollering Creek in Guadalupe County, Texas. Gives a brief overview of the legend of La Llorona. Makes no mention of Sandra Cisneros; however, does provide a short bibliography of Texas writers' various versions of the legend.

http://www.enotes.com/woman-hollering/ Insightful literary information about the stories in Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories.

http://voices.cla.umn.edu/newsite/index.htm Information about women writers of color.

http://www.english.uiuc.edu/maps/index.htm Contains biographical, bibliographical, and critical information and essays on Sandra Cisneros' with a focus on her poetry. The site also serves as a center for similar information on other modern American poets.

http://acunix.wheatonma.edu/rpearce/MultiC_Web/Authors/Sandra_Cisneros/body_sandra_cisneros.html An interview with Sandra Cisneros by Reed Dasenbrock concerning her use of Spanish in her writing.

Related Texts

Cisneros, Sandra. (1983). House on Mango Street. Houston: Arte Publico Press. 103pp. Esperanza describes her life in a poor Latino neighborhood in Chicago.

Morrison, Lillian (Ed). (2001). More Spice Than Sugar: Poems about Feisty Females. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. 80pp. A short anthology of poems about heroic, inspiring, and strong women.

Mohr, Nicholasa. (1986). El Bronx Remembered. New York, NY: HarperTrophy. 272pp. A series of vignettes about life in a Puerto Rican community in South Bronx.

Carlson, Lori. & Ventura, Cynthia. (1990). Where Angels Glide at Dawn: New Stories from Latin America. New York, NY: HarperTrophy. 114pp. Short stories about various aspects of life in Latin American countries.

Soto, Gary. (1995). Canto Familiar. San Diego: Harcourt Brace. Ill. Annika Nelson. 75 pp. 25 poems beautifully-illustrated poems celebrating a Mexican-American childhood.

Bunting, Eve. (1996). Going Home. New York: Harper Collins. Ill. David Diaz. 32 pp. Colorful story of a Mexican-American family of farm laborers who return to Mexico for the holidays.

Hopkins, Lee Bennett. (1994). Hand in Hand: An American History through Poetry. New York: Simon and Schuster. 144 pp. Poetry about the history of the United States, as well as about the various groups who have inhabited this country.

Alarcon, Francisco X. (1997). Laughing Tomatoes and Other Spring Poems/Jitomates Risuenos y Otro Poemas de Primavera. Children's Press. 32 pp. Short poems presented in both English and Spanish.

Gillan, Maria M. and Jennifer Gillan, eds. (1994). Growing Up Ethnic in America: Contemporary Prose About Learning to be American. New York: Penguin/Putnam. 374pp. A variety of short stories about children from various cultures growing up in America.

Frosch, Mary, ed. (1994). Coming of Age in America: A Multicultural Anthology. Forward by Gary Soto. New Press, 266 pp. Explores the coming of age experience for a diverse body of teenagers in contemporary America.

Teaching Ideas

(1) "Legend of La Llorona" The short story "Woman Hollering Creek" is set in Seguin, Texas where the actual Woman Hollering Creek runs under Interstate 10, north of San Antonio. The origin of the creek's name is often associated with the legend of La Llorona, the spirit of a woman who is said to haunt the area. Have older students do internet research on the many versions of the legend of La Llorona. Students might also read some contemporary writers' versions of the legend. Have students revisit Cisneros' story with an eye toward considering how their understandings of "Woman Hollering Creek" might be shaped or changed by their understandings of the legend of La Llorona. Questions for discussion, consideration, or writing guides: Why might Cisneros have chosen the title "Woman Hollering Creek" for her story? What does a deeper understanding of the story's setting and title add to your understanding of "Woman Hollering Creek"?

[Idea adapted from Paul E. Turtola's "A Three Week Unit Plan" utilizing Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street.]

(2) "Cisneros's House" In 1997, Sandra Cisneros found herself the center of great controversy in San Antonio, Texas. Cisneros had her home in San Antonio's historic King William District painted purple with turquoise trim. Other residents in the King William District as well as the neighborhood's residential code committee demanded that Cisneros repaint her house to comply with neighborhood standards. The controversy led to great debate in the San Antonio/South Texas area because of extensive media coverage and Cisneros' decision to publicly defend her choice of exterior color scheme. Have students read newspaper accounts and editorials of Cisneros' battle to keep her house purple. Encourage students to critically engage the debate as it relates to issues of culture, conflict, and tradition. Older students might also read stories such as Cisneros' "Mericans" to gain a deeper understanding of Cisneros' perspective on cultural difference and marginalization. A good news article to begin with: June Naylor Rodriguez "San Antonio Debates Sandra Cisneros' Violet Victorian" San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio, Texas. October 6, 1997.

News articles will likely need to be gathered by the teacher and provided for students. Check newspaper archives in local public and university libraries. The San Antonio Express-News has an online subscription archive service available (for information go to <http://www.mysanantonio.com/, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click on "Archives").

(Review written by Justin Glowney and edited by Jennifer E. Moore)