Comparison of the Theme and Conflict Presented in “Class” and “Never Marry a Mexican” In the stories, “Class” by Sherman Alexie, and “Never Marry a Mexican” by Sandra Cisneros, both of the main characters struggle with an internal conflict of accepting who they are, and their heritage. The problems both Edgar and Clemencia are challenged with in their daily lives are results of them both trying to be someone they are not. The conflict presented through the main characters in each story is a main theme in each. One of the predominant themes in each story is the struggle of accepting who you are and where you belong. Both Edgar and Clemencia deal with similar conflicts of accepting who they are and, their heritage. The first conflict Edgar
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Both Edgar and Clemencia have a parent, which in this case is their mothers, that influences the way they think about who they are and their background. They struggle between being proud of where they came from and denying where they came from. In “Class”, Edgars mother, in Edgars perspective, thinks his mother isn’t proud that she is Native- American. When she realizes Edgar is going to marrying a white woman, she is ecstatic because thinks through the line of generations, “simple mathematics would kill the Indian”(1353) in them. Edgar thinks killing the Indian heritage in their family name is important to his mother because she doesn’t tell people her real heritage when they ask. Edgar’s mother not accepting who she truly is can be confusing for Edgar while he is trying to accept who he is. He cannot decide if he thinks being a Native-American is a good thin, or a bad thing. He shows these mixed feelings when he says, “I’d told a number of women I was Aztec…that gave me some mystery…a history of glorious color”(1353). He says this right after he talks about his mother not accepting whom she is, which makes him question who he truly is. Edgar’s confusion about if he should accept his heritage compares with …show more content…
In “Class”, Edgar is trying to fit in when he visits a local Indian bar. Edgar went to the Indian bar because he is having conflicts with his wife, which is interesting because it shows that when he feels like he doesn’t fit in at his life at home, he goes away to try to fit in at a different place. Edgar tells the bartender that he just wants to be, “with my [his] people” (1362) even though he is nothing like those people. In most of Sherman Alexie’s writing, he says he “intends to defy the stereotype of poor, illiterate American Indians…to get away from the model of the dysfunctional Indian” (Cline 201). Edgar going to the bar, and getting in a fight is Alexie trying to get away from the stereotype of urban Indians. After the fight, when Junior yells to Edgar, “just get into your BMW…drive back to your fucking mansion…or whatever white neighborhood you live in…and read some fucking Teletubbies to your white fucking kids”(1359). Edgar is stereotyping the people in the bar while the people in the bar were stereotyping him. Edgar wants the best of both worlds in this part of his life; he wants to fit in with people from the same heritage as well as fit in without paying attention to his heritage. This is comparable to Clemencia’s situation because she is also dealing with the struggle of distinguishing whom she is trying to be, and
Both Edgar and Clemencia have a parent, which in this case is their mothers, that influences the way they think about who they are and their background. They struggle between being proud of where they came from and denying where they came from. In “Class”, Edgars mother, in Edgars perspective, thinks his mother isn’t proud that she is Native- American. When she realizes Edgar is going to marrying a white woman, she is ecstatic because thinks through the line of generations, “simple mathematics would kill the Indian”(1353) in them. Edgar thinks killing the Indian heritage in their family name is important to his mother because she doesn’t tell people her real heritage when they ask. Edgar’s mother not accepting who she truly is can be confusing for Edgar while he is trying to accept who he is. He cannot decide if he thinks being a Native-American is a good thin, or a bad thing. He shows these mixed feelings when he says, “I’d told a number of women I was Aztec…that gave me some mystery…a history of glorious color”(1353). He says this right after he talks about his mother not accepting whom she is, which makes him question who he truly is. Edgar’s confusion about if he should accept his heritage compares with …show more content…
In “Class”, Edgar is trying to fit in when he visits a local Indian bar. Edgar went to the Indian bar because he is having conflicts with his wife, which is interesting because it shows that when he feels like he doesn’t fit in at his life at home, he goes away to try to fit in at a different place. Edgar tells the bartender that he just wants to be, “with my [his] people” (1362) even though he is nothing like those people. In most of Sherman Alexie’s writing, he says he “intends to defy the stereotype of poor, illiterate American Indians…to get away from the model of the dysfunctional Indian” (Cline 201). Edgar going to the bar, and getting in a fight is Alexie trying to get away from the stereotype of urban Indians. After the fight, when Junior yells to Edgar, “just get into your BMW…drive back to your fucking mansion…or whatever white neighborhood you live in…and read some fucking Teletubbies to your white fucking kids”(1359). Edgar is stereotyping the people in the bar while the people in the bar were stereotyping him. Edgar wants the best of both worlds in this part of his life; he wants to fit in with people from the same heritage as well as fit in without paying attention to his heritage. This is comparable to Clemencia’s situation because she is also dealing with the struggle of distinguishing whom she is trying to be, and