By:
Caryn Collins
En Artes del Lenguaje en Inglés, los estudiantes siguen fortaleciendo su comunidad literaria. Con nuestros objetivos literarios firmemente establecidos, leímos la novela
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano (
La revolución de Evelyn Serrano) de Sonia Manzano (nuestro texto compañero a la novela
La casa en Mango Street leída en la clase de Artes del Lenguaje en Español). Los estudiantes navegaron por el territorio desconocido del ensayo analítico con esta novel, sorprendiéndose a sí mismos con su trabajo tan sólido. A continuación les ofrezco el ensayo ejemplar de Sylvia Fresco.
Sylvia Fresco
October 1st, 2014
Analysis Essay: The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano
The novel
The Revolution of Evelyn Serrano is an exceptional
representation of what it means to grow up and how to find one’s
identity. In the book, the author, Sonia Manzano tells the story of
Evelyn Serrano, a fourteen year old Puerto Rican living in “El Barrio,”
New York. Based on the early chapters, it seems as though Evelyn’s
biggest goal is to do anything her mother disagrees with, working at the
local five and dime, hiking her skirt up, and most importantly,
supporting the Young Lords.
The Young Lords were a real group of college students in Chicago and New
York who fought for equality during the Civil Rights Movement. Mami,
the name the narrator and protagonist, Evelyn, uses to refer to her
mother, and Pops, her stepfather, both agree primarily that the Young
Lords are a group of crazy hippies. Evelyn and her grandmother, whom she
met for the first time in the third chapter of this book, think that
the Young Lords are just what their neighborhood needs. Throughout this
book, Manzano shows readers that to maintain individualism with social
pressure around, people should try to understand their own opinions
before fighting for any cause.
Social pressure is always around, often making it hard to discover one’s
identity; this is no different for Evelyn Serrano. Evelyn is unsure who
she is, but she is certain she isn’t her mother. Therefore, she tries
to disagree with everything her mother does. Evelyn thinks Mami’s taste
in decor is horrendous, “Did my mother really think those tacky flowers
looked good against her greasy turquoise walls?” (Manzano 3). One
Sunday, Evelyn refuses to go to church, for her church was something her
mother loved.
When the Young Lords first appear in the book, readers might be able to
correctly predict that Evelyn will support them. Before she even knows
who they are, and what they’re fighting for, Evelyn is interested. In
the same amount of time after seeing them, Mami thinks they’re stupid
youngsters. Abuela is helping out the college students and is
encouraging Evelyn to do the same. Mami, who doesn’t see eye to eye with
her mother on anything, is persuading Evelyn to stay clear of the
street sweepers. ¨`Ignoring them will not make them go away’¨ (Manzano
97) Abuela says this to Mami regarding the Young Lords. However, this
can be true in many situations. While already facing social pressure,
Evelyn Serrano is suddenly facing pressure to conform within her own
house.
Going through the adolescent years is never easy, especially for Evelyn
who is trying to forget her heritage while fighting for equality with
and for Puerto Ricans. Due to society’s consistent reminders that we
must be unique individuals, as well as society’s tendency to group
people together based on just about any physical feature they may
posses, Evelyn struggles to conjure an identity that will satisfy her
needs while also presenting her as an admirable person. Evelyn has
always resented that she had to endure the ignominy of living in
impoverished and malodorous East Harlem. However, when she sees it
featured in the newspaper after the Young Lords burn garbage to protest
the uncleanliness of the neighborhood, her remorse vanishes. “I could
barely believe it. People had noticed East Harlem. We were in the
newspaper.” (Manzano 75) This demonstrates that despite Evelyn Serrano’s
resilient attempts to hate “the
El Barrio fart smell of
garbage,” (Manzano 9), she not only wants to live in a sanitary place,
but also, in supporting the Young Lords, she becomes proud of her
heritage as a Puerto Rican. Evelyn realizes that she is special the way
she is and doesn’t have to change her name from the popular Rosa to the
less popular Evelyn, or disobey her mother. Once she understands what
the Young Lords are fighting for, she can help fight with them and
contribute her own stories and experiences to inspire more people.
Evelyn struggles with but is still able to maintain her individualism,
even though society is trying to make her conform. At first, Evelyn
likes the group because her mother didn’t. However, when she discovers
that they are giving free food, medical tests, and clothing to those in
need, both Mami and she start to fight with the Young Lords, because
they too want to help achieve equality for Puerto Ricans. ¨But I guess a
revolution has come to
El Barrio.¨ (Manzano 80). A revolution
did come, with newscasters and famous people coming to the Methodist
church in East Harlem. Abuela tells Evelyn horrific stories of her life
in Puerto Rican when the police shot innocent people because they had
different opinions, but it’s getting better for Puerto Ricans in New
York and Puerto Rico, slowly but surely. Listening to stories from
people around her and stories of her past, Evelyn becomes able to piece
together her identity and learn who she really is.
People are struggling with what Evelyn faced everyday, and it’s never
easy. If they were to ask Sonia Manzano how she thinks they can maintain
their individualism with constant social pressure hitting them back and
forth like a ping pong ball, she would most likely remind them that
they must understand what they’re fighting for before choosing a side.