Content Category
Literary Criticism
Abstract/Description
In this paper, I write about various border crossings that shape the lives of the characters in Sandra Cisneros’ book, Caramelo. These crossings include the physical border between Mexico and the United States, cultural borders between the two countries, mental borders, and Nepantla (where the characters are stuck between two borders and given the chance to gain power through their presence in both cultures simultaneously). I argue that the main character and narrator of the book, Celaya, discovers who she is and becomes a blueprint for other Mexican-Americans crossing this same border as she herself crosses these various borders in an attempt to come to terms with her Mexican culture and American home.
Copyright and Licensing of My Content
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Origin of Submission
as part of a class
Faculty Involvement
Trent Hickman
The Power of Identity Forged Through Border Crossing
In this paper, I write about various border crossings that shape the lives of the characters in Sandra Cisneros’ book, Caramelo. These crossings include the physical border between Mexico and the United States, cultural borders between the two countries, mental borders, and Nepantla (where the characters are stuck between two borders and given the chance to gain power through their presence in both cultures simultaneously). I argue that the main character and narrator of the book, Celaya, discovers who she is and becomes a blueprint for other Mexican-Americans crossing this same border as she herself crosses these various borders in an attempt to come to terms with her Mexican culture and American home.