Biography

• Sandra Cisneros is an American writer and poet.
• She is one of seven children (only daughter).
• She was born on December 20, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois but she currently lives in San Antonio, Texas.
• Sandra received numerous awards including the Mac Arthur Foundation Fellowship and Texas Medal of the Arts.
• Sandra writes extensively about the Latina experience in the U.S.
• She is best known for “The House on Mango Street” (1984)- the novel tells a story of a young Latina woman coming of age in Chicago. It sold 2 million copies.
• In September 2016, President Barack Obama presented Cisneros with a National Medal of Art. At the ceremony President Obama said Cisneros was being honored “for enriching the American narrative through her novels, short stories, and poetry. She explores issues of race, class, and gender through the lives of ordinary people straddling multiple cultures. As an educator, she has deepened our understanding of American identity.”

In the short story Women Hollering Creek by Sandra Cisneros, the author focuses on the women being oppressed in society. The women in the novel seems to have no real status in society and in their home. Their husbands are their center of responsibilities. They’re not seen as important as the men. The story showed how the world was before women were empowered and had a voice. Feminism played a part in this story when the main character Cleofilas gained the strength and courage to leave her husband despite societal norms. The short story was an interesting piece I enjoyed reading it and I was happy Cleofilas was able to get out of her abusive situation.

Questions about Women Hollering Creek

• Do you think becoming a mother changed Cleofilas perspective on her situation in Women Hollering Creek?
• Do you think the husband behavior is justifiable?
• Did you predict her leaving? Why/Why not? Do you agree with her decision to leave?

Reflection

I believe I did a great job on finding the information on the biography. I think I needed to discuss more about the author’s writing and techniques. I could’ve elaborated more about what I liked and did not like about the story.  I found my questions to be valid as it relates to the story. Overall the in-class presentation was a decent experience. I was able to do my presentation, asked the questions, the class answered, and we discussed the answers.