Quiz Waiting for Snow in Havana
Posted by: zbergs93 on: May 29, 2009
-
List three conflicts:
- The conflict between Carlos’ parents over what to do with the kids to protect them. Carlos’ father wants them to remain in Cuba, and his mother wants to send them to America. Since Carlos’ mother prevails, his father plays no role in organizing their trip to America, which is something Carlos resents his father for to this day.
- Carlos dealing with life in America. In Cuba, Carlos is at the top of the racial hierarchy, wealth, and has his parents there to protect him. When he moves to America, he is at the bottom of the racial hierarchy and is very poor. He has to grow up and “become a man” quicker then he would have had to in Cuba because he has no parents with him in America. This is shown when Carlos is molested by a man in a bathroom shortly before he departs to America. This makes him realize that he will be on his own in America. When his mother finally arrives in America three years later, Carlos is only 14 years old, yet he is capable of living on his own and it is his brother and he who care for their mom.
- Carlos punching one of Batista’s chief henchman’s sons. Carlos gets in a fight with a bully at school who is the son of one of President Batista’s chief henchmen. Carlos punches him in the temple and the bully cries. Carlos apologizes and becomes worried that his family will be taken away because he has heard that President Batista makes people disappear. Fortunately, nothing ever happens to Carlos’ family and this bully does not bother him anymore.
-
Three motifs:
- Cuba and America: Adjusting to life in America, particularly Chicago, is difficult for Carlos. He has to adapt to being the subject of racism and living in poor conditions. In Cuba, when things were going bad for Carlos, he always had the beauty and warmth of “paradise” to make him feel better. In Chicago, it is cold and windy so he is never able to get a relief from his problems.
- Physical things being taken away: During Batista’s regime, Carlos notes that he does not realize that the world is changing because men being shot against a wall and children being removed from class are not very influential to a child because nothing is physically being taken away from him. Carlos realizes that the world is changing when Castro gains power and Carlos cannot go to see movies and do many other leisure activities with his friends and family.
- Love and anger for his father: Carlos admires and loves his dad very much. He enjoys going to see his father in a courtroom and relishes when he takes him to buy cohetes (firecrackers) and car surfing. His true love for his father is displayed when he and his brother get in trouble for shooting a lady in the butt with a peashooter and his father scolds them, but Carlos notes that it was more sad than angry because he was aware that this would be one of the last times it happens. That being said, when he gets to America he feels much hatred towards his father because he feels his dad was not carrying out his duty to protect his children at all costs.
-
One major and one minor theme:
- Freedom: Through the memoir, we see Carlos’ freedom in Cuba disintegrate. After Castro takes power, Carlos begins to see life change in contrast to when Batista was in power, he did not notice that the world was changing because everything remained the same. Also, unlike America, in Cuba there are fewer restrictions on life. In Cuba you can do things such as buy fireworks, shoot guns, etc. that would be illegal in America.
- Good and evil: Carlos contrasts things that he finds evil and things that he finds good in places that are often related. He says how happy and merry the world was when he was drunk at Chachi’s aunt’s wedding but that when he sits at the dinner table facing her house and when he dreams of Jesus, everything is scary and miserable. This also includes the contrast between his lives in America and Cuba, which are separate just because of a new regime in Cuba. Another example is his fear of sharks in a swimming pool, which makes him embarrassed but also leads him to his wife, who shares the same fear.
-
Choose two moments that are surprising how he is describing that particular memory:
- Carlos’ memories with his “gang:” Carlos enjoys recalling times he had with his gang shooting guns, throwing breadfruit, taunting Blackie, blowing up lizards, and shooting fireworks. As a child he was unaware of the danger he put himself in and as an adult, his memories of the exploding tin can is one memory that helps him realize how lucky he was to avoid harm many times. This relates to the theme of freedom in Cuba because these would be completely restricted in America. When he is in America, he hates Castro for taking these times away and wishes he could return to his Cuban paradise where he is free of worry and able to do as he pleases.
- Carlos’ memory with his grandfather when he goes to see Castro: When Carlos and his grandfather go to see Castro at a communist rally, Carlos notes that Castro is just a little spec and he cannot comprehend how such a little spec will change his world completely. The men that he is killing against the wall still make no difference for him because he does not actually see it. When Carlos notes that his cousin was imprisoned by Castro and how things such as movies were taken away from him because of Castro, he relates this to how this is the last time he was able to hold his grandfather’s hand because of just that tiny spec.
-
Forgiveness:
- The theme of Carlos’ lack of forgiveness appears when Carlos is recalling memories of his parents arguing over what to do with the kids. Carlos is forever grateful towards his mother for organizing his journey to America, but he does not and never will understand why his father did not help at all. He believes that parents should do whatever they can to protect their children and that is why he will never comprehend why his father did not help more. He resents his father for this and shows this by changing his last name to his mother’s maiden name. Another time this happens is Carlos’ hatred of Fidel Castro. After Carlos comes to America, he wishes he could return to Cuba as it was before Castro, but because of Castro, he now suffers from poverty and loneliness in America. He says he will never forgive Castro for this.
Advertisement
Like this:
Be the first to like this post.
Recent Comments