7 Ideologies of the Self Chicano Autobiography ‘Astobiogrphy has along, dstingushed history a a narrative form. ‘Beeause of ts Mstrcalvaility from the classical er though ‘Augustine the Nid Ages, and Romaatlcs, and onto ee mod. ‘emerson might well se autobiography and is discourse to chart the historical cultural, and psychological factor ssrrounding the ‘evelopment ofan ideology ofthe sell But aie tom ts store autograph i of immense ners o stents of literature 38 alarm eal bec ihe alates ral ical tines space what Rakin bs clled the "hronoeon Ha Wi thelr copay to articulate hstrcal time a opece ‘nested dscourse—espcilly discourse ofthe Kind that has come to be known since che wetings of Benjamin, Adorno, andthe res of the Frankfurt School a cularal entcism~-works of contemporary futeiogzphy can have special relevance to erry theorist: Prom this theorecal perspective autebography can be used to advance ‘cial aude toward stil sstintons, ming what sem a Snhereny private form of dacourse onto the pubic social wor, ‘his carp the part of autobiography to dhe socal would makes it fa discoutee uch with the kands of quetions pertinent to tadent of Tiere, xtc, nd cultorl sien ‘Because of fundamental eto themes of elf and history, sell and pce it 6 nt surprising that auesbiophy i de fora hat Stores of emergent ral ethnic and gender consciousness have ‘often taken in the Unitel States and dsewiere. One thinks, for Instance, of the powerful infuence on self-definition thet books ‘such as those of Fedeick Douglas, Malcolm X, Claude Brown, and ‘Maxine Hong Kingston have ad. Grams har ne poaned oat that Chicano Ansabiogzephy 155 setbiogap canbe cnet patcty* One knows tone’ ie Sila 6 tht ofa tama as, Dt Uh “ane hd ep fies thatthe thowend caer ely oul hott dwt he By tating one ress ths posi, ogee the pote, iets he Spenng: Abierto replace the plea ot pice ‘Suny User! ton wht eerie edd ipl hoa ‘gap cranly has reat hte au ia ht aoe ein ston hota vin lp shal (tons ‘Speaking of « particular kindof politic atchiogaphy, Michae 1M. J, Bacher urhers Gramse's pointy ootng that eta autobio- Eine an Sana a eal ern ee modern ir he TBeres of techie” bifoelty ‘or reciprocity. of persperties jaxtapstoning of mulspe real ‘es, ntertextuaiy aint ferent sod comparison thu families of resemblance” 1986, 230. Tits canon Chicsno literature chugs books that ae either set sutobiogzaphical, uch ae Villareal Poco, Acosta The Autobiog tah ofayBrown Buffalo and The Revolt ofthe Cockeoach People| sn fsbella Rios’ View, of specitealy.autcbiogsaphical, st ‘sth two work tobe discussed in this chapter Emesto Gare’ Borro,Boy: The Story of Boys Aecultratn 97s] and Richard Rodrigues fungr of Memory: Th Edvcation of Richard Rodrigues {198a} A comparison of these eo works will be instructive, provi ssigcntnset no eat amcor dare ool icp aes l= logis that have ken Calan lve. thav alent owl ave ome uno rie-oBvei ile wil issn mae wan) 1 begin with this pasage from Richard Rodiguers autobiography ‘athe than with Erpestg alara’s work n pat becae eats ae ‘puch me iely ce lam fh Rodgers work than ith lara, Rodriguez autehiography as been reviewed favorably _rerywheie fom dt Village Votce Mazin i980 the Las Angee ‘Tims (Miles 198] apd secon fom fare now ehologized in practically ll sew cllege freshman etaposition course readers in this éountey. Rodriguez has become in the span of fe year’ tne ‘the voice of Hispanie Americ” a8 siete by his many sort “ jv356 Weologies ofthe Slt ticles on varity of opis and in vaio publlslons, such 8 ‘een onein the Wall Stet urna on langurg policy, and another {in Mother ones on imgeation policy "The allusion in Rodrguer'intodortory seteace is ofcourse to ‘he Tempest, one of Shakespeare's final plays apd often helt be ‘the most auteographical of his works In The Tempest, Prosper, unjustly deposed as Duke of Mian by his treacherous brother, Ba Insel exfed titan andtrange end Prospero there states ‘ew kingdom, peopled only by himsel his daughter Miranda, Ail, # spn who commands 3 submissive crew of oc! spits, and at the boo of his weird socal espa halen hall monster named Caliban. Prospero desires to revenge himself against is brother and to regan hs crown. Caliban desies ony to erp Prospero aad fe {ain his homeland Ih teadionalredies, Caliban ie taken ax Shakespeare's version of the "natural" man, a version of Moaesgne’s “anna” the nots ‘noble savage, whom society and culture must discipline and tame From thie perspective, Calan is ot entirely a negative igure [Shakespeare hatly ever creates one-dimensional characters) Ak 8 Child a nature, Calin sed wo show oe civilized men and worn ‘what i unnaorl in our own domesticated lives. Calon performs {poste funtion he good example, noter words af ou we, age nates which we ut controls fine rom the point ‘iw of Prospero and Miranda so ofa the good able people Wo ‘make chet way cough the enchanted isle But its not oo fine Hom Caliban’ pou of view. Bor Caliban ie rot so fortunate may be a man, to, bt he i also slave and Prospero has given him the wols to understand the far that he 8 slave ‘Yau tught me angus, and my ett Tho hw to eae ou The pla YU orleenng me yout lige!” wat ‘Unable to organize is own rebellion, Calihan goes out and finds ‘wandering the island the grey, drunken, shipwrecked Stephano to oitor him: "Bemy god" Calhan ells him, Sil, Caliban shrewdly Senses that rompers power comes from the force of hi language, his wrds, and Ms book adhe seo resizes that to sate in soe of Prospero power he needs “fet toposes hs book” ii ‘recely beemse of moments seh ar thie inthe play i aot surprising to find that Caliban has boen the focus of some of the CChlcano Autobiography 17 beat critical discussions of The Tempest by Tied Woeld scholars A ‘otable cas isan essay cued "Calibin’ by the eminent Cuban {theoreti Roberto Fomine Reta, Reams: sey the plight of ‘Shakespeare’ halfznan hale monster ax llegar Tare tat of the Third Work ProoperdnvedoP OF tt EMT our ancestor, ap to make himself understood ks, "What sour history, whats ‘our caltr, i oe the history an ele of Calla!” ake Retamat {24h Similan, Houston Baker, ells Caliban’ curse on Prospero 2 tmetacurée.* His utterance is met’ because ts semanties ae ‘narked by economies spled or xpi ob sceniy—they speak ‘against che sene of an inruder’s tongue. Not el? iscoery, ut the impessilty of ling anything other chan curse by language isthe sense of Calban's utterance" (e985, 99, ‘There are many links then betwen Shakespear's monster Cal. bun aed Rodsguc's autobiography ideas concsming the tara” ‘man, human monsters, education, language, paca power, ano forth But in the light of my concem herewith «culturly specie {ore of autobiography represented not ualy by Hunger of Memory but also by Galarza's Barrio oy, I sball restrict may comparative focus to what these works can tech uy either thro postive OF negative example about (autobiogapy, im general, (8) ee “El ‘ate and "publ ols of individuals aoe sade the power of Tenguage, tetris, and education at elements of pote ieslny. Heanger of Memory is an suobigrephy i the standard sense ofthe word tells the story of Richard Rodgues'joomey fom skal Aisadvantage co sci! aeeepance, from public ination to public integration fom working las Mexican America to middle white Ametics. Richards the som of medeaos who vetiedin Anglo ‘eighborhos in Sacramento, Californian he sos, They met ‘only limited hostility from their new neighbors and ae forthe most Pat simply ignored by them. The real probleme bapa for Rodrigues ‘nly when he begin his formal education atthe parochial Catho- lie schol. He fees himeel an onan lensed inthe eassroom, Midway through the fst school yes, tems fom the schol isi the Rodrguezes, wanting to know if they speak only Spanish home, The muns explain to Ms and Mr. Rodrigues thatthe" fal progsess" Richard and his brhess and sates are making school could be explained bythe fat tht the Roiguezes ate hot ‘practicing their English enough Richard ses this moment as ral I his life-trom dhe moment hat English ene the pve” world‘| f| eologies of che Salt {side the home, he well on his way to Becoming the assimilated “middle-class American man” (| who thst years ater wall write she story ois ie “Once Rodrigues learns a public lngusgs, he acquires + public ‘entity. Bat be realizes that in his tansformaton from the private ‘ets ofthe home-cenered Mextsn clauro to che public asi [iced man ofthe Anglo society be has lost something. Each words language bough out diferene emotions Spanish rated family ‘macy butalso puvoked shame and embarassment. English opened doors to society tenths rewards and cognitions, but loo vb ‘verted the famliys sense of intmacy His fe then becomes a en ‘us atempe to hol of these contacts, to scep thebeats of ‘le Menican-aess while rejecting its demands, unt he mus revo cay choose berweea them, ‘And choose he does He chooses with great enxery and precious sadness to reject the dualiy-of his werlng-ass ergs and is ‘middle cag msnner, he chooses to market his exintental ash (othe most eeepive aulence Imapinabe: the rig ving esis ment and the liberal academic intelligentsia His writings against, ‘lingual education because tis ahindance to the acess 03 "pub He languags) and sprinetsimacve action (bese e denigrate the athlevements of those who have made on their own met) Involves him, whether he admis i oe ot ins poll series © the Right. Rodriguez chooses fo assimilate without ever considering ‘whether ated by vil or merely submited t an unquestioned tander scheme of political ieclogy. In instance after insane, he ‘aphasize che asate spataion between the plate ad the ub Tic of mea and women the peony ofthe inivadal private ier self tver the social public utr sel Asa consequent be el ew Self eapable of fanctoning nly as an seated and pave inévidual, ‘eprved of any ongnioounetion wit has eine group, hs social ‘lass and ally even his own fly. He ia solitary may nde oes ‘ot fe himeet pare of the social whole. Privacy and isolation tuchis sential features, even when he faneionsin the fui arena, inthe role of what Rorigue ern the "publi individual” a. eee the same time, Rodeigue dos behave Like the public man, throughout the autobiography he fashions sec pieces which ae she admits shetoialy structed acts of centtion and ones! son, writen inthe form of public accountings. These moments of zculpation sre noe moments intimacy between the resder and the aucblogapher but rath, ar ke public apeogia atempung ta sabi egal nd mora js Bestion the public elf hes chose Chicano Antobioaphy 189 to be, As a result the Richard Rodsigue we come to know inthe sucbiogephy isles the Sone sees mane declares be wishes to present than the thetorcally highlighted, pully apologetic vice ft nterplay between the allegedly distinc private and publi selves ‘that the bok actually presents 1a this nconsntent interplay, how ‘re, npdaletic develops. Thus eventhough be sets his fe story ‘tnong the pola and historical events ofthe r9608 and x0708, ps ‘ate lf snot interpreted in the light of culerastorial events | [but ehe othe way sound, Socal and pliticl events gain meaning in Rodrigue’ lean because af thee connection ith his pvt lie "Now, this pivileging ofthe private viewpoint ir-ignifcany, but ‘ot, T woud sues, because autobiography hast be ether public ot prtate in purview. Autobiography is demensuably capable of en Fracing both psspecuves an puting them ito dialog, a we wil se when wernt Gale's ook n Rodrigue sory, ha pa Teping ofthe private i signe becaute of what happens tothe sumed binaty relationship between te “pivate’ and the “public” Sel: His vision reduces the interplay between these wo consUuLve Tuma realms eo the ove order ofthe private wold. The sect pola, histories word of bilingealedvetion and air ‘ve action is laminated only insole ae lates tohis private tte “The ssene ofthat world in self emuns thereor, peripheral the cenrl concer of his try. Tut eariuslyennagh, while be would deny social or political sig: niflance to his fea 2 private phenomenon end ste 150 onl 35 Sones ee tegen acumen ee en See Feel ee oe eee ee Sia eel on ube Soccer cere con Wiha ie cel Cece em at eel cer apa a ere sean a cree fo gh ecm fee Sa cent el gm see tty soca fb ed Petr eto ec ac ee ote i erated at Sat ce Sraercann et ik eee e WLx60 eclgies ofthe elt ce archetypal images is thus not surprising that when we ast fe Rodrigues he ie leaving the last upper of fail discontent a depressing Christmas fesst—aloe and aware of hs isla, ready to sulle for our calle, bingually eduested snd afiema ‘ely enacted sins, and equally ready tobe reborn asthe published futobiogeapber of assatd mide cae Mexican America, With Rodeiguer we ae now fr emoned fromthe para of the folk catid hero. His earatvepaadigms le elsewhere ‘As in Christian hagogapy, where we are given two basic images ‘of the individual chat ofthe sae Before reba that ofthe sane Ufa criss and rath, oid by amide period o ake, or po ‘aon trough slfering|iakhtin ro, 125-160 Roduguee’ ie sory is structured on the archetypal pattern of redemption, albeit in Rodrigue’ case, «secular redemption. His fe sory i thus not tec ina blogaphcal tine chat chronicles personal history in soc Iistory. As Bakhtin sys f the sais le" dept acs ony the ‘xceptcna, unusual moments hat are shoe compas tothe whole ‘ofa human life. Bu these moment spe the definitive image of the man, his essence, a5 well asthe natre of his ene subsequent life" (ag, 106 Beyond dese taoments that have shaped his de tiny, Rodriguez enters upon his blogaphical le aban essayist and sutcbiogeper ln every Hill indeed has his Caliban made man, ‘Contemporary scholarship onsutblogaphy sacha ha of Eliz. beth W. Brus (1976), Jtrey Mehlman (e974) Tames Oley (1973, 980, and Paul Jy (2984 shows What rom a oignal form in St. ‘Augustine's Confessions through Dante Vite Nuova, Rousseau Confessions and into nnetcenth: and twentotvcentary ste, _stobiograhy has tended o.makesgnlar demandson thoes Wh wou ay. Wilanv Speapemaan 980) has ed that authors of posit generally atleast three ‘methods of sell pesstaT or Selhexplanation, (3) 3 Dllsophicalsl-analysis, anf) a pose selexpresron. Rod fucz’ autobiography ss remarkably problematic im all dice eate orcs, He seme persistently uneitial when he desl with the it {orial factors afecting Mexican American le in general and hs ‘wn fein particular. He meatonsin several places, orinstance, he {connection between ace and socal status [185-35 eel), But ‘overlooks the sublets ofthe relation betweon a dark complexion dnd ile of poverty. Autobiographers ike Augustine and Rovsseas Ienew that uch historical questions were inseparable om athentle selanderstandng sioce the autobogapcal at at lest in pat ‘by hs one Een pte dnt Chicano Antsbiogny 6 ‘onfeslonal style, ublahed astobiogrphy eater all resed tor Ep “ARBs, ‘aweves, speaks tous from a poston beyond history, ste dy. namic forces ofhstrcal change couldn longer ouch it, hey orth the ta age ack he pri a clio send deri Popa ea Pe fas o consider, as autobiography mgmt im, thatthe thor lives, moves, and has his being in historicl projections that onsite Rim as subject And an author cance simply tll the "uth about himsel, rth chat wil resonate with sgnifennce for other Ives" (7, widhoue undertaking some kindof philosophical reflection on the place of his private n plc history wish 9 ‘mphasiz cis pont i pattclarbeeane Roig seams #0 cx. ‘ain about che inpocence ofthe splithe makes betwen the “private” nd “pulic" sell ‘The desire to extract ourelyes from the world, tithe to conceive iar to camamend ely anchors x more Seely {nut Ince one might argue ae Miche! Ryan hae that te "pete ‘ilsophicl and “pate istoieal are always public through and {hough The “private away already a fail institution and a linguistic network tht form a peron.Rovsseas and Agustne Tene ti daw» contrit between the innocence and renityof the simple Ie dhd the corruption sod chaos of urban Te Bue even in its most naive forms the pastoral aimays tog ine tha the desi or the innocent a see pst is unfortunatly slays nasal. Poel selhexpession requires the aueaiogaper to confront nestalge desire with present circumstances, Out thie Eenfrptstions new recogiion can emie: that future conditions ‘ue-ellecuvely created, by individuals ané groupe of individ, ‘Augustine and Rousseat new this oo aul de Man fas apucd tha one way by which we mig ius scribe the mature of utobioerphicaldacoue is by contrasting 0 Action: “Autobiography seems eo depend on actual and potently veil events nes zbalene way than tion doe, Ie seeme to belong wa simpler mode of eerenlity, of epresetation and of degess” 1979, Ja. Autobiography may very well contain fn {sy dream, and llsion but these tans away fom ely a east “remain rooted ina single subject whoneiemy ie defined by the _uncontestable readability of his proper name” (gi) Bue ean we be so certain ofthis eterentialty and ofthis centrality of single see T would alo suggest that Rodequc' eutcbiogrophy ours as sic seltexpresion, Healers he an SPP poral” 9 of eae1 eolgies ofthe Salt vty! As de Mangoes on to argu, "We assume hat life produces the fsutobiogtphy as sn act produces ts consequences, ut ean we Bot ‘uggest, with equa otc, that che utebiopaphial project may Sell produce snd determine theif and that whatever the witer dock is infact governed by the echnical demands of self poruaiture and thus deerined nalts aspects, by the resources of his meu” (o2eh "Now is typical of de Man's ngs in al his eoay, there isa Jota stake in this last queston: our ways of accounting forthe ‘redcton of if for intention and elit, nd for te mimetic {ode of guration by which we espe to explain and jt our ‘woubled ives, Let me pu chs way, sll paraphrasing de Man’ in ‘he ete ofthe autobiography of Richard Rodrigues, can wee cerain ‘hat the referent, his fe, his anguished search for sl-dtniton, Aketermines the figure he pastoral /hagigzaphica rendering ‘he text of Munger of Memory, ott the eter way around? Is because he whites his fe story 2 «nostalgic desire for lost inno ence and subline search fr personal edemption chat Cough his Sul prose we come to believe in the lot innocence and petonal ‘edermption of is le? Ivo, then the referent of his utabonrahy ‘snot simply a referent atl but something moce akin, as de Ma, sugges, 0 Beton, Tam not citing Hunger of Memory because i iss eatin part fevion. think hat de Mane seo convincing when he ages {hat tion always owed in autohograpiy, juts the obverse is also true, “that any book with readable ie page st some ek tent, auabiogeaphea” [ga What Tam suggesting fe that the ge ‘ete relationship Rodiguer establishes between dh sl he fers i his book nd the self outside the book, as between those “private nd “public rolea he ascribes to ue al fundamentally open to guestion. 1 his algarent of textual ard historical selves ib prob Jemati are there pehape other modes of guration tough which alignment between te textual and che historical subject iba be ridered? The sutsbograhical moment happens a8 an alignment fetweea the historical and textual subjects nvaved i the process of understanding themselves ab one subject thats determined by thei “mtalreflecve substitution jaa} De Man argues that this dow bing srerute “impliesdiferentston sx well a sinilcty, since ‘out depend-on 4 substutve exchange chat costtuter the tb jece (gat Tis not hea, he doubling of the sbject tats issue ‘because the auebiograpial moment ia precieely i all eases flerive one when as de Man suggest the author “declares himelt Chicano Autabiogapy 6 the subject of his own understanding” (pa), What Fam concemed with nt fc fee reflexive subject bot with the elaboration nd che outcome ofthe fguation of selves in atcbigzapy "a0 ‘cour of self estoraton 33} Bosh the reeves the elabo- ‘auvetmomeats ental presentation and Aguatio, as dhe subject ‘Simultaneously imapibes and projects the real” and an image of the ‘Sra hat arin over into hf ss particular hind of ell urion, Exnesto Calas Baio Boy: The Story ofa Boy's Accultar {rors i everything that Rodiue’s todos snot reise tnnlarast ofr ah another mse sl Rguaton. The dienes // ‘betecn the two works huggest unmistakably why Rodrigue has Beem uch «pest commercial and terary soccer than Gala Wille Galas story i alio one of s boys edvation, the anes spinnin aba ie rom Redes orn na small Mexican village along he Paci coma the ar of the century, Galas els bie le tary in ts hstarcl context. ‘Uproted by the events of te Meican Revolution [19t0-17), te ‘oy hin ber, ands uncles make the way by stage om the i lage falcon, to Mazaln to Nogales, and Tucson, and, ally, to Saramente, Cloris [clnedenally te same town later to be Richard Rodrigner' hometown). Whereas te nartaive stateay of Rodi’ ex not at of Bograpical tine, Galas voted The Re ane TS ain et ST Pon form te organizing centers forthe fundamental ar bis ie story. From "In a Mountsin Village throug {dng Next orm Mexico" “Lif it hs Lowes Pt of Town” and "On the Edge ofthe Bari” the controling discursive mode état cof oumey ltersture. The authors ie takes has a the oad om his birdplace to his adbpréd American home. ‘On the road Galarea encounters sebesenativs of veeily social classe eligions, age, and many stonalides as the cu toil ofthe Mexican Revoluia has broken. down the teadtion] ‘gd boundaries of petevolutionary society. This cllase of soil Aistance allows human fates to intersect tn complex and distinc live ways, eveling de socohstrial heterogeneity ofboth Mex fan sh American life. The dif of rendering these complex {intersections and this heleopencity makes be chole and orches ‘uation of narativestratepee vialy signified. As de Man notes, the “doors trough which an autologeapher enter hs work my ‘be sppropriatty tephded ue sewlving bes because the metaphor164 Weologies ofthe Slt ‘aptly connotes the turing motion of wopes and cones thatthe spocae momen noe primal tation oran event that canbe Tocated ina history, but thie the manifestation, onthe lve of the veerent of ingsiste strstr” [379,933 "Asin fouralatieseoounts of travel or fa the picarexgue novel, the chronotope ofthe rad functions in Galarza’ atobig!aphy pe) ‘ely sth tope by which the mul dispensed ciecumeancen of | 1 fe may be appropri to create the possiblity of the condition ‘subjective identity. The intesext peer=’raacbiogranhy over Rodrigue’ isnot tha ie has necesurlyauconded in unprbles ‘ealytenlating “event int disoume, r that eves» mor ‘elable sli aowledgethap Rodague ‘egking way the moon of wpe et th pe of eset cing tego ess opp stare en Serofcccnggh ns ett He ets Her ae sons te juey eee The sl ay Say he tace qt fee" he meany we all tem ITC ths ci ely eed Seema sant othe pen of xpi ine fnctning in an asthioguny sah Roda Sr hoy er ae Forel inthe of ee ine We oboe young Eos ‘Suge ees ots vey wo meng po Salerno sso dlr ose Ameen oe Saha ene tae wes ene coun orig We” ie plo of Gaara’ auchorapy sot the pghanicrevesion Fekete wrt Sednue Rater hele sey Sei sm atc nce ‘Within th simple form, however, € DUET theres “GF information esetly sma tanaormationeosgh sy. bolic acculturation) ad deny (priulaely group iendy, The ‘otfof transformation nent, which might have ben ofered {i terms ofthe tdiidya se transfered instead othe entre om ‘unity within which individuals exis, by which they are created, 3nd which dey in urn daleteallyeantorm, nh wy Gauri mmncal he our” ‘is wring oe the course of his exly ie, aE Wave -With ‘other and uncles though Jail testry to allen places. The Chicano Autbiograpy 165 ron from Joost to Maslin pd Nogales italy mapped {ccf the sal Bo ii ent aly a sagt the erat of his ie Te lntecetions and rose roads he epcricter af erly sini of ome suing pon a the lie of the sutbogapher, Real maitre net inccatrs of Is te. alin rues thane cay asi chinsoes- Lindlstgnessav nto omecaeflehought ou, me atbt ti wit wre, ica kenon tosh, Sees ‘Ghee wsile;Hkewise, space becomes changed and responsive tothe movements of time lot and history. Ths ntrection of exes {nd fusion of indicator characterizes hearst chonotope” 9, 8g). In this sense, Gare ue of he chenotoe ofthe rad I pe ie, onan and dep nfsed withthe idoloial implications this story apreal ou along the edge ofthe road el and long he Sideroads of revolutionary Mexico Aste guiding chronenope of the fiat half ofthe aubiogrephy, the ure ofthe rood allows Galas to describe the soiohstoiea bteogeacity ofthe cltae dat has ‘reed him aes chil [ae fire v6 ‘Once he arrives in California the ehronotpe sits. ace road, pow the parameters of te barrio form te locus of ware ee lace where the knots of nari are ed and untied. Pom the en lore of the dark musty roms of thei fist residence in dhe ower paraf Sacramento, a prison even more confining than the alley fol ‘of which they had lived in Tucson” 133), the Galazas slowly begin to explore their new worl. Ernesto and his mother Begin "to take hor walks to get [chet bearings 7] This innocent etion ithe Hon ofthe new chrnoeope, a they map ot the horde ofthe barlo ‘hich they now ina {bk inthe ter he suo and the pane motion pete heer In between were the tet an avnig shop, Chins stu = sce. and sore, sad nvr! howe ike roa, Wesel bythe oambeyo {he posts a decom that we lel etn ths hk eet ‘Once we could score hse sis up a dows and cross evs Swe cored fer Ow Sith ner thre war Ue Teste with Slip wecoay tle io Lic. Navin by hse ey pole nd following there of tvering ine slog Stet on by oe wound ee pow ldacon hand he ate areca abd he sae ‘hil with glen doa 37), What is describe in this passage is not incidental scenery, di ‘vorced fom the substance of tel lives The placing of ther lives a ‘hese surrounding and in this temporality provides the round forthe story of @ boy's acculturation | BYERNESTO GALARZA. =, Chicano Autobiography 17 the very representaility ofthe people they will have to become in ‘these alien surroundings. As the passage points ot, the proce of bnew Wit tatertheeeltartre TAMMIE a {UEOMETOGS and immensely significant imaging and proecing of realty eha nove serves st the compas of theit new ideaties st “Merican Americans. In thls manner a Galarsa points out, "with ‘emaable airmen and neverending wonder we opt sing to out ist the pleasant sad de epulsive ince way ofthe Americans Tt ‘was my Send acculturation” 205) The temporal and spatial dimen Sons the bursotecomse dhe source of personal identity ti borne ft by the tte ofthe autebiopapy. Mare than mere exposition, these sections of the autobiography desrbing the tamlys new Su. rounding carey great weight They serve a the primary means fr ‘ateilizing time in space and sere ae the centr fr concreting repretentaton and ideological sca. These wee the bua of he ower prt fm forthe wa whey Gnesi the seeon othe sty between is Set wal tee and a, ‘herawey ast the Vat eer Nebo eer anton pp! at ‘twwny alent oan could eet erence ee oe woke yt ‘lo Tere We wrestler tpl, bt i ther ye ‘het daiguch erween Tem te uppers Uy, he lowers 38) ‘The topographical metaphor pusot stark rei he denial i. tinction between “Them, he uppers” and "Us thelowers”Galacas oncepton a he dialectic beeen ee immediate perception of feo. aphicalterain andthe imaginative or iagiary sense of the ety ‘san Inventd reality provides serking stance of what Jameson has termed “copntive mapping” 1985 33). Gaara capacity to snap the itera ety now allows him also "9 map i soclly and ex. Penence pola. Hs copniive map ts Us spowerfl spi nalogue of Althasers formulation of cology ell “the nae ‘ary relationship of individuals to thei eal conditions of exstence” (i960, 63) tma later essay, Galarza i usable wo note chat “the "urban bara lite the colonia of the countryside started as eultarl fenclaves inthe Ango wodd-- In the batos coke seniy wat Seong provided” (1972 276168 esos ofthe Sel ‘oreen Galaz's and Rodriguez's vecson ofthe discursive post {es of autobiography serail. Clara finds that he mr old of ‘he contadictryipulse of hi Mexican origin si is American, trowth to maturity. But diferent from Rodrigues, be handles hs furmol not by vejecting his Mexican world as he develops a public self bu by “navigating” precariously between both words, inhabit {ng oth te good faith, 2nd Boally by forging apan between bis ‘onginal Mexican and his acquited American eocalturtons, "Ths forging of wentey doe not eke place ana simple binary op- position between a ‘pave abd public” sl docs noe que te rection a she “intimate sounds of Spenish in avr ofthe ie tanced forms of English. e does not assume the form of hapogehy. Sal less docs i present itself as «pastoral, a «confession, oF 35 2 set of cntrion. Rather a Renato Realdo has noted, Clara fsutobiogzphy “is matked by beteoglossia, a play of English a Spanish, and by an understate, often slt-dpreeting dean hi ‘or through which his pala ston becomes apparent (987,76 Replacing the politcal or philosophical essay, his autobiography 2 peter doctment where Meron sel-explanetion phason ‘al se analyss, and poetic selexpresson merge to tell with any Sd mora woial story: a individuals perception in one of he ‘randest migrations of modem teste influx of Mexicans ito {Re mesic Southwest: Here the private sel isa appropriated by its public role asthe public sell fashioned by ts plete x perience The oppoiton between the tw versione of cthood fs Eccame fluid, dymamuc, nd open tothe shaping foees of east ‘sd politcal history I this way, Calta establishes con se/ Concependence between personal entity and radical etic en | ty. The momentous undertaking that such a adel identification I etruted with i 8 R Radhasishnan put nothing les then “the creation of ture where oppression wil be nt jst immoral or Unconsionale but virtually unthinkable" (1987, 229) ‘Our postomantc organization famework for taking about the self presupposes the duality of existence ino subjects and ob jects) and also presupposes ee integty of subjects and objects as Independent entities in this view, the sels certsnly not untouched by the collective bject'world sound i, Ar the same tne, that objectors alo seen as being organized into ts instetionl Contexts by thé intentional cmeeptulzing act ofthe subject The felt isthe rena ofthe harmonious intention between ts "nner private” subjectivity and its “der public” objective roles. Hentty fs the unity of chete divergent wpheres around the central coi Chicano Autobiogzapy 69 ‘Against this view, Adorno has argued that lf dhe “pervnal” is seen ‘already being pb, then te wil 0 ep the separation ofthe peltal from the petsonal loses its comtncing free This isp ‘acy whit Emesto Gala’ stobigzphy teaches or and what [Richard Rougues’s would have w forge "These day thas almost become a lich to sty thatthe personal, private” seis political. But perhaps itis more acute les ched opt it the other way around that the "publi pluosophsl and the publi” political ae personal zhrough and through. When ‘we phase the relationship in tls way, we emphasize that Jean [euler has suggested, the “priv ie lo the name for theo. ‘usa he mata historical, de soci, the fami naitatons sneuicuating symbolic and thetonicl sutures a short the Wey Tnguisteconcepeal systems that conte «person. “Hence the importance of an autobiography lite Ernesto Clara ‘What we read in Barrio Boy is an implicit critique of precritical ide- 4 eee dG not exist In Epty space but in an organic human collective, in Seca eran emretoenette meiotic heen peedcurcenty i tees isi Geers pratima roman eee epee mi eee ocpanieg lee ernie mene iemcat le ec eect ore eget Serpette pene me ree lier, vest ny ag es ti ee aries ha cues arco eee ieeeeriecemae sertipernd Seca cage ove hci ham aey ose sohiytah ene a heard eel ec fn Sac a cepacia bard epelrime eopeain fo ttee ie ce mete ty Rag See earners(7 ts something ca: thatthe act of knowing and writing the els an { L x0 eslogies ofthe Sel slteratve crite) soceey When read against Gala’ ie story however, Rodriguez's undalctialoppostin berwea elf and we ty demands dialectical integration. That Rodrigues hes been ex ‘cody the heat Amedcan medi and by the humanistic sealesy while Galarza has not ell us moch abou the socializing function ‘Feducation and about the politcal idcolopes that operste within “Amerian higher edvestion, from it freshman compotion courses cee ae le y/ sie use the fore of eology Behind che menk of ecsthtes, “GRIST UT tony of individualized Slices, we can read ‘other stores real Amstean storie ke Eaesto Galaz's that tl tof rite consciousness, an act of knowing ons! a a product tf usorel prosestes that canbe interrogated. interpreted, and pe. haps even changed. eis imposible not ose in sot such tis 4 repudiation ofthe imposition of Protpero pon Caliban, or of ~alse insula of the "plate? and the “pubie™selves, or eva @f fn Arielle soqiescence tothe master magicians who contol ue ‘with thee Books