Essay Example on Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia

Summary of Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia

The novel Dreaming in Cuban by Cristina Garcia surfaces events between Cuba and the United States. The book plays up the philosophical interconnections among three generations of strong Cuban women. The author gradually emerges the memories, hopes and dreams of these women and interconnected, and their significance to them of Cuba. The work has also explored what it means to be Cuban. The novel covers the story of Celia del Pino with her three children and the grandchildren, as they tend to cope up with the Cuban revolution and sustain the exile and emotional upshot the follows. Garcia in her novel primarily focuses on the personal lives of the women in the family rather than the politics of the country. Celia`s story is what structure the book. She views Cuban is a country of complicated constructs of memories and realities. Her un-mailed monthly letters to her first lover Gustavo, a Spaniard who went back to Spain in1935 just before the beginning of the Spanish Civil War are incorporated chronically throughout the book (Cappelli and Mary 272). Celia had to reinvent herself after she was stranded by Gustavo and thus has to pass through a series of events. Garcia`s work is framed as Celia`s diffusion to her granddaughter Pilar of all she acknowledges. Other family members are emerged in the novel in the immediate presence of 1972 and their several stories progressively interlace and explain each other as they narrate the events of the next eight years. The novel explores the role of women in revolution with regards to their ideologies, as well as the impact of revolution on a country and wells as the citizens.

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Critique of Dreaming in Cuban

Family Relationships

The Garcia work has majorly illuminated three major themes which are the family relationship, exile and divisive politics. There are actually to be learnt from three major issues. In the novel, we see Celia and his family being separated as a result of physical distance, politics and lack of communication. The presentation or the ideally of the author in this context is resonated well with the spectra of impacts of division politics and revolution. The storyline that reflects on the theme of family separation is well developed. There are several relationships in the novel that have been broken. Some are due to different ideology or and both individual and collective beliefs. The books also represent the generational division which is very practical in today`s world supposedly when the revolution is in its course. I also contend how the author connected the revolution in Cuba with social conflicts such as the relationship between Lourdes and her three wives. The novel reflects on Lourdes she tries to kill two of her three husbands due to ideological differences which are all the same directly or indirectly impacted by the course of the revolution in Cuba.

Practical Exile

Garcia in her work has explored the impacts of exile to those in exile and those left behind. This reflects on the real picture of what occurred when thousands of Cubans experienced when the Puente family fled Cuba in the wake of the Cuban revolution. The experience is sad for instance, in the novel, Celia feels saddened by the fact that she was detached from her children and grandchildren. This storyline gives an accurate picture of what happened or what would happen in the course of the revolution in any given country or region. The is a good lesson that can be applied to evaluate the impacts of exile and revolution that can be used by states and communities to reshape in the social model in case there is need to harmonise political strategies and bring about developments. Up to this end, I co sider that Garcia`s intention in the context of exile and revolution as well as the impacts of expatriation is a mission accomplished. The teaching here is straightforward and has been well advanced in the novel. The context can be easily interpreted and put in considerations by communities or governments.

Divisive Politics

The theme of divisive politics that is portrayed in Garcia's work takes the significant aspects of the whole novel. The politics have played a more substantial role in the separation of Celia`s family as well as the exile of the Puente family. Celia could be seen in support of the revolution even if this meant to suppress her responsibilities as a judge. We also discover that Garcia`s socialism draws her closer to her son Javier but on the other and disconnect her from Lourdes and Felicia. The perspective of the author here is convenient even today. Politics can divide families and even society. There is also aspects of the role of women in the revolution that the author has painted out (Gale and Cengage n.p). I, therefore, backup the efforts by the author in the storyline development and the use of the characters to bring out the theme of separation as a result of politics.

The Theme of Memory

In her work, Garcia has also touched on the theme of memory. According to the author, memory is closely linked to an individual`s character. In the story, some characters are seen try to seek other people`s consciousness to fulfil the gaps in there. Again, some aspects decide to bet on their truth and tend to avoid others perspective.

Manifestations of Orality

In the novel Dreaming in Cuban highlights many postcolonial in many spectra. The novel is occasioned with demonstrations of orality. There is the presence of several Spanish words in the novel. The words highlight the Cuban culture in the story. In this context, historic preservation is another central theme connected to orality. Therefore, the author points out that history can be stored in both spoken and oral form. The structure and development of the story in the novel also have a manifestation of oral culture.

Novel Structure

The author has divided the novel into three books each made up of numerous chapters of narration and chapters including the Celia letters. The letters by Celia were well written in advance to the other parts of the novel. Again, the stories in the novel keep jumping back and forth making it difficult to read the book. But on the other hand, the structure of the narrative also allows the reader to link up between the events of the past. Instances such as the expression of Lourdes` insensible feeling on her body plus her response after the upsetting event, the reader can dig deep into Lourdes` story. The recollection of traumatic events by Lourdes gives a reader the opportunity to see the transition of historical episodes, for instance, the emergence of the revolutionary government in Cuba. Again, recollection of Lourdes` both individual and collective memory gives a clear insight into the history of the black people- send a signal about the people who mostly suffered and thus historical truth is disclosed.

Additionally, the manifestation of orality in Garcia`s work also shows an accurate picture of Cuban culture in the story. The structure of the novel thus makes it easy and flexible for a reader to quickly get significant themes and relate them to the Cuban revolution and the impacts. The aspects afford the reader opportunity to define the gaps in the family`s history and structure.

Conclusion

Generally, in my view, apart from the vowel having stories the jump back and forth, I would recommend Garcia work to any other person that would love read about practical impacts of revolution with regards to family separation, exile and divisive politics among others. I would say that the novel has a good storyline and the author have used her characters accordingly to bring about the clear picture of revolution and what many people might have experienced during the Cuban revolution. The work has consequently explored the role of women in the revolution as well as politics. The impacts of the revolution have also taken a various aspect of generations. The implications of politics in the story are well defined. The application of lessons learnt from Dreaming in Cuban novel could help very significant today for any country r state that would like to take advanced and developmental political steps. Up to this far, I would say the objectives of the author in this novel are substantially achieved.

Works Cited

Cappelli, Mary Louisa. "From Colonization to Revolution: Awakening Feminine Consciousness and Ecocritical Awareness in Christina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban." ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews 30.4 (2017): 271-274. Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0895769X.2017.1324284

Gale, Cengage Learning. A Study Guide for Cristina Garcia's" Dreaming in Cuban". Gale, Cengage Learning, 2016. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=no-pDAAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PT3&dq=Gale,+Cengage+Learning.+A+Study+Guide+for+Cristina+Garcia%27s%22+Dreaming+in+Cuban%22.+Gale,+Cengage+Learning,+2016.+Retrieved+from+&ots=KUzPtvqkBB&sig=rqIGs4lYQmNokx5bZW73vM0eggk