ASYNCHRONOUS ASSIGNMENT (Deadline: 4/19 before the class)
Instructions:
1. Read the short story “Muchacho” by Alejandro Heredia
2. In the comment section down below answer ONE of the following prompts (2o0-words minimum).
OPTION ONE
Elaborate on how the killing of Lourdes’son by an undercover cop generated an unexpected mobilization of the Dominican community in Washington Heights. Describe how the protest evolved.
OPTION TWO
Examine why Lourdes resists engaging the community in protest. How Heredia explores different types of mourning through her relationships with the people in the community?
OPTION THREE
Unpack the connotations of naming in the story. How do names allow grasping “reality”? What does it mean to name somebody or an event that happened?
Option Two
Lourdes initially refused to engage in the community protests against the murder of his son by an undercover cop because she felt that only she was allowed to preserve his memory as his mother. Heredia explores the different forms of grief by how Lourdes reacts to how other people were describing her son, and by trying to remember his name. She would write down her son’s name in her notebook and mentally try to catch the letters of his name in order to preserve her son’s memory. When Miguelito and another man were talking about her son selling drugs near Miguelito’s store, Lourdes became angry and denied that her son was a drug dealer even though she already knew that to be the case. She was in the denial phase of grief in the story, and she had a similar instance of denying the nature of her son when his high school teachers described him as being rambunctious and ill mannered, and he eventually dropped out of high school.
Option 3: There’s power in a name, particularly those who’ve experienced an injustice as unjustifiably cruel as Lourde’s son who becomes in some ways a face for the experience of others who’ve suffered the same. Movements like Black Lives Matter emphasize the necessity of doing so through messages like “Say Their Names” which reminds the listener that the victims are more than a grim statistic or headline on the news, they’re people with complex relationships and people who loved them who had a part of them brutally ripped from their lives at the hands of the police. Naming a movement or event humanizes it, allowing people to understand why people feel so strongly about expressing their dissent, they’ve lost a member of the community, a son, a friend. The story places emphasis on the complex relationship Lourde has with the name after her son was killed and the fact that she came to some resolution in the end joining the others in expressing their rightful outrage makes me think that the author wanted to make a point that there’s some catharsis for the victims family as well, knowing that their pain is part of a larger struggle and through the use of a name can keep the memories of their loved one alive.
Option 2
I think that she did not enjoy the attention her son death’s was bringing due to rumors. However, some of the rumors were true, and there were certain things about her son she was shameful about but she always turned the other cheek. I also think she did not enjoy the violence the protest were having, and maybe she just hated that her son’s death was tied into that, even though the protest were for a good cause.
She told Miguel that her son did not sell drugs, However I thought she was aware he was doing so, but that since it was helping her pay the bills, she turned the other cheek.
The way Lourdes was mourning her son was really interesting to me because sometimes you would assume a-mother would drop to her knees in agony about any of their kids dying. However, everyone mourns and grieves differently. I also feel with all of the attention hat was brought due to the situation it kind of did not allow her to mourn the way she could have. Not crying the way others should not mean anything.
Miguel cried for him, more than Lourdes, but then spoke ill about him after, which Lourdes was able to witness. So sometimes crying for someone does not really mean anything.
The unexpected mobilization of the Dominican community in Washington Heights started based on rumor. I say this because people passed Lourdes’ son’s body and didn’t even run to tell her but ran to tell everyone in the building. After the rumors started then the new papers and the gathering of the community started. The leader of the march was the “friend” of Lourdes’ son who had his own motive to want to march that had everything to do with himself. Towards the end, Lourdes overhears Miguelito say, “Nah, I told that nigga he was being reckless…Selling in front of his building. That puts my whole shit in Jeopardy. Caught by a pig. What kind of corny shit.” You can see that this mobilization was created for the benefit of one person. Miguelito thought that if he started a march for something good, no one would pay attention to the drug deals and he would have no negative attention on him. Based on the way he was talking about Lourdes’s son, they weren’t friends.
OPTION 3:
Lourdes, the mother of “muchacho”, never speaks her son’s name aloud. In fact, her son’s name is not mentioned in the story at all. This can mean two things: Lourdes’s refusal to say her son’s name aloud may suggest a form of denial and avoidance; by writing his name on a notebook, though, highlights her awareness of wanting to cope and trying to find the strength to be conscious in her reality, meaning she doesn’t want to forget him and ultimately does not want to avoid the truth. Secondly, by his name not being mentioned within the entire story, it serves to emphasize the story’s broader themes of poverty, injustice, marginalization, and power. The theme of poverty and marginalization is shown with the mention of the homeless, WIC, drug dealing, and her bringing him to Washington Heights from the Dominican Republic. Injustice and power are shown with the murder of her son after being beaten “purple” senselessly with a baton by an officer of the law.
Furthermore, whereas some are named directly, such as Mayra, Lourdes, Miguelito, Officer O’Brien, and Isabel, others are not named, such as the mechanic, Lourdes’s son, the “vecinas”, and the “mousy girl” (at first). This is done on purpose to highlight how injustice and violence robs certain people of their individuality and identity. This also is done purposefully because when injustice and violence happen in this way (an unarmed POC killed by an authority figure) there is always a victim, always a witness, always a person who is so revolted by the injustice that they begin mobilization. Every time an event like occurs, it emphasizes the universality of the event and suggests that the experience of Lourdes, her son, and the Washington Heights community are not unique, but rather are shared by many people in similar situations around the world. Ultimately, when Isabel is mentioned directly toward the end of the story, it shows us that this event has become a larger movement under her leadership.
I think Lourdes resisted engaging in community protests because she wanted moments alone with the memory of her son. At the beginning of the short story, it is mentioned that Lourdes did not have time to mourn properly because soon after she found out about her son’s death, her apartment was filled with reporters and the people who mourned her son. I also think she just wanted to not be a part of the violence that was taking place and wanted to be distant from it especially since the protests are related to her son’s death and the rumors surrounding it. I am assuming she did not want any attention from it and just wanted to grieve in peace without a huge commotion happening. Heredia explores different types of mourning through Lourdes relationships in the community by how everyone else is reacting to her son’s death. Early in the short story, Lourdes’ cousin, Mayra is explaining how she can not believe it and Lourdes responds with “Believe it” and is described as struggling. Later on, it is revealed that Miguelito who works at the bodega shows his grief by crying and comforting Lourdes but is later revealed that he is saying true but bad things about Lourdes son.
Option 3:
Throughout the short story, “el muchacho’s” name is never revealed and some other word is always used to mention him, e.g. mi hermano, ese muchacho, my son, etc. Lourdes having trouble writing out her son’s name or saying it out loud could be indicative of her being in denial. Not saying his name and assigning another word to describe him could be understood as a refusal to acknowledge what happened. She didn’t cry until she was able to write his name and say it out loud, acknowledging her son’s life and death and allowing herself to feel her emotions. To name somebody or an event that happened is to acknowledge its existence and to essentially “immortalize” it as truth. Lourdes does this at the end of the short story, “She said her son’s name and held it one last time before setting the book down on the stoop. Letting go of one name clarified the other. Isabel. That was the mousy girl’s name. She watched Isabel run back into the flames. Then Lourdes picked herself up from the steps and joined the crowd.” After being outside witnessing the community in uproar for her son and accepting the truth of what happened by saying his name, she was able to grieve and get involved in everything that was going on. Naming a person or event also humanizes it. It reminds you that even though you only get the few glimpses into this event that informs everything that you know about this person, they lived a life just like you and it was taken from them.
Option 3:
A key component of language that enables us to refer to and identify individuals, locations, things, and events are names. By giving anything a name, we produce a linguistic symbol that symbolizes that specific entity and enables us to communicate with others about it. By assigning someone or something a name, we can acknowledge their presence and give them significance in our social and cultural surroundings. When we give someone a name, we acknowledge their individuality and personhood in addition to giving them a name. We are able to process and make sense of our experiences by naming events because we are developing a narrative and a common understanding of what transpired. Additionally, names help us categorize and organize our experiences and information as well as distinguish between various things or events. For example, by giving a specific name to a type of food, we can distinguish it from other types of food, and we can share our preferences or experiences with others who know that same name. The author may have wanted to emphasize that there is some relief for the victims family as well, knowing that their pain is a part of a greater struggle and through the use of a name can keep the spirit of their loved one alive. The story places emphasis on the intricate connection that Lourde has with the name after her son was killed, and the fact that she came to some conclusion in the end joining the others in conveying their rightful outrage.
Option 2:
I feel that Lourdes resists in engaging with the community’s protest because if she did, she’d have to face the reality that her son is dead and has become yet another victim of police brutality for which people will use her son’s name to fight against police brutality. Not participating the protesting, is her way of grieving but also denying the fact that he’s gone. It is seen that Lourdes doesn’t really talk about her son’s death with other people like her cousin or does she show any emotion of sadness to even the media where others who had a loved one killed had express their sorrow. It feels like the only way she is actually processing her grief is through writing her son’s name in a notebook since she won’t even say her son’s name. Also. It seems like she is in a state of denial when the girl of the second floor, the one who witnessed the police brutalizing Lourdes’ son, comes to her door in which one, she doesn’t remember the name of the girl and she doesn’t really acknowledge the reason behind the girl’s “Sorry” and guilt when she said it. It feels like Lourdes was stepping out of denial when she actually went to see the protesting with her own eyes and when she remembers the girl’s name to be Isabel who as she witnessed, was leading the protest just then.
OPTION THREE
I think naming an event that happens means a label or accepting something for what it is. We see how Lourdes herself, during the story, had a hard time, and she constantly had to write her son’s name in her little notebook. She shows how everything that was happening was because of the murder of her son, and he represented a name that everyone knew him for. But even for her putting a name to it means what happened is real. I think this is why Lourdes felt that instead, why wasn’t O’Brian name yelled so that everyone knew who did it instead of her son’s name. Thus, some might find Lourdes grieving hard to understand; we all grieve differently, and our reaction to a dramatic even as losing someone we love, can be difficult and hard to understand. For Lourdes, her son’s name meant her son and who she remembered him as, but the cop’s name meant the person who killed her son.
OPTION ONE:
Lourdes’ son worked at the bodega and was an average person who happened to sell drugs on the side to help pay bills. He didn’t cause any scandals but rather helped out the community. The fact of how he looked is because he was targeted easily by the police who chose to use violence against him. It wasn’t fair for him to get beat up for a simple crime. Everyone in the neighborhood knew it was a problem because they all gathered and protested. They had come to the agreement that “Eso policias son asesinos.” meaning that the police are assassins. They want to get justice; the Dominican community can’t be treated less than others and looked down upon, this was an act of racism and brutal abuse. The protesters were getting a little too violent that they would set cars on fire and get a little too close to the police officers that one of the protesters got shot. Their main goal is to be heard and grab their attention even though Lourdes didn’t want to get involved. It opened her eyes to the struggles and obstacles the Dominican community and the relationship between police officers and the community should change for the better.
Lourdes resists engaging with the community in protest because in a way she does not want to accept her son’s death. Engaging in the protests is accepting her son’s death and she doesn’t want that. She wants to keep the memories she has of her son alive and to herself. After finding out the news about her sons death she didn’t have time to grieve on her own because reporters filled her apartment, family and neighbors were coming over and grieving but Lourdes couldn’t. People grieve different and for Lourdes it is not crying. It is her writing her sons name in her notebook as a way of not forgetting her son and thinking about the memories he has of her son. Heredia explores different types of mourning through her relationship with the people in the community by how they are reacting to her son’s death. Mayra is crying and how Lourdes said “putting on a show” as her way of grieving. Miguelito worked with Lourdes son in a bodega for years and is grieving by trying to comfort Lourdes even though she doesn’t want people to do that to her. Lourdes can’t grieve because of the protest that is happening in her community after her sons death. She is surrounded by all the commotion.
Option Three: In the story we come across many instances where characters are not being named, specifically for one of the main characters in the story, “Lourdes’ son.” We also come across other characters like “the mousy girl” or people of the community that had no significance other than just being a description to someone like Lourdes. The purpose of naming in the story “Muchacho” which is referred to Lourdes’ son sets light on what it means once we name somebody or an event that has happened; the price of that has grown much larger than it was. Today we see headlines often discriminating between people of color versus caucasians in which POC are often neglected in deserving the light and attention in the news in comparison to their counterparts. Especially while living in the United States, we understand the reality of life that is presented in Muchacho by Alejandro Heredia. The abuse of someone of an upper authority wrongfully killing a commoner has been an issue we have been dealing with for years. Say Their Names: George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Antonio Valenzuela. These are just some of the names of regular people amongst us that were wrongfully killed by the police force. The importance of their names, though Lourdes’ wants to avoid it, brings the reality of their life to life. It’s not just another number or name that was added to the list of people that died but it shows the effects that just their name can have on making a change. We can see through the story as well that though Lourdes’ sons name is not mentioned, we can see the importance his existence had on the community and how he truly was known despite people knowing his name. This shows the impact that adding a name to a person or an event can bring justice for that life that was important to someone and help protect future names from having to be mentioned for such reasons.
Option #1
The murder of Lourdes’s son by an undercover police officer in Alejandro Heredia’s “Muchacho” led to an unexpected mobilization of the Dominican community in Washington Heights. Lourdes was at first devastated and furious, but she also felt helpless in the face of the police department’s inaction. But, as word of the gunshot went around the neighborhood, residents gathered and demonstrated. As more individuals joined, the demonstration increased as it attracted the attention of local authorities and politicians. The topic received a lot of attention because to the protesters’ organization of marches and rallies and the media. The neighborhood stayed unified in its call for justice despite fights between protestors and police. The community and media pressure eventually led the police department to act. When the officer who killed Lourdes’s son was charged with manslaughter, the neighborhood felt vindicated and at peace. Eventually, the demonstration grew from a small group of people demanding justice for one family to a broader movement that united the entire neighborhood. By peaceful demonstrations and tenacity, the protesters—who were unified in their call for justice were able to succeed in their mission. The story demonstrates the effectiveness of a community coming together in enacting change and keeping authority responsible.
Option 1:
The unexpected mobilization occurred during the same day as Lourdes’ son’s death. Lourdes recalls that in the morning there were maybe 20-30 people but then that group grew to a large number. The group consisted of a diverse group of individuals marching in solidarity. It wasn’t just family members or friends, there was a larger group of people who wanted to make a difference. It was a group of Puerto Ricans and African Americans as well as Dominicans. An interesting idea to note is that among the people that participated some didn’t even agree with the idea of the protests and rioting for Rodney King that happened just 2 months prior. They even had different opinions and used the riots as a fuel for negative stereotypes for African Americans. However when something similar pertaining to police brutality happened in their community, they saw that it was a real issue and it could happen to everybody. No minority group of people is essentially safe from police brutality, because Lourdes even admits that it was almost impossible for a Dominican community in Washington Heights to have police brutality since they were more quiet and timid. The protest itself started as a marching movement and lighting candles in Lourdes’ son’s honor. But then it turned to a fiery riot when arguments started to spew from that group.
The concept of naming in this story transmits Heredia’s message effectively. His play with the elusive name of the victim, muchacho, in the beginning helps us increase engagement in the desire to know the name. In a way, I believe Heredia doesn’t try to explain the connotations behind naming to his readers but instead makes subliminal commentary on the power that can come from naming. This power is derived from the acknowledgment and consideration one has to take when thinking about an event, place, or person in retrospect. I believe naming a person pays respect to them, however, I do think that the growing popularity of a name could rapidly diminish its meaning. This may be its main connotation. My initial reaction towards the fleeting letters of Lourdes’ son’s name had me confused and I didn’t understand why the author framed it this way. After processing what I had read a bit more throughout the day, these sections of the story reminded me of times when you may overhear someone talking about, let’s say, your favorite show. You overhear them say “Wow __ is so great.” Then other people start to join in, you may want to jump in a share every major opinion you’ve had for this show but you start to blank. This can worsen when you see everyone else talking about it, making you feel more subconscious about your input, thus discouraging you from even mentioning anything. In this way, when the crowd kept yelling Lourdes’ son’s name, she was losing a part of him only she knew. Others had so much to say about someone so close and dear to her. In this way, out of anger she might’ve wanted to yell out to stop talking about it, but with the crowd booming, how could she feel encouraged to do so?
OPTION ONE
The Dominican community in Washington Heights was described as a “quiet group” compared to the “Moreno Americanoes and the Boricuas” in the short story “Muchacho” by Alejandro Heredia. The killing of Lourdes’s son by an undercover cop generated an unexpected mobilization of the Dominican community in Washington Heights. The protest started with a smaller group of people of twenty or so gathering in the morning. A local neighborhood mechanic was rallying the protestors with his speech of justice. The protesters then started eventually marching in the streets of St. Nicolas Ave. These marches then lead to garbage and cars being lit on fire. Among them there were people of all ages, mostly Dominicans, but a few Puerto Ricans and Black Americans also. These groups united in solidarity since they were the communities mostly effected by police brutality. Another day the protesters marched two blocks away from the precinct. A line of police officers had to barricade the protestors from moving forward. Two boys had charged forward which led to the police using force to stop the protestors. A rally was born, and mayor Dinkins had to get involved to try and stop the violent protests. During this time Lourdes didn’t want to get involved. At the end of the short story the protestors had burned a building across the street from where Lourdes lived. The little girl that had seen Lourdes’s son beaten and killed by the police had also joined the protestors. At this point was when Lourdes felt like she had to join the protesting crowd.
Option 1
After the incident initially occurred everyone seemed to be in shock and devastated by the events that happens so everyone gathered together to mourn with one another about the death of this young individual who was well known in the community and who would often help out the people of his community despite partaking in actions like selling drugs to help his mother pay bills. After a day passed, people started to feel more upset and affected by the killing which encourage a more aggressive protest for some change to be done, it also encouraged people from other backgrounds to support such as African Americans given the fact that they have also went through a similar situation with innocent black people getting killed by cops unnecessarily. As the protest started to grow with more people, more attention started to get drawn to it giving Dominicans attention that they were typically not given. The situation even led the mayor of New York at the time to make a statement which drew even more attention to them. The participants in the protest being unsatisfied led to more aggressive actions like burning old cars and vandalizing places. With things getting out of hand, the police then got the opportunity to use force like gunfire against the protesters. This then created an even bigger situation. Overall, the protest started off as something small and became something where people got arrested, committed crimes, etc this in turn gave Dominicans the mobilization they’ve never had.
To name an event is to acknowledge the event’s actions and its effects. Attaching a name to an event or physical thing brings emotional power to it. Movements such as Black Lives Matter put an emphasis on saying the names of the victims of police violence to bring humanity to them. These victims were not such random living beings, they were people with families and friends who cared about them and mourned their passing. That’s why the emphasis on names is so significant throughout the story. Attaching a name to what happened to Lourdes’ son would water down the events that transpired to just that, his death. The repetition of words makes them lose their meanings, just like if a name is repeated. A name loses all significance the more it is connected to one significant event. Lourdes wants to remember her son for the life he lived, not the death he suffered. Lourdes’ son’s name would be all too big of a reality check for her. To recognize that her baby has passed, a reality no parent would want to live in.
In the short Story “Muchacho”, Lourdes, the mother of the young man who was killed didn’t not like the attention that the protests were receiving. She was getting angry at the information that was being released about her son’s past and she got upset because even though she knew her son wasn’t perfect, he was still her son and she saw him as that and not someone who was selling drugs and being described as ill mannered by teachers. Her grief was being held back by her trying to preserve her image of her son, she was very much her about her son’s death, she also was probably hurt by the things that people were saying about her son. It probably hurt even more hearing these things by people that were close to her in the neighborhood, who she saw cry and mourn for her son, she probably felt betrayed. Her grief and mourning was also interrupted by the media storm that this story garnered, she had reporters outside of her door trying to get a statement and get the story, it went from her son dying to something much bigger which made it even harder for her to mourn properly.
Option3: Importance of names
Lourde not wanting to say or write her sons name out seems like she’s in a form of denial or is dealing with trauma / PTSD surrounding what happened. She wasn’t fully processing her emotions until she said it. When you say someone’s name, you envision the person, hear their voice, think of all the things associated with them. Whether it’s their favorite food, music, the way they spoke, their accent, it’s like you see them again in your head. This explains why saying “el muchacho’s” real name was so difficult. She didn’t want to feel the feelings attached to remembering him. It was easier to forget. This applies to naming all things that are meaningful. Giving something a name requires remembering details or things associated with the name. It’s a symbol of what something is and what’s attached to the memories surrounding it. We acknowledge that the things that have names are individualized and categorized, which is a form of importance.
Lourdes does not engage in the community protests, because she is seemingly in a state of denial. Attending the protest, makes the fact that her son has died a very real thing, and it seems this is not something Lourdes has fully processed or is ready to process yet. Lourdes knows that her sons death has brought an unprecedented amount of attention, and that these protests will characterize and turn herself into a symbol of resistance against systemic oppression and police brutality. Think of the figure George Floyd became in our day and age. This sort of martyrdom that would come from all of the press, is not the memory Lourdes wants to have of her son. Another example of Lourdes being in denial is her lack of emotion out in the open, and her refusal to say his name. The only sign of pain and acknowledgment is when she writes down her sons name continuously. A contributing factor is the fact that Lourdes hasn’t been able to fully deal or process what happened due to all of the media and press coverage.