Entry Question
What topics from the sources we have discussed during the first half of the semester would you like to see included in the midterm? Propose a preliminary question.
Bio
Abraham Rodríguez Jr. is a contemporary Puerto Rican writer. He has been active since the 1990s. Raised in the Bronx, he writes stories that depict the experiences of “Nuyoricans”. Rodriguez portrays the struggle of Puerto Ricans, whether on the island of Puerto Rico or in the US. His narrative presents issues of culture and identity not easily found or revealed with nuance in the literature of social sciences, fiction, or elsewhere. In the book and short story The Boy Without a Flag (1992), Abraham Rodriguez Jr. captures the hardship of growing up poor in the South Bronx and what it is like to sacrifice one’s childhood to survive and come to terms with the socio-political realities of (Boricua) life at a young age.
“The Boy Without a Flag”
.”The Boy Without a Flag,” is narrated by a precocious eleven-year-old Puerto Rican boy who is a voracious reader and writes novels and underground comics in his school. Influenced by the political ideas of his father, a poet critical of US imperialism, he refuses to salute the US flag at his school as an act of political awakening and defiance.
.Using the short story as a microcosm, Rodriguez shows Puerto Ricans’ political spectrum in NYC and its different stands regarding US colonial rule. Complacency, ignorance, or avoidance seem to be the most common reaction to the debate about Puerto Rico’s political status. The subject is taboo at the school and nobody wants to address the real-life implications of the discussion.
.After his father is called to the principal’s office and refuses to support his son’s political views, the narrator must unpack what happened to him and learn from the complexity of his protest and the reactions to it of the people around him.
Comparative Work
Instructions:
Comment on these statements by comparing the play with the short story. What solutions do the character in these texts present?
.People in power don’t know how to talk to Puerto Ricans. They are only protecting their own interests.
.Puerto Ricans are a part of (the city/the school) without a part.
.There is an internal debate regarding the “proper” and “improper” way to produce change.
Presentation(s) by:
Historical Context
Discussion Questions
.Thinking of the historical and political context presented in the reportage, what are the implications of the political silencing at the narrator’s school? How the story reflects life for Puerto Ricans in the US beyond the specifics of its plot?
.How do you interpret the ending? What political and life lessons does the narrator learn?