Race and Gender Injustice in Mexican Literature and History: Analysis of Castellanos, the Plan of San Diego, and Marcos
Overview
This paper examines racial and gender discrimination in Mexico through three primary sources: Rosario Castellanos' 'Modesta Gómez,' the 'Plan of San Diego,' and Subcomandante Marcos' 'The Long Journey from Despair to Hope.' The author argues that systemic injustices based on race and gender prompted resistance movements, including violent uprisings, and resulted in profound social consequences including poverty and revolutionary change.
What this essay covers
- Introduction establishing racial and gender discrimination as central to Mexican society
- Analysis of three literary and historical documents demonstrating forms of oppression and resistance
- Examination of gender injustice's disproportionate impact on women and resulting socioeconomic consequences
- Discussion of resistance movements and their violent expressions across racial and gender lines
- Conclusion linking injustice to poverty, anger, and revolutionary outcomes
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Yihe Shen
Prof. Sal
History 3968
Oct 22nd, 2020
Paper 3
Race and gender in "Modesta Gómez" by Rosario Castellanos, "Plan of San Diego" by Anonymous, and "The Long Journey from Despair to Hope" by Subcomandante Marcos
Racial and gender injustices were part of the daily living in Mexico. Three documents outline gender and racial discrimination and the effects the two abuse cases had on people's lives. Any form of discrimination pushes people to a limit where they will resist. Hence, the two forms of injustices resulted in resistance in many cases, including bloodshed and deaths due to resistance. "Modesta Gomez" describes the life of a young girl called Modesta who had great dreams that were shattered by a wealthy family and her working-class husband. "Plan of San Diego" was a 1915 draft by unidentified Mexicans and Tejano rebels in San Diego, Texas, who hoped to create a racial utopia, while "The Long Journey from Despair to Hope" explores the hardships Mexicans went through until they attain independence. Many instances of racial oppression at the Mexico – US border existed in the colonial period. The whites discriminated against the Native Americans, Mexican Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans.[1] People resisted and laid down demands that would bring racial justice to the Mexican and the American border. Such resistance led to bloodshed with the Mexican Americans, Indians, and African Americans retaliating against the whites. Gender injustices turned the affected gender in different ways as resistance and revenge measures.