News and views from the award-winning author of the novels The Skinny Years, America Libre, House Divided and Pancho Land

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

AMERICA LIBRE Reading Group Discussion Questions

In a reading group? Some interesting discussion questions from ReadingGroupGuides.com:

AMERICA LIBRE Group Discussion Questions

Characters
  1. Who was your favorite character? Why?
  2. Who was your least favorite character? Why?
  3. What emotions drove Mano’s conversion from loyal citizen to insurgent?
  4. Do you think Mano’s actions were immoral? Why or why not?
  5. Under the same circumstances as Mano, what would you have done differently?
  6. How did Mano’s view of their rebellion differ from the views of Jo and Ramon?
  7. What experiences ultimately radicalized Rosa?
  8. Do you think Rosa’s reaction to her predicament differed from that of a mainstream American woman? If so,how?

Stereotypes and Diversity
  1. Did the story make you question your assumptions about the people and culture of Latin America? For example, were you surprised by the diversity of the Latino characters in the story?
  2. What role has the media played in fostering Hispanic stereotypes?
  3. What are the positive and negative aspects of using an ethnic label like “Hispanic” or “Latino”?

Immigration and Demographics
  1. Did the story change your perspective on U.S. immigration policy? If so, how?
  2. Do you think a separatist movement like that proposed by fictional character José Antonio Marcha could ever take root in the U.S.? Why or why not?
  3. What can we do to prevent the social turmoil presented in the story?

The Media
  1. Where is the balance point between the news media’s responsibility to highlight social problems and the exploitation of those problems to attract viewers and readers?
  2. Short of censorship, how can we protect ourselves from the economic impetus to “sell the news”?

Historical Parallels
  1. The events in America Libre are similar to some real-life events in U.S. history, such as the race riots of the 1960s and the internment of Japanese- Americans during World War II. Do you think that today’s society has changed to prevent events such as these from happening again? If so, how has it changed? If not, what are examples of how society has stayed the same?
  2. Could the U.S. recognition of the State of Israel in 1948 ever be used as precedent for a Hispanic homeland within current U.S. borders? Why or why not?
  3. Do you believe any of today’s public figures are using the immigration issue for political gain? If so, how?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

"If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you. This is the principal difference between a dog and a man." -- Mark Twain

オテモヤン said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Anonymous said...

Meh, I give up. Suggesting -- even hypothetically -- that one carve off a big chunk of one's country for a newly arrived ethnic group would cause quite a bit more consternation in most countries than it does this one. I suppose I should be especially concerned since I live in a state with a swelling Hispanic population. I suppose a Hispanic States of America could happen. Maybe it will happen. But what's new? It will be back to the same old game of aping as much of the dominant culture's ways as I can. In with La Raza, out with the Anglo. Same stuff, different day. My only question: are you guys going to audit who claims to be Hispanic? Or are you folks going to be pretty loose about who gets to claim to be Hispanic if that term becomes, well, the name of the country I'm living in.

The Mustang To Paducah Period Pieces Blog said...

As a matter of policy, I only respond to posts by people with the courage to list their names. If your opinion is valid, why be ashamed of it?