Gary Soto A Mexican American Author - 2363 Words

Mac Foster Mrs. Brown Adv 11th Lit 15 December 2016 Gary Soto Gary Soto, a Mexican-American author, was born in 1952 in Fresno, California. His parents were both Mexican-American. Soto did not expect a lot from his life; he imagined he would ’marry Mexican poor, work Mexican hours, and in the end die a Mexican death, broke and in despair’ (Lee). Instead, he became a great writer of poems and short stories. James Sullivan describes Soto as â€Å"one of the most important voices in Chicano literature† and Don Lee counts Soto as â€Å"one of the best Chicano poets of his time† having published over twenty books. Soto, an established writer, uses experiences from his life and his observations of his community to write stories about life in a Mexican-American community with characters and conflicts that are relatable. Gary Soto, the second of three children was born to Mexican-American parents who worked hard to provide for their family. Boyle and Jason explain, â€Å"...his father and grandfather worked in blue-collar jobs at Sun-Maid Raisin and his mother peeled potatoes at Reddi-Spud.† Jobs such as peeling potatoes did not pay well, and factory jobs were extremely dangerous, but these jobs were the best ways, and often the only way, of earning the money they needed. Despite having steady work it was still a struggle to earn enough to care for the whole family. The family’s struggles increased after Soto’s father was â€Å"killed in an industrial accident† when Soto was five years old (Lee).Show MoreRelatedGary Soto : A Mexican American Author2038 Words   |  9 PagesLit/Comp 14 December 2016 Gary Soto: Gary Soto is a popular Mexican-American author, who uses his experiences and cultural background to tell stories. Soto effectively uses his cultural background, the importance of family, and experiences to tell stories in a way that readers can either relate to or vividly imagine. Over the course of his career, Soto has earned worldwide recognition and continues to serve as one of the main faces of international authors success in American literature. One majorRead MoreGary Soto : A Mexican American Author1696 Words   |  7 PagesBrown Adv 11th Lit 15 December 2016 Gary Soto Gary Soto, a Mexican-American author, was born in 1952, Fresno, California. His parents were both Mexican-American. Soto did not expect a lot in his life, he imagined he would ’marry Mexican poor, work Mexican hours, and in the end die a Mexican death, broke and in despair’ (Lee). That’s what many people would have predicted for him. However, he instead became a writer of great worth, writing poems and short stories. â€Å"Soto is one of the most important voicesRead MoreGary Soto1452 Words   |  6 PagesFinal Essay: Gary Soto Gary Soto, born on April 12th, 1952 is a proud Mexican-American that grew up in a very low class neighborhood in Fresno, California with both of his parents (Gillespie, Becker 100). Soto exclaimed that he was marginal kid; this means that he could have either ended up in prison or easily graduate from college. He put forth more effort in other things than school, such as girls or work. As a child and teen Mr. Soto was never interested in his schooling but he tried hisRead MoreAnalysis Of The Poem Oranges And Small Town With One Road 1372 Words   |  6 Pagesthrough passion, prior experience and multiple outer influences. Gary Soto is a famous poet who blossomed in the late 20th century. Soto used different variations of poetry tools to create expressive poems based on his own life experience. While Soto wrote many different poems, the poems â€Å"Oranges† and â€Å"Small Town With One Road† stand out and can be deeply analyzed. Both poems are strongly emphasized with his past experiences in life. Gary Soto writes poems about hope, diversity and harshness of life, becauseRead MoreSaturday at the Canal Analysis743 Words   |   3 PagesCITATIONS Gary, Soto. Gary Soto. Gary Soto. Nova Web Studio, 14 mar 2008. Web. 17 Mar 2011. . Soto, Gary. Between the Lines: Interview with Gary Soto. (September 2003) Harcourt Trade Publishing Web site http://www.harcourtbooks.com/authorinterviews/bookinterview_Soto.asp (accessed on March 15, 2011) Anaya, Rudolfo. Gary Soto of the United States. World Literature Today (November 2002) http://www.ou.edu/worldlit/NSK/Soto.htm (accessed on March 14, 2011). BIOGRAPHY Soto was born toRead MoreGary Soto And The David Soto1376 Words   |  6 PagesMarch 2017 Gary Soto Poet, author, and filmmaker Gary Soto did not always have an interest in literature. In fact, he wasn t interested in learning about literature until his college years, when Soto took a look at a poetry anthology while pushing off a research paper (Fabiano 279). According to author Charles Tatum, Soto grew up in Fresno, California with his two parents and two siblings. He also lived a childhood filled with sadness, loneliness, and poverty. (Tatum Vol. 1). Gary Soto got past hisRead MoreLike Mexicans By Gary Soto935 Words   |  4 PagesIn the story, †Like Mexicans† by author Gary Soto explains how he was always told him to marry a girl from his same ethnicity, but unexpectedly fell in love and married a Japanese girl. Sotos grandmother advised him to marry a girl that fitted the stereotype of a Mexican girl. He decided to ask his mom about the issue. His mom agreed that if he were to find a righteous Mexican women to marry her. Soto decides to ask Scott as well, who hap pened to be a second generation okie. An okie was what hisRead More`` Mexicans Begin Jogging `` And Small Town With One Road1828 Words   |  8 PagesAuthors write what they know. A well written piece is based on experience and what is familiar to the author. This is certainly the case for Gary Soto, a Mexican-American poet. Soto has written many poems and continues to do so today. Soto’s poems discuss personal themes from his life like experiencing racism and navigating stereotypes. These are themes that are evident in two of Soto’s poems, â€Å"Mexicans Begin Jogging† and â€Å"Small Town with one Road.† Both poems have a deep connection to his lifeRead MoreGary Soto s The San Joaquin Valley2143 Words   |  9 PagesKatelynn Pilon 11th Adv Literature Ms. Brown December 20th 2016 Gary Soto â€Å"Gary Soto was born in Fresno, California, in April, 1952, to working-class Mexican-American parents. At a young age, he worked in the fields of the San Joaquin Valley. He was not academically motivated as a child, but became interested in poetry during his high school years.† Soto uses his cultural experiences lead him to write about his character how he does and throughout all of his short stories, books, and poems heRead MoreThe Significance of Irony1413 Words   |  6 Pagesof indirectness is partly what makes poetry so interesting. Poetry’s lack of simplicity forces the reader to think independently, therefore creating numerous possible interpretations. The techniques of irony used in Stephen Dunns, â€Å"After,† Gary Soto’s, â€Å"Mexicans Begin Jogging,† Mark Doty’s, â€Å"Golden Retrievals,† and â€Å"This Is Just To Say,† by William Carlos Williams, are ultimately different, but do have substantial similarities an d presentations of humor. Stephen Dunn’s poem, â€Å"After,† was written as