Garo Demirjian
11-09-14
English 101; STACC
Professor Tyberg
Demirjian 2
characters are primarily raised in Mexican culture enriched environment, they somehow speak as
Harvard graduates (Only an Echo). Words like scythes, miscreant, undulating, castrato,
camphoraceous, and many other high English literary words are used commonly by each of
Skyhorses main characters whom most of them have a high school education or less. Even to
many outsiders this seems strange. This proves that Skyhorse has no true authenticity of the
people in his novel.
There are characters that help support Granados ideas that there is racism/ tired clichs in
Skyhorses novel. One character as an example is Felicia from the chapter Blossoms of Los
Feliz. She shows the stereotype of Mexican Americans as working class, in this case as a
cleaning woman. She embraces and takes great pride in her skills, and she watches her daughter
drift away each time the young woman hungers for a materialistic American life rather than her
inherent Mexican culture. But she knows people only suffer that much more "when they have an
ocean of dreams but no water to put them in"(38). In the chapter Bienvenidos there is another
character that supports the stereotype of working class Mexican Americans, and he as well is a
day laborer. He was brought into the United States as a baby, somehow ended up embraced the
life of an undocumented immigrant. Though this unique characters background could have been
used for a fascinating exploration, Skyhorse instead employs the laborer as a simplistic symbol
of oppression or unfair treatment. But where was home(24). If he can speak English and can
make lengthy and true statements about L.A. housing, then how does the day laborer find himself
without legal recourse at the risk of deportation? This also shows another stereotype/ tired
clich of Mexican Americans, that stereotype being that they are all outcasts of America/
illegals.
Demirjian 3
Demirjian 4
Work Cited
Skyhorse, Brando "The Madonnas Of Echo Park." Publishers Weekly 257.14 (2010): 46.
Business Source Elite. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.
Granados, Christine. "Only An Echo." American Book Review 32.3 (2011): 15. Academic Search
Premier. Web. 9 Nov. 2014.