Parrot in the Oven
Parrot in the Oven is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Victor Martinez, an American writer best known for his poems and short stories. It was published in 1996 and received the National Book Award for Young People's Literature.
The book is based on the author's experiences growing up in Fresno, California as the child of Mexican immigrants and migrant workers. The story is a coming-of-age tale that examines issues of race, class, and identity through the eyes of a Mexican-American teenager. The novel was originally written for an adult audience, but the publisher suggested that it be packaged for a younger readership.
A Boy's Search for Identity
The story begins with Manny's desire to buy a new baseball glove. The baseball glove is a symbol of his potential for success in school. It is a status symbol that will help him get ahead in his family and his neighborhood. The baseball glove is also an emblem of his racial identity, a symbol of his heritage.
It is easy to see how Manny's longing for the baseball glove and his search for status can lead him to join a gang that will provide him with these same benefits. The gang is based on Mexican ancestry and is often called "the berets," which means "whites are our enemies."
Although the book was set in the late 1960s, it registers the sweeping effects of the 1970s movement to agitate for political rights for Latinos in the United States. The movement was inspired in part by the black civil rights struggles, but was broader in its scope and addressed issues specific to Mexican Americans' particular historical experience in the United States.
Hispanic America and the Politics of Inequality
One issue of great concern to Mexican American communities in the 1970s was the lack of education. In many cases, Hispanic students were not given the opportunity to attend high schools or colleges that offered a quality education. In addition, there were a number of initiatives to restrict the amount of bilingual education in California's public schools.
These measures, which were viewed as an attack on Hispanics, were controversial. Some people opposed them, but they were widely supported by leaders of the Hispanic community.
Another major issue of concern to many Hispanics in the 1970s was poverty. The majority of the Latino population in California, for example, was living below the federal poverty line. This fact, coupled with a high rate of unemployment among Latinos, led to a schism within the Hispanic community over how to cope with these problems.
As the migrant population increased in number, many Hispanics became concerned about the effects that illegal immigration was having on their families. This fear was a factor in the riots that rocked San Francisco and other urban centers in 1990, and also in the vote on proposition 227, which severely restricted bilingual education in public schools.
The result was a schism within the Hispanic population that would continue to impact the lives of many Mexican American families. It was a situation that Martinez sought to represent through the lens of his character Manny.
