Dreaming in Cuban - Questions to Explore in your Blog Posts

I'm looking forward to our week discussion Cristina Garcia's Dreaming in Cuban. While so far we've just scratched the surface of historical detail and chronology, this rich and strange novel takes us much deeper into the psychology of Cuban American life. Since this is a busy time of year for all, I thought I would post some suggestions for your blog posts here. You are welcome to choose your own topic, but in all cases I would like you to center your post on a passage from the book and to use the post to explore its relevance to a theme from the novel.

Picture of Cristina Garcia from the Random House website.

Here are some suggestions, below, and even some passages to explore:


1) What does it mean to "dream in Cuban?" Cristina Garcia's novel shows us the impact of the Cuban revolution on families and intimate relationships. What is the function of dreaming in this novel? What is the language of "Cuban" experience that shapes the dreams in this novel? For instance, When Lourdes puts on her policewoman shoes and walks her beat, "she decides she has no patience for dreamers, for people who live between black and white" (p. 129). Do you agree with Lourdes that dreamers "live between black and white," or are the dreamers those who see things in extremes?

2) Pilar says, "I resent the hell out of the politicians and the generals who force events on us that structure our lives, that dictate the memories we'll have when we're old. Every day Cuba fades a little more inside me, my grandmother faces a little more inside me. And there's only my imagination where our history should be" (138). Feminist theorists have insisted that "the personal is political." How do personal dreams reflect political dreams in this novel? Or, conversely, how do political dreams affect and shape personal dreams? Focus on the dreams of a specific character, as expressed in a specific passage from the novel, and show how they are related to or shaped by politics.

3) "'Look how El Lider mobilizes the people to protect his causes," Jorge del Pino told his daughter. "He uses the techniques of the fascists. Everyone is armed and ready for combat at a moment's notice. How will we ever win Cuba back if we ourselves are not prepared to fight?'" (132). How do the characters in this novel reflect the sides that are in conflict over the Cuban revolution? More personally, how does this attitude of always being armed to fight play itself out in the relationships between characters? Focus on one or several relationships that express this aggressive attitude. What is the effect over time? Does being in America lessen or increase this attitude? Explain.

4) "The family is hostile to the individual," says Pilar as she listens to Lou Reed (134). However, it also appears that the Cuban revolution is hostile to families, as almost every family in this novel is subject to divorce or dysfunction. What is the meaning of the individual in this novel? How do the quirky individuals in this novel relate to the concept of family? Does the family mirror the authoritarian regime of Castro's dictatorship, or is the family disempowered when another male figure is the authority? Explore the relationship between the individual and the collective, whether family or society. How much more freedom do Cubans have to be "individuals" in America?

There are many other intriguing passages in this novel as well as themes related to gender, sexuality, magical realism, family, same or other sex relationships between parents and children, etc. Also, the theme of borders that we explored in Bodega Dreams could productively be explored in this novel in terms of political boundaries as well as family boundaries. Choose a topic that grabs you--or better yet, one that connects to your course theme for your final integration project--connect it to a passage in the novel, and take your readers on a ride into your imagination as you respond to the quote and connect your insights to this novel.