ENG1141
Creative Writing
Formal Critique
Reviewer’s Name: Angelica Salazar
Title: Pendeja, You Ain’t Steinbeck: My Bronca with Fake-Ass Social Justice Literature
Author’s Name: Myriam Gurba
Write one item you enjoyed for four out of the six topics. Write one question you had for at least four out of the six topics.
Plot
I think Gurba does a great job on criticizing American Dirt and how Cummins portrayed Mexicans with well-known stereo types. As a Mexican and reading this review, I agree with Gurba when she states “Cummins lacked the qualifications to write Dirt” I wouldn’t be so quick to judge a book with out even reading it but the way Gurba writes is so blunt and she is very determine to show how much American Dirt was a slap in the face.
Since Cummins claimed she wanted to give a voice to those who don’t what are some things what she should’ve done in order to give them their voice?
Characters
Would there be anything that you would like to say to Cummins regarding Americans Dirt?
Point of View
Was there anything you said or wanted to the publisher who did not publish your original critique on American Dirt?
Setting & Context
I enjoyed reading this article it was very intriguing in the way the author used the reference of a bad shake to compare “American Dirt” to, it gave me the base of what the review was going to be like. I also enjoyed how Gurba included her original critique on Cummins novel American Dirt, and how it tied together with the article.
Voice & Style
I like how Gurba is not afraid to use her voice in any form, in this case writing. She incorporated many Spanish words into the article, which I loved mainly because I understood what she was trying to say.
Dialogue
I loved how through-out the article she was not afraid to used words like “gringa” or “obra de caca” using Spanish words to describe how she felt about the novel by Cummins
Did you intend on including Spanish in the article before you started to write it?
Good gritique Angelica! I agee, Gurba does a great job on criticizing American Dirt and how Cummins portrayed Mexicans with well-known stereo types. I like how honest she was in her writhing and how expressive she was in sharing her opinion on why she thinks Cummins over step by writing that book.
Like yourself, I too enjoy the way she transitions from Spanish to English throughout her writing and the way her tone would change in each paragraph to mirror the emotions she was feeling.
I think she did a grate job with this article.
Hey Angelica, I agree with your plot critique. With the way Gurba so bluntly countered Cummins’s writing on Mexico, it really showed how much Cummins lacked the eligibility to write about a country she knew next to nothing about.