In Myriam Gurba’s Pendeja, You Ain’t Steinbeck: My Bronca with Fake-Ass Social Justice Literature, she criticizes and attacks author Jeanine Cummins on her publication of American Dirt, a novel detailing the struggles of a Mexican immigrant seeking safety. Gurba picks apart the novel, “Dirt” as she refers to it, and punches holes all throughout the storyline. While doing so, Gurba maintained an aggressive tone using sarcasm and irony.
Although Gurba disliked multiple parts of the novel, her anger stems from the fact that Cummins, who as of four years ago identified as white and stated “I am white… I’ll never know the impotent rage of being profiled or encounter institutionalized hurdles to success because of my skin or hair or name” in a New York Times op-ed, wrote a novel about the hardships an immigrant faces. As if that wasn’t enough reason to cause a debate, Cummins fails to describe the realities of an immigrant. Not only did she write about something she has no experience in, she made it into a story, completely oblivious to the fact that the issues she attempts to bring up in her novel isn’t just a “storyline,” it’s the reality for thousands of immigrants seeking refuge. In publishing this novel, she downplays the severity of the situation and fills the book with stereotypical ideas.
Gurba uses sarcasm to pick apart at the novel by repeating words in order to get her message across. She does this by saying “It shocks Lydia to learn that some central Americans migrate to the UnitedStates by foot! It shocks Lydia to learn that men rape female migrants en route to the UnitedStates!..” Cummins failed to depict the true life of not only a Mexican, but an immigrant as well. Gruba takes this personally and calls her out on it throughout her article, standing up for the Mexican community.
I agree with you on all points, but the one that stood out as a shock was the fact that she identified herself as ‘white’ and went through with the decision to write this. It’s genuinely confusing to see how she recognizes her lack of understanding on the situation as a whole, and STILL committed to making a hollow piece of work.
I agree with you that Gurba really didn’t like Cummins’s work because I am also an immigrant, if I were reading Cummins’s work I would have also acted the same ways as Gurba did in her writting.
I agree with your points and with Will. When writing about something like this, it’s best to have experience and knowledge on the situation before writing anything. In my opinion, the least she could have done was interview people who have faced the hardship of being an immigrant/do research to make it more accurate. What Cummins did was uncalled for, and definitely deserved some backlash for her work.