Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry

Symbolism usually draws on tangible examples to talk about abstract concepts. The essay’s most prevalent symbol is that of tortillas, which signify Mexican American cultural elements. Tortillas are a staple of Mexican and Mexican American cuisine, and in the essay, they represent all of the elements unique to Chicano writing, such as the use of Spanish, street talk, folklore, and local history. The author encourages preserving these elements in Chicano literature but believes that the publishing industry often censors them. For Anaya, having “tortillas” in poetry is a form of nourishment. These cultural elements nourish the mind, just as a real tortilla nourishes the body.

A point of view is the perspective from which the narrator tells their story. In this essay, Anaya chooses a first-person point of view to talk about censorship while incorporating anecdotes from different periods of his life. For example, “When I started school, I remember visiting the one-room library of our town […]” (67) or “The burning of my novel wasn’t an isolated example” (71). While some essays are devoid of first-person narration, Anaya inserts himself into “Take the Tortillas Out of Your Poetry” to demonstrate how censorship has affected him directly. The essay’s personal element is more likely to engage readers and draw them into the argument that censorship obstructs knowledge, particularly cultural knowledge. While the essay is personal and anecdotal, however, the tone also conveys an academic rigor, and Anaya’s firsthand experience lends him an air of authority on the subject matter. All these point-of-view elements are geared toward making his argument more persuasive.