had enough and will not take it anymore. That is the only way for Chicanos to overcome the social neurosis of our society.Gonzales further exemplifies the sense of Anglo oppression throughout the poem, and at times mixes it with a strong sense of heritage and community. The following stanza is from the last two pages of the poem, The part of blood that is mine has labored endlessly five hundred years under the heel of lustful Europeans. I am still here! I have endured in the rugged mountains of our country. I have survived the toils and slavery of the fields. I have existed in the barrios of the city, in the suburbs of bigotry, in the mines of social snobbery, in the prisons of dejection, in the muck of exploitation and in the fierce heat of racial hatred. This stanza brings to light every aspect of Chicano nationalism that Gonzales echoed throughout the poem. All at once we have the heritage of the Chicano people who labored endlessly through Europeans ravishing their cities and people in search of gold and other treasures, all the while contaminating the blood of all future generation. We also have the sense of community that comes from living in a barrio of the city and experiencing the prisons of dejection that is forced upon the Chicano by the Anglo oppressors. We also have the belief in the self as a nation, the self-surviving the toils and slavery of the fields. Gonzales is stating implicitly that the Chicano is a culmination of experiences, both good and bad, that determines the make-up of a people. In the face of all of the turmoil that prevents Joaquin from truly knowing which culture he belongs to, he is presented with the simple concept that he is all cultures and all people. By adopting those cultures and taking pride in his heritage, Joaquin begins to understand that he is simply, Joaquin.In summation, Lorna Dee Cervantes Poem For The Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, An Intelligent, Well-Read Person Could Believe In Th...
