Helena Viramontes’ “The Cariboo Café”
Helena Viramontes’ “The Cariboo Café” follows the struggles of Mexican immigrants in the United States. The short story follows the lives of a young girl Sophia and her brother Macky. This short story is divided into three acts. The three acts are the different perspectives of three different narrators as they tell the same story. The first part is Sophia’s perspective as she describes how she lived with her absentee father until the time she loses the house keys and us unable to get herself and her brother home. The second part is the perspective of Cariboo Café’s owner about Sophia, Macky, and her mother and the search by the police for immigrants. The third part is by an omniscient narrator who details the lives of the people in the story.
“The Madman” by Chinua Achebe talks about Nwibe whose star seems to be rising in his community. He seeks to climb higher in society as he seeks to join the Ozo. However, he has to wait to see how he progresses. As he works toward joining the Ozo, he meets the madman who runs away with his clothes. The most important quote in the story is when a man remarks that “May it end ill for him who did this (Achebe, 229).” This quote underscores the belief that madness is caused by witchcraft or ill motive. No one believed that Nwibe was not mad since he was running without clothes despite being a high ranking member of society.
In this piece, it is evident that capitalism seems to be incompatible with conserving the environment. Trees had to be cut for the house to be built. However, there appeared to be plans to restore an ecosystem as new trees were being planted. Therefore, with more development, there is definite pressure on environmental variables. Capitalism is directly related to ownership. Ownership gives the individual the power to utilize the natural resources and maximize the value regardless of whether the environment is compromised.