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Multicultural Literature: "Poisoned Story"

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Multicultural Literature: "Poisoned Story"
Latino culture, specifically Puerto-Rican culture has changed through the course of history. Puerto Rico has witnessed a fusion of races and cultures spanning over many years, starting in 1898, after the Spanish-American war. Ultimately, Puerto Rico was annexed to the United States, the Puerto Rican people made United States citizens with limited restrictions and granted commonwealth status. The changes made during those eras did not come without consequences to the Puerto Rican culture. In "Poisoned Story", author Rosario Ferre depicts the political and economic changing norms and tensions between the social classes of the Puerto Rican's culture. In Ferre's story "Poisoned Story" several major themes are prevalent through the story: opposition between the aristocratic and working class, literacy, interpretation of historicity and magic realism.

The overriding structure of the story is based upon a narrative conflict between the characters which dramatizes the issue of the actual "writer" within the story. The reason this is important is because the concepts of the Puerto Rican history is based upon experience of the individual Puerto Rican. The class structure between rich and poor at one time was clear. During this story, the class structure and culture of two generations against the backdrop of the United States relationship is developed. The characters within the story represent several classes of people in the Puerto Rican society. Also, Ferre uses a narrative style in the story that introduces different "writers" within the story or shall we say different perceptions of occurrences of history based upon personal experience within the Puerto Rican fusion of culture.

The Puerto Rican economy was disturbed with the United States intervention which led to classes of people being displaced within society, as was the case with the character of Don Lorenzo. Don Lorenzo was Rosaura's father. After the death of his first wife, Don Lorenzo married his second wife
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