Gary Soto
Gary Soto was born on April 12, 1952, in the farming community of Fresno, California, to Mexican-American parents. In his essay "Being Mean" he talks of how his father and grandfather worked at the Sun Maid Raisin Factory and his mother peeled potatoes at Reddispud. Soto's father faced an early death due to a work-related incident and his mother remarried. In his collection of poems entitled "Home Course in Religion" Soto talks of the arguments that his mother and stepfather had, showing a difficult relationship between the two. Due to the family's poverty Soto was forced to work and earn money as an agricultural laborer in California's San Joaquin Valley and the tire-retread factory in Fresno. His earlier poems focus on this personal history. Although Soto comes from a tough background and does not mention it in his poetry, he does have an impressive academic background. He graduated magna cum laude from California State University at Fresno with a degree in English (1974). In 1976 he received a master of fine arts degree in creative writing from the University of California Irvine. (Boyle 3112-3113) Soto began writing poems in 1974 while studying geography in college. He was inspired one day, while working on a te
Soto's poetry is largely autobiographical and his themes stem from his Mexican-American heritage and his impoverished life in the San Joaquin Valley. Although Soto explores a myriad of themes, a few themes radiate through most of his work. The majority of the themes of his work deal with pride in his Latin heritage and hope for the future, which he exemplifies by using his daughter as a character in his works. Soto uses many different poetic devices in his works. He uses various techniques to grasp the readers' attention and bring out his points. Soto may use many different poetic devices, however, some are seen much more frequently then others.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4291
Approximate Pages = 17 (250 words per page double spaced)
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