In the short story "Mericans" by Sandra Cisneros, we appear to be reading about a small place in Mexico. The author uses many details in the story for us to visualize the cultural environment. The mix of Spanish words in the story such as, La Virgen de Guadalupe and la ofrenda give the sense of a different culture. The use of the awful grandmother kneeling at mass makes you visualize a specific heritage and cultural behavior. The word "barbarian" that the grandmother uses to describe the birthplace of the children, also points out cultural differences. It seems the author is trying to make us sense a native culture, and not to make assumptions based on physical characters.

The "awful grandmother" (Cisneros p.30) is an example of a person in the story living in two cultural worlds, while she clings to her cultural heritage, she still doesn't want to...