Note: This paper provides literature students with an example of the biographical and mimetic approaches to literature. Elizabeth Evans, in her article “Early Years and Influences,” argues that life experience can influence a writer as powerfully as can other literature. She also mentions that Tyler spent her formative years living in Quaker communities (Evans 2). Not much has been written about Tyler’s Quaker background, although she has portrayed Quaker meetings in Morgan

Note: This is an academic exercise that takes a historical / biographical critical approach to Sandra Cisneros’s short story, "Never Marry a Mexican." This is not intended to be a well-developed critical paper, but it should prove a useful tool for examining one aspect of Cisneros’s work. It should also serve to help students learn more about the use of the historical / biographical critical approach to literature. Motivation in "Never Marry a Mexican" © Copyright 1999, Sky