¶ … Hollywood!," by Dagoberto Gilb. HOLLYWOOD!

Dagoberto Gilb is a Hispanic writer who grew up in Los Angeles, and now lives in Austin, Texas. He spent sixteen years working in construction carpentry before he began to write for a living. He wrote "Hollywood!" For a short story anthology, "Pieces of the Heart: New Chicano Fiction," which was published in 1993. He is a visiting faculty member at the University of Texas at Austin, and has written many other short stories and books.

The central idea of this story is the family's trip to California, where it is "warm" even in the winter. It is the "promised land" to many, but this family does not experience all that the state has to offer. As the narrator says, the father is too "cheap," but says it is not the money. They sit on a beach eating sandwiches, when the wife really wants to go to Disneyland. "What would a place like Disneyland teach him besides cartoons?"

The underlying theme here is that the family does not fit in, and they are out of their comfortable surroundings. They see a commercial being filmed, and Luis says cynically, "They're all blondes." His wife is quick to point out that there are some actors with dark hair, too, but the idea is that they do not belong here. The author implies that they speak little English, but the son, Ramon does, and surprises them. This is another underlying theme...

They give up the old ways, and assimilate more quickly.
Just like they are the only ones on the beach, they do not fit in, and they know it. The meaning is clear, the Hispanics are the "outcasts" of society, whether there are many of them living there or not. California has a large Hispanic population, the largest in the United States, but they are still the people alone on the beach, trying to fit in. They dream of the lifestyle of warm and sunny California, but when they get there, they realize it really is not what they expected. The family even leaves two days early, and goes home, because they are not enjoying California.

The characteristics of the story are a very simple writing style, and simple language for the characters. They are clearly simple people, who have come to California for some kind of "dream" vacation, only to sit on a beach on a cold winter's day, when no one else is there but a film company.

The style is simple to get across the simplicity of the characters, and their needs and wants. It also shows they are a close-knit family, but suffering from the issues that every family faces, no matter what nationality they are. The wife does not agree with her husband, and thinks he is "cheap," and the husband removes himself from the family a bit, and does…