B.

Human development and evolution across all cultures mean that there will be a gap between older generations, who tend to cling to outdated ideals and paradigms, and younger generations, who tend away from the traditional and towards new developments. While there are merits in both positions, subscribers to each respective position seldom see the value in the viewpoint of the other. Hence, the conflicts that arise are often difficult to manage and impossible to overcome.

Such conflict is clearly portrayed in Nash Candelaria's "El Patron," and also to a degree in Oscar Hijuelos's "Visitors, 1965. In the former, the traditional viewpoint is represented by Lola's father, Senor Martinez, while the more progressive viewpoint is represented by the other three major characters in the story; Lola, her brother Tito, and her husband, the narrator of the story. The difference in viewpoints can be seen on a variety of platforms, including gender roles, and the relationship between a father and his children.

Senor Martinez for example believes that all relationships should be conducted on the basis of a specific hierarchy, which he denotes as in descending order as "Dios, El Papa, y el patron" (215); in other words, obedience to God is most important, followed by obedience to one's father, and finally obedience to one's boss. The tradition that inspires this point-of-view is also clear in Senor Martinez's apparent exclusion of women from this occasion. Women are not the decision-makers in cultural or traditional matters. They are to be dismissed to join the "other women" in the kitchen when matters of vital importance are to be discussed.

The hierarchy of obedience is most prominently countered by Tito, the son who has run from being drafted to serve in the military. For his father, this means that he is not only shirking his responsibility towards his country, but also his duty to obey his father. Ironically, it is a woman -- his daughter -- who reminds Senor Martinez that he had disobeyed his own father when he was young,...

The result was his being disowned, and a relationship destroyed for life. Being faced with this possibility, Senor Martinez loses some of his stoic iron and becomes a human being. In this way, he becomes more accessible to his children, and particularly to his son. At then end, the narrator sees them together on the bus and draws the reader's awareness to their similarity. They are simply an older and a younger version of the same pattern. Their reconciliation is then based upon this similarity rather than a focus on the differences.
In "Visitors, 1965" on the other hand, the differences between respective generations, traditions, and paradigms are far more complex and multi-dimensional than in Candelaria's story. The story begins with an atmosphere of hope and joy as a result of Fidel Castro assuming power in Cuba. One of the main characters, Alejo, is a cook and the time, and chosen to be in charge of the dessert for Castro's visit to the United States. Alejo observes that "Only in America could a worker get so close to a fat little guy with enormous power" (295).

This event represents the difference in power relations as observed in the United States and in Cuba. The contrast is further strengthened as time increasingly reveals the suffering brought about by Castro's rule. American citizens have enough to eat and receive fair trials, along with humane treatment in prisons, while the same could not be expected in Cuba.

Another dichotomy is the one between cultures as represented by language. This is particularly embodied in the character of Hector. As the story progresses, so does Hector's feeling of displacement between cultures. He is not sufficiently confident to speak his native Spanish, nor is he happy in the United States, which he associates with feelings of loneliness and despair. He relates best to his displaced aunts and cousins from Cuba. In this way, the story offers a vision of the displaced and the necessity of adjustment amidst war and uncertainty.