Reyna does a great job showing the awful struggles she has to go through with her siblings as a child in Mexico, and even still when she was in the United States. When she moved to the U.S. with Mago and Carlos they started school with the fear they would be sent back to Mexico if they didn’t get good grades. As an ESL student, Reyna felt different from everybody. She was very disappointed that the first time she wrote a book for a competition hers wasn’t chosen, but Mr. Lopez encourages by telling her that she will learn the English language one day. He tells her that the U.S. is the land of opportunity, and anything is possible. She doesn’t give up and promises herself that one way or another she will make her father proud. Reyna’s father
Hispanic-American population in the United states is dramatically increasing as a result of immigration patterns and increase birthrate of the ones already residing in the the United States. The movie Selena is an example of Latino family residing in the country who wants to fulfill the “American Dream”. Isolation and discrimination of Hispanic-Americans particularly Mexican family has also been illustrated in the movie. Despite social class stratification, Selena’s family try to breakthrough to the English-speaking audience mainstream to be accepted. In this film, the father is characterized as the head of the family - dominant, strong, aggressive, invulnerable, and superior. Portrayal of tight-knit family values and interdependence is seen in this movie, as well.
In the memoir, “The Distance Between Us,” by Reyna Grande, Natalio makes a decision which cost him to lose everything he once had. Natalio leaves Juana and his three kids to make money in El Otro Lado to build his dream house in Mexico. Since he couldn’t make enough money on his own, he takes the mother of his three kids as well. This decision creates a distance between all of them, because no matter how close by they are in Los Angeles after they migrated to the United States the harmony amongst his family is never established. Mago, Carlos, and Reyna get humiliated as they are left with their wicked grandmother Evila. They are looked down on as orphans. Their economic status in Mexico makes them want to give up on school. As the father dreams
In Reyna Grande’s memoir, The Distance Between Us, Grande explains how difficult it was for Reyna to grow up with many parental figures in her life. Reyna’s parents left Iguala, Mexico for the United States in search of work to build their dream home in Mexico. As a result, Reyna and her two siblings were sent to live with their cruel Abuela Evila. The living conditions (living condition in US and mexico) Reyna had many parental figures in her life that affected her identity, Tia Emperatriz, Mago, Mila, and Natalio, but Diana Savas had the greatest impact by mentoring and encouraging her to go to school and become a writer. Although Tia Emperatriz, Mago, Mila, and Natalio had an impact on Reyna’s identity, Diana Savas had the greatest parental effect on her because she was there when she
The book The Distance Between Us: A Memoir by Reyna Grande provides an account of Reyna Grande’s life in Mexico and later in the United States. When she is two, her father leaves the family for the United States hoping to earn money for building a house in Mexico. Later, he sends for their mother, Juana, leaving behind three children – Reyna, Mago, and Carlos. The children experience abject poverty and others hardships under the unforgiving care of their paternal grandmother, Abuela Evila (Tobar). Her mother returns with another child, Elizabeth, and establishes an on-again and off-again relationship. Later, their father, for whom they have almost forgotten, returns and takes them on a terrifying journey to the United States ' border (Grande 317). Overall, the book narrates a child’s journey to overcome poverty and deal with the absence of parents through forgiveness and love.
1. One way to read Richard Rodriguez’s essay is as a discussion of two discrete educational philosophies. What are they?
In this paper, I will examine the article, Speak My Language. Specifically, I am going to explain some of cultural components and influences such as cultural norms, expectation, and expressions of the local youth culture in Santa Fe community. Also, beside the graffiti wall, I will figure out some of good strategies for keeping connection and relationships with youth in this community.
There's a lot of things that are enjoyable on Mrs. Chavez's English 1, period 2 class. For instance, SURF, writing poem, and more. Surf is when the students read their chosen book for 30 minutes and write some information about the book after reading it. In addition, the students recently wrote a poem called "Where I'm from," it was a very interesting poem and also fun to create. However, the most enjoyable part of the class is when the students get to pick their own group members. It was very appreciative that Mrs. Chavez let the students select who they wanted to work with because it's been only a few weeks since school started and some students might not be comfortable working with other students that they are not familiar with. Especially
Throughout the writing, the author, Gloria Anzaldúa conveys multiple times how her relationship with her language and her history have impacted her. The author says on page 26, “Ethnic identity is twin skin to linguistic identity – I am my language” (Anzaldúa, pg. 26). Prior to writing this, the author was writing about how she and other Chicano/Chicana people were being unequally and unfairly treated, simply due to their culture and the language(s) they spoke. By saying this, the author shows that even if the people were only scrutinizing her and her people for their language, it is just as bad as being blatantly discriminatory toward their race, ethnicity, background, culture, and more, as she expresses that one’s language and “linguistic
In the past two months i fell like i have accomplished a great deal. As i focus on it more i realize i have become a better reader. I did this by concentrating on my readings and take my time to read them. With the help of my professor and classmates i began to analyze what i read.
The second to youngest of the Grande children, Reyna, who is much more of a supportive friend than is a sister, would always boost everyone’s confidence in the memoir. Therefore, it gives confidence to everyone in order to succeed. Reyna was always the most baby in the memoir but Mago changed that and taught her how to be brave in the time of need. Reyna looks up to Mago the most because Mago is the only one who notices what she does. Carlos supports Reyna, but he’s also going on away trips to find a decent father role model. Mago once told Reyna that, “it doesn’t matter that there’s a distance between us now. That cord is there forever” (21). Mago wasn’t Reyna’s real mom; she tried her best to be the best she could be for not only Reyna but for Carlos and Betty too.
Throughout the mission of the girls both parties have had their share of suffering. Like the parents and love ones of the girls and like many that have cross the border to leave behind their loves ones and are left to suffer behind. We get a point of view seen by the lives of many people who have lived in the struggles along the border. This is a border that has made life more difficult for people living on both sides of it. The border has brought some of the worst people like coyotes and bottom feeders (168). But there are also those who make the best out of their current situation like Don Porfirio and his wife Araceli, who lost everything they had in their home state and move to Tijuana in search to better their situation. The couple picks up Nayeli and her crew and offers them a place to stay and some help. At their stay with the couple they pick up an element that is important for their mission. The old couple has given the crew the inspiration to keep on going and not to give up (131). Nayeli recalls the setting of the time when she was a soccer player and how her father would set off the police sirens whenever she scored a goal and the father and daughter moments they shared together (47). The love for one’s family can push a person to go through great depth of sacrifices in order to accomplish one’s goals. Like Nayeli who wants to go to the United States but not just to be a hero to her community but she seeks to recuperate the love of her father. Along her trip to
In the book, The Distance Between Us, Reyna Grande is ( *Ask when to use - is or was*) exposed to us multiple social issues, which predominantly revolves around the effects of inequality and problems within family. Through the early challenges in their life, Reyna, Mago, and Carlos all express maturity in their choices even though they were not granted that greatest quality of living. Mago, being the eldest siblings, adapted the motherly role beginning in her pre-teens. She expressed maturity in her school work and watched after Carlos and Reyna with intensity. Unlike most American children who grow up playing with toys and responsible parents, Mago had to raise herself and her siblings because of her parent's absences and her grandmother's
It’s a book about her life told from her perspective. She gives us an inside look on her life as a child without parents for a period and her journey immigrating to the United States. I also would put in the category of tragedy. I think it falls into this category because it’s a tragedy to lose your relationship with your parents at young age. Being able to acknowledge so young that your parents aren’t the same people they were before, is a hard thing to come to terms with. The book is structured with flashbacks, told as an adult. She starts the book with the result of her life as a child into adult hood. This book is set in a city located 102 km (63 mi) from the state capital of Chilpancingo called Iguala. Reyna refers to the border as the other side on the mountain with a headache. As a child she believed the only thing separating her and from parents was the mountain. As she time went on she realized there was something greater than the mountain between them. Los Angles soon becomes home for the children. A city filled with gang bangers and loud noises.
Living in Mexico throughout her teen years was very rough. Unlike other teenagers where their parents constantly provide for their children, Marisela’s life was a lot different than the usual parent- child relationship. She lived with her Abuela ( Grandma) Lupe, along with her 3 brothers and sister. She constantly had to take care of her brothers and sister at such a young age, that she became the mother-like figure of the
Have to is a non-modal alternative to the modal verb must to talk about obligation.