Constant Migration

Furthermore, in most cases, it may seem the United States has a system in which immigrants are not given the chance to form a bright future. In the novel, “Antonio soon found himself settling for jobs that were clearly beneath him. He stood under the baking sun at the on-ramp to the Santa Monica Freeway, selling oranges for two dollars a bag: a dollar fifty for the guy from the produce market, fifty cents for him,” (Tobar, 53). Many of the immigrants that live in the U.S. have little power that allows them to succeed. Some races have benefitted from it more than others. The Cubans, for instance, have had it much easier than most immigrants who have migrated to the United States; whereas, Antonio, a Guatemalan, had trouble finding a stable job that allowed him to sustain himself. In contrast to many other races, many Americans described Cubans as being visitors who represent, “all phases of life and professions, having an excellent level of education… More than half of their families with them, including children brought from Cuba to escape communist indoctrination in the schools,”

Enrique’s journey from Honduras to the U.S. unveils the innate loyalty of a loving child to their mother and presents the dangers that a migrant faces on the road with consistent angst; nevertheless, it supports the idea that compassion shown by some strangers can boost the retreating confidence within a person. In Sonia Nazario’s “Enrique’s Journey,” he seeks the beacon of light that all migrants hope to encounter; “El Norte.” Like many children before him, it is the answer to the problems of a hard life. While being hunted down “like animals” leading to “seven futile attempts,” he is

Enrique and Rosa work so hard to escape the cycle of being the pair of arms. Immigrants come to the United States in search of the wonderful land of El Norte where “Even the poor drive their own cars” (El Norte). He uses the Mayan idea of circles as way to illustrate to the audience that immigrants come to America expecting to escape the cycle, but end up in the same position, just with different surroundings. Perhaps everyone already realizes that immigrants have a hard time, but Nava’s use of this imagery drives home the struggle and despair that they experience by arriving in America no better off than where they came from. By watching this film, many Americans would probably see the struggle and treat immigrants differently, which is Nava’s main

In the Foreword, she brings the reader to a day in 1997, when her cleaning woman Carmen reveals that she has four children in Guatemala, whom she has not seen in twelve years. Nazario is stunned. She cannot understand how a mother could so walk away from her young children, but Carmen then presents a reality the author will soon investigate and know to be ordinary. Since the 1960s, untold numbers of Central American mothers, often abandoned by their husbands, come to America to take any work available (Nazario xiii). In the late 20th century, then, and as American women were entering the workforce more and more, supply met demand and the illegal immigrant mothers found work as house cleaners and nannies. As Carmen expresses, nonetheless, the distance is almost unbearable and these mothers intensely feel the distance from their children. As the novel also reinforces, the children similarly experience the pain of separation, which goes to another form of “immigration”; basically, and often at very young ages, they risk their lives to join their mothers. Most importantly, then, and as Nazario is further moved by the true tale of Carmen's son Minor, Enrique's Journey actually documents an ongoing situation based on inequality and injustice. The novel is then completely based on the realities researched by the

One’s commitment of immigrating to a new country for a better life indicates that oneself is ready to risk the life given to them by facing many hardships along the way. In the novel Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, Enrique does exactly that, risking his own life at the age of seventeen in order to reunite with his mother who left him when he was five in order to obtain a better job in the US and give Enrique and his older sister everything she thought they deserved. Nazario utilizes an emotional appeal and metaphors to inform readers of the arduous situations migrants experience on their long and tiring journey in search of a family member and a better future.

First of all, the setting of this novel contributes to the Rivera family’s overall perception of what it means to be an American. To start this off, the author chooses a small American city where groups of Latino immigrants with their own language and traditions, lived together in the same apartment building. All these immigrants experienced similar problems since they moved from their countries. For example, in the novel after every other chapter the author

First and foremost, this novel is about Chicano people and the struggles they endured. While each small passage can be viewed as the progression of the unknown male protagonist, it also gives a multitude of other views as well. Middle-aged male

“ In Colorado My Father Scoured and Stacked Dishes” by Eduardo C. Corral is a poem about the speaker's father who was smuggled into the State. Coming into the State the speaker's father faced many hardship and struggles to make a living in the desert, the mountain, and Oregon. Corral the speaker shows empathy toward his father because he see’s all of the struggles that his father had faced and the speaker couldn’t do anything to help the father out. Corral used code-switching, diction and symbolism to show the hardships and struggles the speaker and his father faced as being Mexican American due to their identity. The struggles to survive when they don’t have money, family support, and also trying to fit in even though he is being disrespected because of his cultural background.

In The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea, the author retells a story of a group of immigrants who attempted to cross the border from Mexico into America. Throughout the novel, Urrea uses figurative language and syntax to prove the meaning that in order to grow as a community, there needs to be unity; making quick judgements about others can prevent people from uniting together. Towards the beginning of the novel, Urrea describes how the bodies of those who died crossing the border are treated in inspections for reports. He states, “Some reports wittily call these men Juan Does. Jane Doe becomes Juana Doe” (Urrea 36).

In the reading land of open graves by De Leon, discusses the dangers that millions of Mexican and central Americans face when trying to get into the United States undocumented. These people include people who have the dream of living in America and creating a new life where they can support their families. Also for those who have been deported back to Mexico being separated from their families and are in hopes of being reunited with their loved ones. These people face a hard battle ahead of them because they have to travel through the Sonoran desert of Arizona that is one of the largest deserts in North America. And have to deal with not only fighting the harsh desert elements, while only caring as many supplies as they can. They also have to deal with the structural violence that goes under looked that thousands of Mexicans have to face while migrating to the United States.

Throughout life, every individual must face obstacles; some more difficult than others. In the story “The Trip” by Laila Lalami, poem “Exile” by Julia Alvarez, and article “Outlaw: My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant” by Jose Antonio Vargas, there is a main character who has to face many challenges because of the fact that they’re immigrants. In all three texts, it is evident that being an immigrant has many affects on their lives. However, this label and the obstacles that come with it didn’t stop each character from pushing forward.

     It is hard for them to seek true identity when Whites did not want to give any acceptance to their culture. Between language and culture barriers, Mexicans could not find any means to gain freedom in America. The discrimination facing them not only set them back as a society, but did not allow them to grow personally. We see this throughout The House on Mango Street and Zoot Suit. Both of these books give clear examples how Mexicans on a personal level could not keep struggling with the stereotypes being pushed on them.

All the stories in the book had a specific theme that somehow identifies the Latino culture. The most known theme is “mi casa es su casa”. This saying is important in the Latino culture because it shows our friendliness and our caring for one another. Mi casa su casa means that we give a shelter to our families or friends who are in need. Especially, to our family members who are traveling from different states or countries. We provide them with shelter while they look for a job a job and are able to get a home of their own. Another reason for that is

Firstly, Steinbeck presents the inhabitants of the bunkhouse to be trapped. The bunkhouse is described as “a long rectangular building” It is seen as a jail-like place where the occupants of the ranch are trapped in; this symbolises that all hope is near to gone. It is also as if the migrant workers are trapped from their dreams and they have no place to go. The small square windows” shows how their lives are simple and that they have no escape and no freedom. It is also as if cutting off the light cuts off the hope. Steinbeck uses metaphors to emphasise this further. The use of the word’ solid’ to describe the door can also be used to show how it is very thick and a barrier to their dreams. The connotations of the word ‘house’ suggest the place to be homely but this is then juxtaposed further by Steinbeck mentioning the word ‘building’. Buildings are seen to have no identity which mirrors their lives. It is also as if there is no other option for them and that they have no were else to go as the novella is based during the great depression. Even the ‘latch’ is seen to be there as way to stop them getting out with no escape.

This story revolves around an undocumented family with the hopes that they will be able to live the "American Dream." The second oldest child, Francisco, otherwise known as Panchito who is also our narrator, is the main character of the novel. Panchito exposes a flurry of emotions with his roller-coaster ride of ups and downs, expectations and disappointments. He and his family expressed hope from the start of the story, dreaming of how life would be considerably better once they reached California, somewhere they thought to be a place where they could escape impoverishment. Panchito is shown as a very hopeful character; in fact, there are many times where he hopes for something to the point where he convinces himself it will happen, resulting in the numerous occasions of disappointment and discouragement. Yet, even with the frequent occurrence of disheartenment, Francisco pulls himself back up and perseveres. The author depicts Panchito as a determined character who always manages to push through rough times despite the circumstances around him telling him that he can't.