The book Breaking Through, by Francisco Jimenez is about his autobiographical novel. According to Wikipedia, he received both his master’s degree and his Ph.D. from Columbia University, and he is the director of the ethnic studies program. In this book, he wrote about his life and his challenging life in the United States, and how he overcame the challenge. His family moved to the U.S.A from the Guadalajara, Mexico when he was 4 years old, so he faced too many problems to live in the U.S.A. However, the major struggles that Francisco Jimenez faces were language and money, but he overcame them. Francisco Jimenez struggled with the English language, but he overcame that struggles by reading a book and studying. For example, when he was in the …show more content…
For example, when he was young, He and Roberto missed months of school because his family struggled to make ends meet, so he needed to help his family on the field. He writes that “Every year Roberto and I missed months of school to help Papa and Mama work in the fields. We struggled to make ends meet, especially during the winter, when work was scarce” (2). This means that his family is very poor, so they need to work in order to make ends meet. However, he overcame that money problem. For example, he worked more hours and day in the San Maria Window cleaners, Western union, Betty’s Fabrics, helping Mike, gas company, and oil company. He writes that “I increased my hours of Santa Maria Window Cleaners, working from six in the morning until midnight. In the early morning cleaned the Western Union and Betty’s Fabrics. During the rest of the day I helped Mike Clean houses doing window, washing walls, stripping and waxing floors. In the early evenings I did my regular chores at the gas company and late evenings I worked with Mike cleaning the standard oil company, which was located on the outskirts of Santa Maria” (149). This means that he increased the Santa Maria Window cleaners, Western Union, Betty’s Fabrics, Gas company, and Mike cleaning. I think, Jimenez worked more than 40 hours per week to survive. All of these shows that money was also a Jimenez major problem, but he was getting through that problem. In Francisco Jimenez book Breaking Through, the narrator, Francisco describes the struggles of his childhood life and how he overcame them. Money and languages are one of the Jimenez major struggles. However, he was passing through that problem. In my opinion, Jimenez played a major role in the Breaking Through book. I found both joyful and sad while I’m reading the
This is an incredible story about a young Mexican boy who went through so much to achieve something he never thought he would. The tragedy of his infant sister’s death and an economic crisis in 1970s made him take this life changing chance – to cross the border to the United States. His cousin used to tell him that he would spend all his life working in the fields, Quinones-Hinojosa was ready to accept his fate, he did not know English language, did not have working permit, what else could he expect? So he started working in the fields, picking fruits and vegetables, pulling weeds until his hands were bleeding, hands that perform brain surgeries today. He discovered that being a poor immigrant without an education in a foreign country will make people treat you differently. At this point in his life, he decided to prove to
Cristina Henriquez’, The Book of Unknown Americans, folows the story of a family of immigants adjusting to their new life in the United States of America. The Rivera family finds themselves living within a comunity of other immigrants from all over South America also hoping to find a better life in a new country. This book explores the hardships and injustices each character faces while in their home country as well as withina foreign one, the United States. Themes of community, identity, globalization, and migration are prevalent throughout the book, but one that stood out most was belonging. In each chacters viewpoint, Henriquez explores their feelings of the yearning they have to belong in a community so different than the one that they are used to.
He also creates a very strong and intimate bond with other immigrants throughout the entire paper. He used pathos by telling the story of his own immigration, of the day he was brought to America, and of having to jump through certain loops to stay under the radar. He discusses having to lie to friends and coworkers and not being able to obtain a driver’s license or job without going to the extremes. By laying out every obstacle he had to jump over he immediately creates credibility and a link between him and other
I was able to compare my own experience of moving from Guatemala to his journey towards the United States. The reason I mention health disparities is because it greatly impacted our lives. For example, I lived with a supportive family, inside of a safe neighborhood, and given an opportunity of excellent education. Luis, on the other hand, was involved in a gang affiliated family, an unsafe neighborhood, and given low quality education. The opportunities I was given was the chance of getting a free degree from a college in Roswell, I was taught good morals such as independance and determination, a full time job with benefits, and although it’s indirect, the health disparities I was involved in is what helped me to achieve these opportunities to a positive future. The same applies to Luis, but he managed to overcome the obstacles that came with the terrible environment he was involved in and managed to become a good example for not just his family, but others who read this story who may be influenced. Perhaps one day I could write a story of my own about my experiences in order to reach out to my generation, just as Luis
Reading Enrique’s Journey emphasized the crime and the need of basic necessities of people in Latin America Countries. The author Sonia Nazario, describes his families’ story and how he struggled to make it to the U.S. People for different reasons make the journey to travel to the U.S. It ranges from finding a love one to wanting a better life. While doing so everyone who dares to go on the journey have different experiences. Men and woman have the hardest journey physically compared to children. They go through many obstacles and sometimes not even make it to the other side. They face many dangers such as
In the novel Enrique’s Journey, Sonia Nazario demonstrates the onerous journey of illegal immigrants. Sonia Nazario aims for the readers to make them understand what most of the immigrants go through during their journey to the United States. By appealing to ethos and pathos throughout the book, Sonia Nazario portrays the path that Enrique undergoes to reunite with his mother.
Tomas Rivera was a Chicano author, educator, and poet who was most known for his 1971 novel ..y no se lo tragó la tierra. Until the age of twenty-two, he worked alongside his parents as migrant workers and his early life inspired him to write this novel. His life ambitions to give Mexican Americans an opportunity for higher education and writing came true by donating to the Chicano Literary movement. Through the fictional book, ...y no se lo tragó la tierra, Tomás Rivera tells the story of Mexican American migrant workers from the 40’s and 50’s. Made up of fourteen short stories and thirteen vignettes, the book contained a story, The Children Couldn’t Wait, that documented a day in the lives of Mexican American children working in the field.
Gary Soto is a popular Mexican-American author, who uses his experiences and cultural background to tell stories. Soto effectively uses his cultural background, the importance of family, and experiences to tell stories in a way that readers can either relate to or vividly imagine. Over the course of his career, Soto has earned worldwide recognition and continues to serve as one of the main faces of international authors success in American literature.
For the English language it is hard, for someone where English was not their first language to go and persevere makes me believe it is all in how you think of things. He loved his family and did not want to let go of that aspect and the sense of home he had with his language. Shows to me that he had a better understanding of what he needed to do for his growth and learning over what anyone else was telling him he needed to do. Only we know what we truly need to grow.
I never expected Enrique’s Journey to be such a personal work. Being a journalistic book, I expected a lot of research in it, but not to the level Nazario’s gone to. Definitely, the way she introduced herself into the enduring situations that migrants go through when they try to reach the US gave me a new perspective of what to expect from the book. She comes from a migrant family too, so she can sort of relate to the characters in the book. However, as she confesses herself, her journey was nowhere as arduous as what these children go through to find their mothers. And the way in which she involved herself into the situation increases her empathy for Enrique en other numberless children.
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
Gloria Jiménez wrote an essay at Tuffs University in 2003 named, “Against All Odds and Against the Common Good (Jiménez 116). The purpose of this essay is to persuade and support the following thesis: “Still, when all is said and done about lotteries bringing a vast amount of money into the lives of many people into the lives of a few, the states should not be in the business of urging people to gamble (Jiménez 116).” The evidence given in support of toward this argument does not point toward the proper thesis identified in the beginning of the essay.
When he was younger people would struggle to hear what he was saying even years after he moved to America, it is because he was placed in a neighborhood where everyone spoke English slang rather than proper English, and lived in a household of only Spanish speakers. Something to keep in mind is to understand that for individuals learning a second language initially have an accent because English is not their first language, they probably raised in different places that may have consisted of a language that is completely different and has no similarity to English. These so called ‘flaws’ in speaking should not be looked down upon, but rather celebrated, because of the person who ever it may be knows how to communicate with others in more than one language.
Marisol was written by Jose Rivera, premiering in 1992. He and other Latin American writers are known for creating works under magical realism. This genera of art traditionally depicts down and out suffering. He highlights topics about class, race and gender by skewing the reality the audience knows with allegory and symbolism. After the clash between the senile God and the Angels ensue, the New York becomes an unsettling dystopia. In this world, all foods are salt, it rains acid, and men can give birth. Throughout this desecrated world, the characters search for a way to keep on living. The actors portray these characters with honest intentions and clear acting choices, which allowed me to believe and empathize with their characters. After seeing this play, I understand that one cannot grow by dwelling in the past.
Dinaw Mengestu, Richard Rodriguez and Manuel Munoz are three authors that have been through and gone through a lot of pain to finaly get accepted in their societies. They are all either immigrants or children of immigrants that had trouble fitting in America’s society at the time. They struggled with language and their identities, beucase they were not original from the states and it was difficult for others to accept them for who they are. They all treated their problems differently an some tried to forget their old identeties and live as regulalr Americans others accepted themselves for being who they are, but they all found a way to deal with their issues.