Formalism In The Novel 'The Illegal'

Signs Preceding the End of the World is an insider’s look at the mind and journey of an illegal immigrant. A Mexican young woman crossing the border story is what challenges the ethics of readers. The main character in Signs Preceding the End of the World is Makina. “Makina is in charge of a small Mexican town’s telephone. A reliable, messenger, she knows how to keep a secret and when to keep her mouth shut. She is dangerous when threatened, quick to defend herself against lecherous fools, and unafraid of speaking truth to power” (Long). Makina is just like an ordinary person. She is no different from an average American. Makina has a job and harmless when not threatened. Americans act as if immigrants are so beneath them. Immigrants are hard workers, just like Americans. Immigrants want better lives for themselves and their families, just like Americans. Americans and immigrants are not the only ones who want these things. People all around the world want what is best for everyone they know. Most people will do whatever it takes to get to what they need; even if it is in life threatening conditions. Signs Preceding the End of the World challenges our ethics by placing the reader in the mind of an illegal immigrant, allowing the reader to know the true feelings and experience of the immigrant.

This structure depicts the economic exploitation of one Hispanic by another. At first Enrique and Rosa do not see, as illegal immigrants, it is nearly impossible to be free. Enrique and Rosa might be safer living in America than in Guatemala, but as an illegal immigrant they will never reap the benefits American citizens have.

In Hector Tobar’s book The Barbarian Nurseries, the labeling that occurs is that of undocumented immigrant as criminal. The book, while fiction, illustrates how the concept of the “good immigrant” and the “bad immigrant” come into play in societal structures. Because of white privilege and

The first literary device that the author uses to express the theme is the characterization of Jefferson. As we can notice right from the beginning of the story, Jefferson is characterized as “immigration transformed”. (27) This suggests that he was different before, and he

Lawrence Hill’s novel, The Illegal, is a classic tale of struggle in the lives of immigrants that illegally enter countries. The illegal takes to ground when a young aspiring athlete, Keita, who is affected by the instability in his country. Zantoroland, Keita’s country, is home to rife political conflict. Hence, his family known to be Faloo, become victims of this instability. Keita’s father, Yoyo, is a journalist that uncovers high ranking government officials and so when a coup d’état happens, it puts a target on his family’s head including Keita. Keita needs to leave the country or there is the possibility of being killed by these new government “officials”. His talent regarding athletics is his only way out of the country. Keita’s journey

In Pat Mora's poem, "Legal Alien," the author describes her biracial character as being "viewed by Anglos as perhaps exotic, / perhaps inferior, definitely different, / viewed by Mexicans as alien," a description which highlights the situation encountered by people who strive to be prestigious individuals by floating between cultures and who consequently fail to be a part of any particular group (Mora 9-11). Often the individuals are biologically trapped between two probable lives, and they forge ahead to meet the opportunity of possibly belonging to the higher society while they degrade the small culture which has weaned them from birth. These people find themselves

These truths are that people will always want to better themselves. Living in poverty can make a person do extremities. Mothers and fathers will leave children in hope of a better chance, like Enrique's mother and himself. Readers are persuaded to think about immigration in a new light. It is more than looking for jobs, it is looking for a future. Central Americans are living in poverty and fantasizing about being worth more. The author shows a boy with this dream as he strives to make a life for his child. Immigration is strenuous and all that some know. Readers are becoming informed of how dire the task of having a good life can be for Central American

Immigrants’ experience can be described as being transcultural, meaning their experiences from their country (including cultural signifiers) are translated or transported to the new country they live in. During the transcultural experience, people can be changed by the new culture, and they also bring some their own traditional culture to the new environment. In 1990s, a lot of Latinos leave their countries to come to the United States because of the civil war. Hector Tobar’s book The Tattooed soldier tells a story of a Guatemalan refugee Antonio who comes to live in Los Angeles. His wife and son were killed by the government army. Antonio has to escape from his country because he could be killed too. After the murder, the sergeant of the death squad comes to the United States too. Antonio finds the soldier in a park in Los Angeles, and he starts to plan to kill the murderer. At the end of the story, he revenges for his wife and son. In Tobar’s other book Translation Nation, Tobar interviews many Central Americans who crossed the border, and this book also records many Latino immigrants’ life experiences. Both of the books show these immigrants’ transcultural experience in the United States. In The Tattooed Soldier and Translation Nation, the Latino immigrants are changed by the new country they live in and they also bring their own culture to the new country. Their cultures change and influence each other, that’s the reason why immigrants’ experiences are

Have you ever felt alone? Did you feel separated from the rest of society? As human beings, everyone has experienced this at some point in their lives. There are many factors to take into account when trying to figuring out why people seem to feel so marginalized or alienated. A group of people who feel they are marginalized is immigrants. The experience of entering a new and unknown country is difficult and can make the experience a struggle for different reasons. One reason is the lack of feeling welcomed by the residents of that country. The biggest decision immigrants face, when entering a new country, is whether they will be able to hold on to their own culture and heritage or if they will adaptor the new culture they are being exposed to. Books tell a story and often time authors decided to incorporate their own experiences into their novels. Two of these authors are Cynthia Ozick and Henry Roth, both of whom have touched upon the “Jewish American Experience.” Ozick created characters who handled the events from The Shawl in different ways throughout Rosa. Henry Roth incorporates his childhood experiences and inner thoughts in Call It Sleep through the eyes of (name of main character), the main character.

In “Legal Alien” by Pat Mora, the speaker describes how her life is while being a part of two cultures, Mexican and American. Through the use of repetition, symbols, and diction, the speaker presents to the reader the idea that an individual is responsible for supporting herself. The speaker uses lines one through seven to introduce herself and being Mexican and American, describing how she can slip from English to Spanish any time she needs to. However, the first line is the most significant line in this section.

“If you move, I’ll kill you. I’ll break you in two” (Nazario 87). Enrique’s Journey, a nonfiction book by Sonia Nazario, painstakingly follows the trek of a young teenage boy’s treacherous journey to the United States from Honduras. At the tender age of five, a horrified and confused Enrique watched his mother Lourdes walk away from him and onto El Norte, The North. Eleven years later Sonia Nazario, a project reporter for the Los Angeles Times, traces each bitter step of Enrique’s gruesome and long expedition to reunite with his estranged mother. A novel for the ages, Enrique 's Journey allows for insight into the plight of millions of individuals that cross the border illegally due to life circumstances. This fast paced novel and this critical analysis paper depict and explain a problematic and undeniable issue polarizing the Western world: illegal immigration.

The Movie “The Immigrant,” directed by James Gray in 2013, is a historical piece, mostly because it was not made in 1921 when the events it portrays actually happened. I would also have to attribute the movie to be a drama as well as a romance, as the movie is about an evil man hooking the main character, Ewa who is played by Marion Cotillard, into becoming a prostitute. The movie has certain aspects of romance as well as fear. There are many times where you feel love will be sparked and Ewa will live happily ever after. However, these moments are fleeting and go away very quickly, only to pop up again a few minutes later. In the two hour duration of the movie, I felt hopeful, as well as sad. While not learning any historical information, I was entranced in the lives of the characters. I feel as though they did a fantastic job of portraying the time period, through the cloths, speech, and even the way the buildings were built.

In the text, “Mexican Migrant Workers in the 20th Century,” the whole text explains different events. For example, the text states, “Mexico experienced a revolution in 1910.The revolution put some in danger and they fled for safety.” This leads to Mexicans flooding into the USA, which causes some problems, such as, “Americans grew upset, believing that immigrants were ‘taking’ their jobs.” It is not until 1965 when, “Cesar Chavez first created a union for farm workers.” Then, in the text, “Deportation at Breakfast,” the text metaphorically shows opportunity. The events begin when, “the authorities came in,. They grabbed Javier quickly and without a word.” This leads to the narrator going behind the counter, since no one notices Javier is gone, the customers mistakenly think the narrator is Javier, so instead of telling the other customers the truth, he keeps

The border between the United States of America and Mexico always had been always a theme for a lot of discussions. And, in the book “Sunshine/Noir II” Juanita Lopez and Michael Cheno described, through texts, their point of view about the topic. Both authors represent that the control of the border has become way more restrict and militarized. In that sense, Michael Wickert presents his idea in a poem form, text named “The border Is a Fight”, that describes the dramas of a Mexican family that has to cross the border every day in a hope to get a better future. Whereas, Juanita Lopez demonstrates it through an essay that uses personal narratives of the author’s relatives to illustrate her point of view. Therefore, the both authors exploit their point of views using different text forms, and figurative images, like metaphors and personification, for delivering their ideas in the way they do.

The Barbarian Nurseries is a novel, a work of fictional story that is not based on true events but encompasses situations and issues of today’s society through careful representations of characters and their experiences. Hector Tobar formed a realistic story that presents issues that illegal immigrants are facing in the United States. Thus, The Barbarian Nurseries is a fictional novel that provokes emotional response on the reader by presenting the injustice of law enforcement. This novel illustrates how the employer and law enforcement judge the illegal immigrant character unfairly. However, Junot Diaz who is a Dominican American writer, creative writing professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology states, “Every single immigrant we