How Does Gary Soto Overcame Their Childhood Obstacles With The Help Of Their Parents

“Looking for Work”, by Gary Soto, is about a little Mexican boy who wants his family to mimic the families that he sees in reality and also the families that he sees on the television. He also wants to begin working at a very early age. He would go house-to-house on his block and ask for duties the owners if there was anything that he could do to earn some money. The little boy wanted his family to dress up wherever they went because he wanted him and his family to feel approved by the other higher-class families. The author describes there family as a middle-class family, but apparently the little boy was watched too much television and wants his family to improve their living habits.

In the short story Mr. Soto exclaims when he was younger he pushed a lawn mower, door to door trying to find someone who would pay him to cut their grass. At the time he did not know that his area was in the lower-class bracket, “It struck me like a ball. They were poor, but I didn’t even recognize them. I left the projects and tried houses with a little luck, and began to wonder if they too housed the poor” (101). This is significant because later he speaks about how he was so oblivious to how he grew up. Later in this childhood story he stated that he wanted to become a hobo since he thought there was no jobs for him in the world since he did not want to work like his father. He exclaimed that his dad would come home with blistery hands, sit down their living room chair and stare at the television for the rest of the night. At the end of this story he starts talking about how he became who he is now, and why he fell into his career. “It’s been twenty years since I went door to door. Now I am living this other life that seems a dream. How did I get here? What line on my palm arched in a small fortune? I sit before students, before grade books, before other professors talking about books they’ve yet to write, so surprised that I’m far from that man on the sidewalk” (101). This quote from “To Be A Man,” is a very smart and somewhat humorous line, because Mr. Soto realizes that he could have easily been a hobo on that

At some point in almost everyone’s childhood, there is a moment of deliberate wrongdoing, followed by panic and guilt. Perhaps it is standing on the water spout outside the house and neglecting to inform an adult when the pipe breaks and spews water into the backyard. Maybe it is lying to a parent about the whereabouts of a dollar after the ice cream truck goes by. For author Gary Soto, it was stealing a pie from the neighborhood grocery store. In his autobiography, Soto recounts the story and emotions of his six-year-old self taking an apple pie off the rack and walking home with it, only to be overwhelmed by a guilt-ridden conscience. Throughout the narrative, Soto uses imagery and precise diction to recreate his experiences as a guilty

Throughout the autobiographical narrative written by Gary Soto, many different literary elements are used to recreate the experience of his guilty six-year old self. Different elements such as contrast, repetition, pacing, diction, and imagery. Soto narrates this story as a young boy at a time when he seems to be young and foolish, Soto foolmaking mistakes, but at the same time hoping to learn from them. Soto uses each of these devices to convey different occurrences in the narrative.

Gary Soto’s tone is filled with resentment for the evil deed he has accomplished. Realizing his actions and seeking forgiveness, this shows how innocent and spirit-minded he tended to be as a 6-year-old boy. It’s essential for people to sort their evil doings and aim to make up for them. This will make you feel better and not be loaded with torment and torture of disastrous ponderings.

One of the most well-renowned authors, Wes Moore, took his life struggles of growing up in an extremely unprivileged neighborhood --where the chances of living a successful life are very scarce--However, In Moore’s inspirational memoir called The Other Wes Moore, he compared his life to another man who lived through the same unfortunate circumstances, but Moore defied the odds and became an influential figure in the African - American community.

Poor Mexican American. Female child. We all look alike: dirty feet, brown skin, downcast eyes. You have seen us if you have driven through South Texas on the way to Mexico. We are there – walking barefoot by the side of the road. During harvest time there are fewer of us – we are with our families in the fields. (prologue)

Gary Soto attempts to make it understandable, in his short story “Like Mexicans,” that a person’s race is not what defines them completely. Soto married Carolyn, a Japanese woman, after having claimed that he would only marry a woman of Mexican descent. Soto’s best friend Scott highly disagreed with Soto’s decision in being with Carolyn. He felt Carolyn was too good for Soto, and therefore this false assumption brought Soto down and distorted his thoughts on race and economic status. The essay by Gary Soto was well-written because it can be highly relatable to one’s life, especially to someone who is of Hispanic descent.

In her book, Labor and Legality: An Ethnography of a Mexican Immigrant Network, Ruth Gomberg-Muñoz describes the lives of ten busboys, she referrs to as the Lions, living and working in the Chicago area. Gomberg-Muñoz provides an insight into the lives of these undocumented Mexican workers. They share their stories of crossing the border, the affects of their absence on family back in Mexico, and the daily struggles of living in a country without the benefits of citizenship. The Lions, as well as other undocumented Mexicans, have to face Americans stereotypes every day. Probably the biggest stereotype the Lions contend with is the belief that all Mexicans are hard workers.

In the poem “Behind Grandma’s House”, Gary Soto writes about an experience he had as a young boy. He speaks of himself as being a nerdy Spanish boy who wants attention. He screams out for attention by acting out in negative ways. Most know, to bring attention to one’s self, one can acquire it by acting negatively or positively, but negative attention brings punishment. Soto obtains his grandmothers attention at the end of the poem, but he may have regretted it. Gary Soto’s “Behind Grandma’s House” is a 1952 free verse poem that uses imagery to suggest the speaker’s perspective of the story.

Gary’s Soto “Mexicans Begin Jogging,” describes an event that happened when he worked in a factory where illegal Mexican workers were employed. Although the poem is simple, Soto brings identity, ironic, drama, and imagery to his audience. The narrative reflects irony the speaker went through and the dilemma that Mexican Americans go through. The poems tone is ironic and not taking too seriously.

Terry Ramos is a thirty-three-year-old Puerto Rican woman who has resided in Morris Heights for ten years. She works for the Department of Education and has done so for fifteen years. Terry describes Morris Heights as a great place to live. She loves the eclectic nature of the inhabitants of her neighborhood. She recalls meeting a budding actress in a photography shop and thought that it was great that the young lady was following her dreams. Terry loves that she can try African food if she wished and can experiment with the different cuisines within the Hispanic culture. Her son is currently in the hospital and her job is not too far from home so she finds public transportation easily

Fresh Fruit, Broken Bodies wastes no time to highlight the key ideas about migrant farmworkers in the United States. The objective for the first chapter, was to determine whether migrating to the U.S. was worth being caught and deported back to San Miguel. In chapters 2 and 3 it discusses the relationship between the U.S. and Mexico when it comes to migration and how the labor segregation in American agriculture introduces a pecking order of citizenship, ethnicity and hardship.

Soto describes how after working in the grape field that although he had earned the money he felt like a “Mexican.” He eventually decided he’d rather go without new clothes for school than continue to do a job that he felt was beneath him. I have held many jobs that I thought were beneath me but unlike Soto I was never willing to walk away simply because of that. I have learned over the years that although I may not like the job if it will help me to reach my goal than it is not beneath me. We are only limited by what we allow to limit us.

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.