Gonzalo Monologue

The rain had just stopped pouring, and we had all gathered in a park nearby, as a makeshift memorial for Johnny. It wasn’t really a funeral, we didn’t have the budget for that, and it wasn’t like his parents cared enough to give him a proper goodbye.

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.

I kept writing. It was hard, but I could get everything off of my chest. I could explain to people what had happened to me. I could tell my English teacher. It was a little hard, but I didn’t cry. I couldn’t cry. Greasers didn’t cry.

Reporter stated the following: He (Brycion) is the victim. He was asleep in the bed and woke up. He (Ben) was hunting him. He said he found me and took a whole of my man part. The mother got involved because she told Ben to leave. He did not say if the mom called the police because Ben left. This happened last night. He told Dr. Brumfield this morning he had to tell her something. He was then brought into my office. When we questioned him he said Ben drives a vehicle. He said Ben stays at home and is not in school. We have not called the mom because she will come at 9 for IEP meeting. We will talk to the mom at the meeting. If the mom does not show up for the meeting we will call her. It sounded like this is the first time this has happened.

“ I pledge allegiance to flag of the United States of America …” Esperanza, held her head high up with honor, and as she laid her right hand across her chest she could feel her heart racing with hope. The vied red and white stripes painted rays of joy inside

Enrique’s mother’s decision of leaving couldn’t have been any worse, “She walks away. Donde esta mi mami? Enrique cries, over and over. Where is my mom? His mother never returns, and that decides Enrique’s fate” (Nazario 5). His mother leaving without saying a word to him was heartbreaking because he had no idea she was leaving forever. Enrique became unhappy and had to grow up with this feeling inside him which later caused him to make poor decisions. Being left by his mother, Enrique had to stay with his grandma and “every year on Mother’s day, he [made] a heart shaped card at school and [pressed] it into her hand. “I love you very much grandma”… but she is not his mother” (Nazario 12). The growing love for his grandma caused him to consider her as his mother. Since Enrique was young and didn’t understand why his mother had left him, he blamed her for not being there for him. Nazario hopes to persuade readers to feel like they need to dwell on the topic of immigration and notice that it is still happening

About two years ago my sister had taken in a dog named Morgan. At first I didn’t exactly agree with this because she already had a dog that she hardly took care of. When my sister brought Morgan home she was about two months old. I could still hold her in on had. And as I spent more time with her, she became my baby.

When I knocked on alfonso's door a older lady with orange hair and wrinkles came up and answered the door.

“What the fuck are you doing?” That voice rang with anger. Ah shit, I pissed him off again, didn't I? Talk about working for a guy who's hard to please. Oh no. I'm such a terrible narrator. You must be asking three questions. Who am I talking about? Who am I? Why am I reading to this? First off, you chose to. Second, I'm talking about Nevada Ramirez, Dominican-American drug lord extraordinaire. I hope that doesn't ring with sarcasm. And your narrator that you are stuck with has a name too. Harold Lockhart but I prefer Harry, however, my undercover name was Benjamin “Benji” Waterhouse. Now we're all caught up back up to the present.

Carmen Fuchsiello, a regular high school girl. One who gets all the boys, and is popular to everyone in school. Every morning, people would stare at her in awe, as she walked down the halls with her entourage right behind her on either side. There, by her locker, was her crush, Camden, waiting for her with every color rose in his hand, and my favorite band, 5 Seconds of Summer, serenading me behind him. He also held a sign saying Camden and Carmen Forever with a heart at the end. The two names went together perfectly, almost like they were meant to--

A particularly nasty group pf men set at the far end of the bar, their drunken crooning filling the rest of the tavern with horrid, off key notes. From what Marco heads from their legible conversation, much of what they "say" are merely drunken slurs, it appears that they are a band of mercenaries or something similar.

It had been a few weeks since the incident, but, I still couldn't take my mind off of it. It was atrocious. It was midnight and I was restless. I kept tossing and turning. Finally, I sat up and sighed. I heard whispering, but, it was pitch black and I couldn't see a thing. The whispering got loud enough for me to hear. It was Mother and Father. "I only earned a few cents this week. I don't think it'll help pay off our debts." Father whispered. He sounded disappointed in himself. "It's not your fault," Mother replied. "Why don't you look for another job? I've heard that the number of jobs has increased ever since immigrants like us have come to the United States." "Even if I find another job, I won't be able to escape the grueling conditions

During the 1950s, the Dominican Republic was suffering under the confining control of the dictator, Rafael Trujillo. In her essay, “My First Free Summer”, poem, “Exile”, poem, “All-American Girl”, and short story, “Antojos”, Julia Alvarez utilizes stylistic elements to convey her life experiences. Alvarez’s strong sense of figurative language,

As I looked out the window and saw barren dirt roads, no overflowing shopping centers or even a Wal-Mart, I began to question where my parents had brought me. We were in Presidio, TX, a small town on the border of the United States and Ojinaga, Mexico. I questioned how my grandparents, or even my dad could have lived in such an underdeveloped town for years. The visits to Presidio became somewhat constant and rather than staying weekends, I stayed months. I developed an appreciation for the town and I could now communicate with the community shouting “Buenos Dias!” to everyone I ran into on our morning walks to the local market. During one of my prolong stays my five year old sister developed a urinary tract infection. The infection could have

Gogo... - don't you want us anywhere near your baby? - No. He's my baby. MaNgcobo has to trust you first. And you must make sure... you stay close to her, so... you can enjoy the fruits of your labour. - Please leave and never come back. - Why? What is it? Okay. Two days is more than enough