In Cuba I Was A German Shepherd

Every immigrant has a personal story, pains and joys, fears and victories, and Junot Díaz portrays much of his own story of immigrant life in “Drown”, a collection of 10 short stories. In each of his stories Diaz uses a first-person narrator who is observing others to speak on issues in the Hispanic community. Each story is related, but is a separate picture, each with its own title. The novel does not follow a traditional story arc but rather each story captures a moment in time. Diaz tells of the barrios of the Dominican Republic and the struggling urban communities of New Jersey.

The main theme is was how hard it was living in the U.S illegally. It was hard for them because they had to move from place

Disparate levels of income and housing expose the racism that Blacks in Miami live in, further shows the racist actions of the white Cuban-American leadership creates, in line with right-wing ideology and implementation (163). Cuban-Americans who are white, deny and neglect the discrimination that confronts Afro-Cuban emigrants and highlight the success stories of White emigrants and take a harsh stand against any Blacks especially leaders who support Fidel Castro, and the Cuban Revolution

Author, Pablo Medina, in his reflective memoir, “Arrival: 1960” illustrates his transition from Cuba to New York as a young boy. Medina describes how his first impressions differed from what he thought he would encounter. He faced new challenges, involving his race, that never occurred back in Cuba. By reflecting on this experience in a first person point of view, Medina depicts the disappointment that he and other immigrants face while adapting to their new world.

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,”

Unlike other immigrants America's policy towards cuban immigration is a “wet foot, dry foot” policy meaning that those who are rescued in the water are transported back to Cuba unless they seek asylum. While those who make it to the US are not pushed away, and after a year have the option to apply for permanent residence. During the 1960’s United States and Cuba made a deal with cuba allowing for “freedom flights” for those wanting to resettle in America(Migration Policy Institute), this occurred just after Eyre's journey to the US. This lead to an unique view on the American dream for Cuabns  immigrants. Their main goal when leaving cuba is not the life they can achieve once in the US, but the act of safely getting to the US. However before the revolution people like Eire mentioned they were constantly bombarded with a vision of America as a sparkly fairy tale with sophisticated inventions that they didn't have. Once they arrived in the US they brought a unique culture of Cuban and merged American technologies. Today Cuabns have brought major aspects of cuban lifestyle to Florida, where many reside  in Little Havana , an area devoted to a safe, free  cuban

From April 15 to October 31 in 1980, over 125,000 Cuban migrants arrived in the United States. Family members from America ferried relatives and institutionalized Cubans from the Cuban port of Mariel, in what was soon coined the Mariel Boatlift. Mirta Ojito, one of these ‘Marielitos’, as they soon were termed, grew up to write “Finding Mañana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus”. In this text, the author provides a historic account of events leading up to the Mariel Boatlift, narratives from important figures surrounding the event, and a personal narrative describing the struggle of her family to gain freedom from the socialist dictatorship of Fidel Castro. Throughout the story of the years preceding the boatlift and the influence that living in Cuba held on her life, Ojito describes the positive and negative elements of the both the political climate and personal life on the communist island which led to her eventual emigration to the United States.

He started out applying for a job as a dish washer but was not satisfied after 3 months because he was living in the same conditions he had been living in Cuba. He could barely pay the rent for his small apartment and bring food home every night for him and his wife. One night, he was walking home when he saw a guy on the street all beat up

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.

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

In which, she describes the degree of difficulty her Uncle endured, to receive a visa to leave Cuba and work elsewhere and raise his family. He uncle was forced to endure harsh circumstances as described in the memoir such as; “being forced to work ten hours a day planting, tending, and eventually cutting sugarcane. For lunch, he would often eat just a mango and swallow a fistful of sugar to boost his energy. Evening meals in the mess hall usually consisted of watery soup made from cow bones that hung from the kitchen’s ceiling and were recycled night after night.” This speaks to the dedication and determination that her uncle had to be in a better position and place to build his family and escape the seemingly tyrannical reign of Fidel Castro. According to Mirta, his once fine hands, that were capable of shuffling papers and operating calculators, were reduced to rough, callused, and swollen appendages. At the risk of losing the visa, the very thing he had been fighting for, he continued throughout and despite these conditions for three years, in order to be able to provide his family with opportunities in America, being able to buy a house in Miami for his wife and two kids. The fruits of America seemed to be convicting enough for her uncle to sail to Cuba to get Mirta and her

These “newcomers” did not deserve to come here and steal their jobs. Mike Trudic’s account from his childhood referred to his father’s hunt in America to desperately find work, “At the end of a week he was taken ill and died. It said he died of a broken heart”(Mike, 188). There were just too many workers and not enough jobs to be filled. Another first hand source provided by Rose Cohen, called Out of the Shadow, depicts the story of a jewish girl in New York and the experiences her family goes through in order to reach a sustainable lifestyle. The struggles included descriptions of harsh working conditions and anti-semitism, which created difficulty for immigrants who were trying to assimilate into the American culture.

Throughout history we have seen many people leaving their old lives behind for the new opportunities in America but are let down by the harshness of our culture. In the story, Arrival: 1960 by Pablo Medina, we learn about a young Cuban family who make a big move to the United States, more specifically New York City. The main character begins the story high spirited and excited for their new home for it would be packed with new experiences. As the story continues he begins to see the reality within the city and at his school. He discovers that his new environment is not at all what he expected and on top of that he is faced with a culture that is abstract to his previous beliefs of identification. His high expectations were greatly reduced to the shocking experiences he went through in this forbidding environment.

The first story made me go back to my childhood. I hardly remember how I came to United State but one thing I do remember is my mom had the same reaction as Alma Rivera. All character made me feel like if I was coming back to the US. In the first couple pages, it caught my attention of how is actually telling what we the people that migrate go through. I enjoyed reading this book I can make some connection with the characters.

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