Manuel Ramos, By Manuel Ramos

The Underdogs by Mariano Azuela is arguably the most important novel of the Mexican Revolution because of how it profoundly captures the atmosphere and intricacies of the occasion. Although the immediate subject of the novel is Demetrio Macias - a peasant supporter of the Mexican Revolution -, one of its extensive themes is the ambivalence surrounding the revolution in reality as seen from a broader perspective. Although often poetically revered as a ‘beautiful’ revolution, scenes throughout the novel paint the lack of overall benevolence even among the protagonist revolutionaries during the tumultuous days of the revolution. This paper will analyze certain brash characteristics of the venerated revolution as represented by Azuela’s

Prisons, they are a complex environment in which a new social system can be created due to the environment and its participants. It is a place meant to hold those who have broken the laws set by the government of the corresponding county. Prison is not a singular even, everyone in the family is effect with the loss, it’s a new social interaction between positions of power of the staff, and the complete network of the hierarchy that is place between prisoners and the titian s they hold that effects the individual.

The spectacle of detention centres does not only lie within public perception but also within the architecture of the facility (Grinceri, 2016, p170-171). The barbed wired fence of detention centres is an example. It allows the spectators (citizens) to witness the enclosure of refugees while simultaneously binding refugees within its constraints, punishingly (Pugilese, 2008, p206-207). The visibility provided by the wired fence enables photography and videoing, thus acting as a spectacle.

All of the articles that are discussed throughout this essay stated very similar observations when it came to the demographics of the prison population. They stated that the people who are mostly incarcerated are people of color, predominantly African-American and then Hispanic men. Jennifer Wynn stated that when she visited Rikers Island and was waiting in the waiting room, she was the only white person there (Wynn, 2012). She later found that ninety percent of the inmates were black or Hispanic (Wynn, 2012) and that ninety three percent were male (Wynn, 2012). Although not as large as black men, there has also been an increase of minority women imprisonment. This racial disproportion was not always this way. During World War II, whites consisted of seventy percent of inmates and only thirty percent were identified as “others” (Martense, 2012). This has been reversed now being that seventy percent of the prison population are black and Hispanic and thirty percent being white (Martensen, 2012). According to Martensen, the reason for this is due to the ‘War on Drugs’ which indirectly targets racial minorities. When it was implemented, there was not a drug crisis, however, drug offenses has lead to a major increase in the federal inmate population and state prisoners between 1985 and 2000 (Martensen, 2012). Most of these people come from disadvantaged communities with a lack of opportunities which can lead to criminal behaviors. People who have more power are in the

Prior to being assigned the reading of the memoir “Always Running”, by Luis Rodriguez, I had never given much thought on juveniles involved in gang life. Rodriguez achieved success as an award-winning poet; sure the streets would no longer haunt him - until his own son joined a gang. Rodriguez fought for his child by telling his own story in the vivid memoir, “Always Running.” “Always Running” is the compilation of events Luis experienced during his youth in San Gabriel. The theme of the book is to always strive for the best things in life and to always take a stand for what you believe. Lured by the seemingly invincible gang culture of East L.A., he witnessed countless shootings and beatings, as well as senseless acts of street crime against his friends and family members. As a Latino in a poor neighborhood, Luis struggled through criticism, stereotypes, and mistreatment. With the help of his mentor, Chente, Luis saw a way out through education and the power of word to successfully break free from years of violence and desperation.

Hassine begins his narrative as he is entering prison but this time as an inmate. Prior to his incarceration, Hassine was an attorney (Hassine, 2011). Even then as an attorney, the high walls of prison intimated Hassine (Hassine, 2011). As Hassine was being processed into the system, he expressed how he systematically became hopeless from the very prison structure itself as well as because of the intimidation he felt by uniforms. Prisons of the past actually had a goal to aid individuals through rehabilitation by instilling new values in order to correct the wrongs that one may have committed during their lifetime but today this is no longer true. . Hassine draws colorful depictions of how dim and unfamiliar a prison can be in which instills fear in an individual soon as he or she

Prisons for a long time have been a gateway to try to save society, when the only thing that it’s doing is hurting the social order because it’s creating more problems that are not being treated from the beginning. Crime has become a big problem during these hard times with the poor economy, but it has especially affected Latin America because of all the problems that overcrowded prisons have brought forward. In Latin America Brazil and Mexico are the two largest countries that have been affected with having the highest percentage of crimes, inmates in prisons, and concerns with overcrowded prisons. And these increase with the high crime rates in Latin America that are rising due to drug trafficking wars in Brazil and Mexico. "The

The mural ‘Del Porfirismo a la Revolución’ (From the Dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz to the Revolution) is a portrayal of Porfirio Díaz’s leadership and the Mexican Revolution. It is a very accurate representation of the uprising as this mural was created right during the Mexican Revolution. You can see how unpleasant of a time this was in Mexico from the mood of the picture: the dull but vibrant colours, the striking images, and the grim faces. In the mural there is a spot showing the citizens rising up against the ruling elite. They are wearing ‘zapatista’ clothing, signifying that they are supporters of Emiliano Zapata, a revolutionist at the time. Meanwhile, to the right, Porfirio Díaz sits in comfort watching women dance. Porfirio Díaz is enjoying himself whilst sitting, just watching and doing nothing about what is happening all around him. A whole country is revolting and he isn’t doing anything. On top of that, his foot is resting on the Mexican Constitution. This is a very provocative piece Siqueiros made and truly shows politics and art went together for him. It shows the emotion of the Mexican population and how much they had to go through and how hard they fought for a better country. Emotion and vigor radiates from every sculptured form and elaborate detail; people are in conflict and history is

Consequently, I believe my thought process not only started with law enforcement officers, but also ended there as well. There was not mention of what happened in prisons such as their conditions or even the social construction that occurs inside. There was no news cast or school discussion on the impact of America’s prison systems on the defiant individual. Therefore, their wellbeing was not my concern. I did not pay attention or care to notice the individual that was arrested once those cuffs were on. It was a symbolic condemnation of their guilt, and it was one that I believed should be displayed in an even more radical

In America, everyone seems to have a different idea about what goes on behind the grey, dismal walls of prison. For many of us, the idea itself conjures images of coiled barbed wire fences, chains dragging across the ground, somber faces behind rusting bars and those bright orange jumpsuits. These visions come from a variety of sources-- movies we’ve seen, the stories that we’ve been told and our own imagination that is constantly at work. However, the reality of prison life in America can only come from those who have stepped foot inside. Through memoirs written by Danner Darcleight and Ted Conover, I’ve had to reconsider some of these previously held visions of prison life. While Conover writes about the abusive relationship between the correctional officers and the prisons, through Darcleight’s writing we see the rewarding powers of having social life and the hopeful possibility for anyone to attain redemption. The first chapter of Concrete Carnival, by Danner Darcleight, as well as Guarding Sing Sing by Ted Conover has led me to re-evaluate these previously held visions of prison life, including the relationship between guards and inmates, social systems, and redemption.

I think in the Latino community, nearly anybody knows journalist Jorge Ramos, who is the Univision news anchor. Ramos is not an activist, yet he is pro-immigrant and in the past years, he has spoken for the people whose voices are not heard: undocumented.

People that have lived their whole lives in the bad neighborhoods of the lower class, do not know how to provide for the new generation of kids that now will iherts the misfortunes of the adults. In many cases this kids that are force to live in neighborhoods filled with violence and drugs have a hard time developing normal social skill that would help them in the future. When the parents fail in helping the kids get a better future, the only thing a kid can do is look for guidance somewhere else and that is how kids fall into the wrong path in life. Much like Edwin Debrow a 12 year old kid who had to rely on the streets to get some guidance, but now he is in prison paying for the mistake he did. The article “The Prisoner” tells the story of the 12 year old killer who now faces many years in prison. The author if the article uses the rhetorical appeals of ethos, pathos and logos to make the argument that kids that commit a crime should be helped with the way they are acting and get placed in a better care, then to keep pushing them to fight authority.

In my personal opinion all the evidence points to Jose Antonio Ramos as the perpetrator in the disappearance of Etan Patz. Ramos was the former boyfriend of the women who took Etan to school and back during the bus strike (Berman, T., & Sher, L., 2010). Ramos was also arrested multiple times for molesting children, and police even found pictures of Ramos with boys who resembled Etan Patz in a Bronx pipeline where Ramos was living in the 1980’s (Berman, T., & Sher, L., 2010). In 1991 Ramos told a prison inmate of his named Jon Morgan, which was working for Stuart R. GraBois and FBI agent Mary Galligan that Ramos had told him that he knew what had occurred to Etan Patz, and that Ramos had drawn a map of the school bus route and knew, which

When we think of prison, we imagine it’s existence only for the good of our society, its purpose to lock up the “bad guys” and keeps the streets safe and people from harm. But what if, in the recent years, imprisonment has shown different results? While in the past couple of years, the rate of crime has declined, it seems as if the rate of incarceration has only gone up. Well, that’s because it has. Reports show that, “In 1974, 100 out of every 100,000 citizens of this country were in prison; today, there are roughly 700 people in prison or jail for every 100,000 Americans” (Madden 14). Despite these statistics, this rampant imprisonment of people, especially of color, has negatively impacted our society. By discussing the harmful effects of the large rate that men of

For the third summary paper, the film being summarized is Butterfly directed by José Luis Cuerda. The film takes place in Galicia (north-western Spain) in the year 1936 as the Spanish civil war is looming over the country. The film follows a boy named Moncho and his teacher Don Gregorio as they develop a close relationship with one another. The film introduces Moncho wide awake in bed while everyone else is asleep. He is excited to go to school for the first time tomorrow and is too tired to sleep because of it. Moncho is introduced as a shy, innocent boy in the beginning of the film. The teacher Don Gregorio is introduced as an innocent, kind teacher who takes Moncho under his wing to teach him about life. The major theme of the film is loss