Poverty Exposed in Elva Treviño Hart's Autobiography, Barefoot Heart

“Don´t be afraid to start over.”All immigrants need to know this. Being an immigrant can cause many challenges, you have to leave your old life behind and your memories. Esperanza Ortega in the book Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan was an immigrant from Mexico. She had a lot of challenges as an immigrant. Before she immigrated to America she was a wealthy young girl in Mexico with servants. A series of tragedies forced her and he mama to move to America. This leads her to not be able to anything that a servant would do. Learning how to do chores was one of her challenges. In addition, she had two other challenges they were Mama getting Valley Fever, and the Mexican immigrants facing discrimination.

Growing up with parents who are immigrants can present many obstacles for the children of those immigrants. There are many problems people face that we do not even realize. Things happen behind closed doors that we might not even be aware of. Writers Sandra Cisneros and Amy Tan help us become aware of these problems. Both of these authors express those hardships in their stories about growing up with foreign parents. Although their most apparent hardships are about different struggles, both of their stories have a similar underlying theme.

One’s commitment of immigrating to a new country for a better life indicates that oneself is ready to risk the life given to them by facing many hardships along the way. In the novel Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, Enrique does exactly that, risking his own life at the age of seventeen in order to reunite with his mother who left him when he was five in order to obtain a better job in the US and give Enrique and his older sister everything she thought they deserved. Nazario utilizes an emotional appeal and metaphors to inform readers of the arduous situations migrants experience on their long and tiring journey in search of a family member and a better future.

Imagine coming home to a house that has no warmth or food. Constantly feeling like you are in a place you can’t get out of. This is how poverty may feel to others. The expeirences from the author Jo Goodwin Parker in the story “What Is Poverty” and the McBride family from the novel “The Color Of Water: A Black Man’s Tribute To His White Mother” show that there are various effects of living in poverty that include emotional problems, adolescent rebellion, and

It is fascinating when two people from completely different backgrounds have common characteristics. A world of poverty is depicted in Liz Murray’s book Breaking Night (2010). The memoir tells the struggles of a young girl’s journey from living on the city streets to attending one of the top schools in the country. Although our lives are quite different, Liz Murray and I show similar traits through struggle and success.

Enrique’s journey from Honduras to the U.S. unveils the innate loyalty of a loving child to their mother and presents the dangers that a migrant faces on the road with consistent angst; nevertheless, it supports the idea that compassion shown by some strangers can boost the retreating confidence within a person. In Sonia Nazario’s “Enrique’s Journey,” he seeks the beacon of light that all migrants hope to encounter; “El Norte.” Like many children before him, it is the answer to the problems of a hard life. While being hunted down “like animals” leading to “seven futile attempts,” he is

As a child, Jeannette’s sense of wonder and curiosity in the world undermine the need for money. During her young adult years, a new wave of insecurity associated with her poor past infects her. Finally, as an experienced and aged woman, Jeannette finds joy and nostalgia in cherishing her poverty- stricken past. It must be noted that no story goes without a couple twists and turns, especiallydefinitely not Jeannette Walls’. The fact of the matter is that growing up in poverty effectively craftsed, and transformsed her into the person she becomeshas become. While statistics and research show that living in poverty can be detrimental to a child’s self-esteem, Jeannette Walls encourages children living in poverty to have ownership over their temporary situation, and never to feel inferior because of past or present socio-economic

One new experience can bring a whole other dimension. Viewpoints on life change, knowledge is gained through mistakes, and one may find themselves trapped in a maze-like situation that they need to find a way out of. However, making the best out of one’s position through determination, perseverance, and courage can slowly reverse the difficulty of handling it. Eventually, as strength is regained from tough obstacles, the desire to obtain their dreams escalates even further, which aids in working harder and striving to reach their goals. Barbara Ehrenreich, the author of Nickel and Dimed, depicts the financial struggles of single mothers who raise their families through minimum-wage jobs after the welfare reform affected their lifestyles. In the novel, Ehrenreich tests the limits of living in poverty by accepting any scarce job that was offered, and provides insight that although it was exhausting to balance her needs and her hectic work schedule, by diligently laboring, constantly persisting in seeking the better, and voicing out the wrongs, it can eventually lead to the attainment of the American Dream.

Society likes to think that the world revolves around them, people complain about small events such as, not having situations result as wanted. There are things in this world that will never stop existing; poverty is something that has always been around, for some people it is worse than others.“Flavio’s Home” by Gordon Parks, published 1990 was inspired by his autobiography, voices in the mirror. The essay gives a perfect example of what extreme poverty is like. Even though there are difficult times in life, no matter what, just keep going. “Flavio’s Home” did use ethos as a rhetorical appeal but was mainly focused in using pathos. Those who would most likely relate to this essay are people who have experienced tough situations. What Gordon showed as his main concern or issue throughout the whole story was how poorly cared for flavio and his family were.

Evidently, her life exemplifies the overcoming of poverty and how it really is possible as long as you stick to education and persevere through life.

Enduring hard times. The Sanchez family clearly demonstrate various levels of difficulties while trying to purse you a life in the United States of America. It was not the typical American dream that so many immigrant families anticipated when they landed on this great continent. Therefore, food, income and employment are some factors that were cause for concern.

There are many things in life that can influence the way one acts and decision making to become who one is today. Like the people one surrounds oneself with, the area one lives in, the parents, and last but not least the culture one is from. Although the cultural experience of poverty might have an important influence on the opportunities one gets, our surroundings while growing up also form a stereotypical part of our identity, but the influence from our parents or good role model also teach us valuable experiences. Like in the novel The Distance Between us by Reyna Grande and, the film A Better Life directed by Chris Weitz shows how people can be influenced by their cultural experiences, their surroundings, and their parents actions.

Willy and Amanda are parents who love their children very much. They can't accept the mistakes they've made in the past. This inability to deal with the past leaves them living in it. Their children are seldom given the example of how to work for the future. Amanda and Willy don't set goals for their children,

When one visualizes Latino culture, the prevalent images are often bright colors, dancing, and celebrations. This imagery paints a false portrait of the life of many Latino’s, especially those that are forced to leave their home countries. Latinos often face intense poverty and oppression, whether in a Latin country, or a foreign country, such is true in Pam Ryan’s novel Esperanza Rising. Ryan chronicles the issues that many Latino immigrants face. The first is the pressure from the home country. Many of the countries face turmoil, and many are forced to leave their homes and culture. Once in a foreign place, people often struggle with standing by their own culture or assimilating to the new culture. Latino authors frequently use young adult literature as a platform to discuss the issues they face, as young adults are coming of age they struggle with their identities, personifying the struggle of old culture against the new culture.

Enrique’s Journey focuses and sheds more light and understanding on the aspects and challenges of extreme poverty, family abandonment, systematic issues of an immigration system and what one has to go through in the face of adversity. The book centers on Enrique who starts out as a young boy living in extreme poverty in Honduras with his family. Enrique is an older adolescent, Hispanic, poverty economic status, unemployed most times, and is in a relationship with one child. This case study will further look at Enrique’s personal experiences from a young child up to young adulthood and how that has shaped his development has a person from coming from such difficult environmental circumstances. This will also look at the different environmental perspectives in the micro, mezzo and macro level when pertaining to effects on human behavior.