Silence On The Mountain Analysis

Reyna Grandes’s Across a Hundred Mountains was written in 2006, it is a stunning and heartfelt novel about migration, loss and discovery. It was published by Washington Square Press and its two hundred and sixty-six pages will captivate the reader from the beginning. The novel depicts the desperation of undocumented immigrants who make the dangerous journey across unfamiliar land to reach the border for “El Otro Lado” (the United States). The author, Reyna Grande gives the reader a glimpse of the everyday struggles these families are faced with and the heart-wrenching decisions made in the pursuit for a better life. There are different themes in this novel, they range from fractured family ties to heartbreaking poverty affecting the family and how religion is used to seek relief from these events. Therefore, an evaluation of the novel will be made on the social issues affecting these individuals, the challenges they face, and apply the ecological perspective along with its strengths. Lastly, an explanation will be given in which a social worker can help to address the issues that affect these individuals.

War and genocide: two tragic and devastating events that people often think of as vastly different. Where war usually reveals political difference, genocide demonstrates the idea of a certain party that desires to use mass destruction on another group. However, war and genocide have similarities which create uncertainty on how to define the event. “The Silent Holocaust”, more specifically known as the Guatemalan genocide of the Mayans, is a model example of confusion between war and genocide; many Mayans were killed, but the government claims the killings were justified. The Mayans’ fight for equality led the Guatemalan government to commit genocide against these people, by using the factors of the ongoing war as an excuse for the Mayan

The text “Letting the air into a relationship: Metaphorical Abortion in ‘Hills Like White Elephants” by Wyche David aims at analyzing and synthesizing the short story by Hemingway “Hills like White”. The analysis would provide new knowledge to readers of the short story or provide the readers with a new point of view of analyzing it. The subject of the text is to present his ideas on the short story and well as critique other critics who had previously critiqued it. The story illustrates broken relationships of Hemingway and the pain it caused him, which led him to write the short story. The whole text is therefore an analysis and synthesis of the short story written by Hemingway.

In, “Testimony: Death of a Guatemalan Village,” Victor Montejo describes events surrounding the military régimes occurring throughout Guatemala. The book itself is an eyewitness account detailing one instance of violence between the indigenous peoples village's "civil patrol" and the army. This occurrence leads to the execution and imprisonment of many villagers. Even though the book is mainly a testimony by one person, in which he discusses the personal conflicts and struggle between himself and the army, the account is structured around the Guatemalan civil war and the conflict between the government and civilians. The Guatemalan Civil War occurred between the years 1960 to 1996. It was a battle between the government of Guatemala and

A small town in Kentucky nestled along the Appalachian mountains, long forgotten by the outside world. The town people only have each other to rely on and will take anything to forget where they are and how horrible their conditions are. In the video, Hidden America Children Of The Mountain, the main point was to bring awareness to the situation that the people who live in the Appalachian Mountains are being faced with. A half million people are living in poverty in the mountains. Even the football star of the town lives in his truck because of his family’s poverty. When Americans hear about poverty, they think of it as far away and as something that will not affect them, they do not think about it being in their own back yard. In reality,

He illustrates the suffering people experience at the hands of the desert, the loss that shatters the families of those who lose their lives during the journey, and the desire for the American Dream that motivates the border crossers to risk their lives. The emotional tales in the book give a face to a group of people who are nothing more than a statistic to many Americans. The vast majority of people seem to have no comprehension of the impact that different policies will have, regardless of their support for or rejection of our current immigration policy. Big picture information about illegal immigration is intangible and incomprehensible to most. The emotional arguments provide readers with information that the average person can work with, such as the story of Memo and Lucho crossing the border and eking out a life in the US afterwards (De León 167-201). The stories provided by the book can also connect the effects of immigration policy on the individual to the impact it can have on large groups of people who had no intention of crossing the border. For example, the testimony about Maricela’s life and death provided in Chapter 10 connects the suffering Maricela experienced to the pain her family and friends feel after they learn of her death (De León 243-264). These stories aid in the creation of better arguments about illegal immigration.

The author of this book is Juan Jose Arevalo and he was a professor of philosophy who became Guatemala’s first democratically elected president in 1944. He was elected after a popular uprising against the United States, backed by Dictator Jorge Ubico, which began the Guatemalan Revolution. He stayed in office until 1951 and had survived 15 coup attempts. During his presidency he had passed several social reform policies that included an increase in minimum wage and a series of literacy programs. He also directed and ministered the drafting of a new constitution in 1945. Arevalo focused much on the need of advancement with individuals and communities. After he was exiled as being a university professor he went back to Guatemala to help the new post-Ubico government, focusing on the areas of social security and drafting of a new constitution. He developed the term “spiritual socialism”, in which he defined his political philosophy as. The philosophy was pointed towards the moral development of Guatemalans with the intent to liberate man psychologically. Arevalo strongly believed that this theoretical doctrine was vital to the making of a progressive and peaceful Guatemalan society. He felt in order to create an ideal society it was necessary to allow the citizens the freedom to pursue their own opinions, property, and way of life. He proclaimed that protecting the freewill of the citizens creates more support for governmental institutions, which in turn ensures the security of

I believe in people (Berstein 19). I believe there is good in every human being because of the choice we have between right and wrong (19). In “The Mountain Disappears”, Leonard Bernstein tells us that it is what we choose to do with that free will is what defines us. Something that we need to believe in is love. Love is a commitment and teaches us how to be passionate about something that makes us a better person. I believe that every single one of us has the ability to change and that when we change, we have great potential (19-20). Everyone has the potential to make a difference in the world. I believe in the attainability of good (21). We all have it, so why don’t we use it?

“Hills Like White Elephants”, by Ernest Hemingway, is a short story published in 1927 that takes place in a train station in Spain with a man and a woman discussing an operation. Most of the story is simply dialogue between the two characters, the American and Jig. This couple is at a critical point in their lives when they must decide whether or not to have an abortion. Certain themes arise from this story such as choices and consequences, doubt and ambiguity, and how men and women relate. Hemingway also uses many examples of symbolism in “Hills Like White Elephants”, including descriptions of the surrounding scenery, the hills themselves, and the station where the action takes place.

When discussing the Jesuit values in his article “From the Mountain to the Hilltop”, Fr. Larry Gillick, S.J., states that “there is much darkness in the world, but it is better to light one candle than to curse the dark”. Gillick is discussing the Jesuit value of Forming and Educating Agents for Change. It’s better to be a light for just one person, make the world a better place for just one person, then continuing in the darkness and the chaos. According to this Jesuit value, the world, a school, a town, a life, should be “better” for someone having been there and been educated enough to want to change the culture.

In 1964, Guatemala was being run by a military junta, violence was a part of every day life, the economy was in shambles, and jobs were scare (Cuevas, 2011). It was in this setting that a young man, my future father-in-law, took a chance at a better life for he and his family. Enticed by rumors of prosperity in the United States, Alex and his brother Rene saved their money to journey to Chicago, leaving their families behind in a search for hope that was borne of desperation. Alex left his wife Ruth with 20 Guatemalan Quetzal, the equivalent of $20 dollars, and their three children, Vivien, 5, Ingrid, 3, and Marvin, a newborn baby. What experience lay in store for he and his family? How would they fare in an unknown country, without

Guatemala is a beautiful country that is known for its many Mayan cites, rich culture and its wide rainforest. The country has volcanos, delicious foods and a wonderful atmosphere that make for a rich tourist attraction. But the country has a history that isn’t as wonderful as I have made it sound. This country has endured a very tragic Civil War that started in 1960 and ended in 1996. This 36 year war was devastating to this country because of the many deaths that had happened and because of all of the tragic moments that happened within the span of the war. The Guatemalan Civil War was one of the many acts of genocide that have happened all around the world but even though there were many tragedies this country has developed past it and become the beautiful

The Land of Open Graves was a dynamic piece that followed stories of the Mexican-American Border land through a series of anthology-like stories. What made chapters 1 -5 so impactful were the ways in which the stories were conveyed. The author began with a tale of people scouring the desert for undocumented, human remains. Then there was a fictitious journal that mimicked the reality of four migrant workers. Other entries included an explanation of death in the desert, the following of humor in migrant workers and life in the deported role. Although all of these different stories seem divergent, they have central theme that the author draws on throughout the first 100 pages – the unparalleled hostility and negligence perpetrated by the government. The author is adamant about the idea of “Prevention Through Deterrence” and the harsh reality about the border and the way the United States treat those who cross the border. I would like to explain my reaction to each of the chapters below.

“I, Rigoberta Menchu” by Menchu is an autobiography that details the genocide of the Mayan people in Guatemala. The book has earned her the Nobel Peace Prize in 1992 for publishing the truth about the trials and tribulations that the indigenous people of Guatemala faced. The problem is that the autobiography has been found to be untrue. The details of the book were fabricated by Menchu, in an attempt to send her message about the indigenous Guatemalan people 's struggles. This has created a controversy amongst Latin American scholars, as well as amongst the education system that requires the autobiography as reading material. The entirety of the situation has even called into question whether or not the content of the book could be taken seriously as material because of this fabrication.

The tale of “The Truth Is a Cave in the Black Mountains” by Neil Gaiman is certainly a piece enjoyed by many readers. It is filled with adventure, mystery, and suspense. People question what the meaning or objective of the story was, like what was the dwarf really after and what was his intentions? In my perspectives of my viewpoint of this story is that the dwarf was in search for a man named Calum Maclnnes who knew the location of a cave which is known to contain gold within it. The dwarf was in search of this cave to obtain gold for the return of a king to his land and to rule over with prosperity.