The novel, ‘Enrique’s Journey’ follows the difficult quest of a Honduras boy in search for his mother after she is forced to leave her starving family in order to find work in the United States. Lourdes, Enrique’s mother, knows she will not be able to afford to send them to school, and they would be forced to grow up in poverty as she did when she was a child. Finding work in the United States was Lourdes only way of being able to send money in order to support her family. As a boy, Enrique and his sister Belky are were also split apart from one another, leaving Enrique completely alone. Over the years, Enrique often shuffled from one home to another, eventually spending most of his young life with is grandmother, while his sister sets out to get her education and is well cared for by their aunt. After the depression sinks in for Enrique, he turns to drugs for comfort and begins to rebel against his grandmother. She eventually kicks him out and he is faced with the sobering reality of being completely alone. Frustrated with his mother, and the circumstances he faces in life, Enrique embarks on a …show more content…
Enrique created a larger than life image of his mother, and when he was reunited with her, his depression soon began to return. Quickly after, Enrique finds himself in the midst of a multiculturalism society like the United States. In the states, he learns what potential he has there, and how much better it would be if he could eventually have his girlfriend Maria Isabel and their daughter, Jasmin smuggled in from Honduras. Like his mother, Enrique begins to take the money he earns from his job in the United States, and saves enough money to have his family smuggled in the United States, so that they too can get the experience of what it is like to live in a multiculturalist society, and enjoy the freedoms and joy every migrant family should be able to
Living in Mexico throughout her teen years was very rough. Unlike other teenagers where their parents constantly provide for their children, Marisela’s life was a lot different than the usual parent- child relationship. She lived with her Abuela ( Grandma) Lupe, along with her 3 brothers and sister. She constantly had to take care of her brothers and sister at such a young age, that she became the mother-like figure of the
Enrique’s Journey written by Sonia Nazario is a work of non-fiction that follows the journey of a young Central American boy to find his mother Lourdes, who left him at the age of five. Before Nazario introduces Enrique she discusses the experiences she put herself through to gain a better understanding of the travels a migrant child and adult go through in their conquest to make it to the United States. While going through the trials that many migrants put themselves through Nazario learns the stories of different migrants and begins her search for a migrant child to bring attention to their story and create awareness about the situation children migrating are enduring to find their mothers in the United States. Nazario traces Enrique’s steps to experience his full journey and to describe the details in depth upon writing about the journey Enrique took to find his mother in the United States.
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
It shows the community does not really welcome immigrants. Also it is very difficult to adopt life in new place, for example washing machine is so complicated for Rosa so she washes all the clothes by hand and lays them on the grass in the garden. Rosa and Enrique attend language school to improve their English. Movie emphasizes the power of the language again and also shows learning English helps their life to get better. Nacha helps Rosa to change her appearance with more fashionable clothing Nacha said “have you ever heard Sears” and tokes her for shopping. When Enrique sees her with new clothing and makeup, he says “What is this? You look like a clown! “. Scene shows Enrique’s attachment to their culture also they try hard to integrate. Enrique gets an offer for a better pay job with the chance to become legal resident but he refuses to leave his sister. The house they are staying is a mess when they come but after a while they clean and organize it and one scene Enrique told his sister that “In this country you work hard you can get somewhere” they are proud to earn better life standards. Then suddenly everything changes, Rosa gets sick, immigration was looking for Enrique. Enrique gets promoted at the restaurant and jealous coworker is upset about it and calls immigration police. At the end Rosa dies in the hospital room. The conversation between Rosa and Enrique is heartbreaking. Rosa said “they told us we make lots of money but
Should everyone have the right to immigrate?There were many human rights issue in my novel Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario. The human rights mentioned by Sonia was the right to pursue economic opportunity , to immigrate , to safe travels , and to a free education . These human rights are still affected people within the United States and other country. Due to these human rights issue we need to take action to the most important human right issue is the right to immigration. There are three sources that explain the right to immigration based on Enrique’s Journey and what people do and feel about this. Enrique’s Journey relates to real-life issues of immigration by explaining the challenges people face. They are determined
This quote marked the beginning of Enrique’s journey to America. He begins his journey in hopes to reunite with his mother. He started this journey because he was abandoned by his mother as a child. This journey consisted of both physical and mental parts. He grows up and matures at the end of the journey.
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.
She is still planning on coming home in the next few years, little does she know that she will never return to her hometown in Honduras. She calls every year, she talks to Enrique, hearing the changes in his voice as he ages. She receives begs from her mother and he children asking her to please come home, the calls never last long.
“Day and night Maria Isabel turns it over in her mind. Would going to the united states really allow Jasmin to have both her parents at her side more quickly.” (p.192) Maria Isabel did not want to leave Jasmin, she had grown so close to her daughter and couldn't bare the thought of being away from her for so long. Ultimately it seems like she leaves only at last result, because she doesn't believe life for her in Honduras will get better and the only way to help her daughter in the long run is leaving now and doing whatever she can to return home as soon as possible. “Maria Isabel decides: In the long run, leaving will help Jasmin. Eventually, she will be with her real mother and father, everyone together.” (p.192) Maria’s decision was very hard to make but ultimately i respect her and would have done the same if i had no other options to help my family. Maria was very afraid of the journey she was worried about the dangers but knew in america she would see Enrique again. The pros of this was together both of them could have well paying jobs would benefit Jasmin and reunite them with her sooner than if she kept working on low pay jobs on the streets of Honduras. For each of them it always seems like the best option to leave even though this affects their whole family and children, they sacrifice so much and risk their own lives to make their future better. I think they
This relates to the human rights issue of immigrants due to enrique’s mom heading for the states to better her life. She was a maid , so therefore she didn’t really make that much money. She hoped for a better life and she thought she would be able to do this by moving to the states. In her eyes the only way to do this was heading for america.
In the novel Enrique’s Journey, Sonia Nazario demonstrates the onerous journey of illegal immigrants. Sonia Nazario aims for the readers to make them understand what most of the immigrants go through during their journey to the United States. By appealing to ethos and pathos throughout the book, Sonia Nazario portrays the path that Enrique undergoes to reunite with his mother.
According to President Obama (2014), “If we are serious about economic growth, it is time to heed the call of business leaders, labor leaders, faith leaders, and law enforcement- and fix our broken immigration system. Republicans and Democrats in the Senate have acted. I know that members of both parties in the House want to do the same” (President Obama, 2014). The United States of American has long been the safe haven for those who seek to escape poverty, hunger, torture, and oppression in their home countries. According to the film, The Other Side of Immigration (2009), in 1970, the United States housed 750,000 immigrants and as of 2009, there are
Each year, thousands of Central American immigrants embark on a dangerous journey from Mexico to the United States. Many of these migrants include young children searching for their mothers who abandoned them. In Enrique’s Journey, former Los Angeles Times reporter, Sonia Nazario, recounts the compelling story of Enrique, a young Honduran boy desperate to reunite with his mother. Thanks to her thorough reporting, Nazario gives readers a vivid and detailed account of the hardships faced by these migrant children.
I never expected Enrique’s Journey to be such a personal work. Being a journalistic book, I expected a lot of research in it, but not to the level Nazario’s gone to. Definitely, the way she introduced herself into the enduring situations that migrants go through when they try to reach the US gave me a new perspective of what to expect from the book. She comes from a migrant family too, so she can sort of relate to the characters in the book. However, as she confesses herself, her journey was nowhere as arduous as what these children go through to find their mothers. And the way in which she involved herself into the situation increases her empathy for Enrique en other numberless children.
Enrique’s conditions living in poverty as a young child through older adolescence had many negative effects on his family and his own emotional state. His family’s economic situation is what primarily led to Enrique’s mother leaving home to make money in the U.S. and help her family. Having to grow up and be raised by other family members instead of his own biological parents, played a significant part in his development as his dysfunctional and oppressive environment caused detrimental issues with trust in others and lack of love from his parents. Evans, Gonnella, Marcynyszyn, Gentile