Dead End Identifying yourself as a person can in many cases become very complicated, this is the example of the story Dead End. The story is about a girl who struggles with her daily problems of living in a poor Latino community without any social security, she is taking up a battle to identify and shape herself as a person in her most vulnerable age. Maria can be said to be a character that goes through a test in life to find herself as a person. In the beginning we get to know that she has made a promise that she wants to keep for her dead mother. She is throughout the story being tempted to break the promise, but for the reader it reveals as a test for her to choose the right path. Maria can at the same time be referred to as the protagonist, which means she is the center of the story, “Maria saw him, and her heart melted. Frankie Galvan was about the most handsome guy in school.” (e.g. page 2, line 10-12) “The warmth of his …show more content…
A girl was supposed to get married, raise kids, take care of her family. But you're smart, Maria. You must study and become educated.”’ (e.g. Page 1, Line 30) This quote supports the idea of a theme about immigrants coming into the US. We get the sense of this because it is a bit common that people immigrating into the US from Mexico, tend to not have any education skills themselves, because they tend to be poor people immigrating to get a better life. Because of the lack of their educational skills, it instead makes them wanna give their kids the opportunity to go to school, and get an education. In a poor Latino environment, like the one Maria lives in, it makes it hard for her to accrue the social mobility, which instead makes it harder for her to climb to higher social
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,”
Which, of course she accepts without much intensive thought. In this new line of work, Maria travels to America, experiencing horrors that change her life, and new found realities that determine her future.
Under the impact of community and the whole immigrants’ background, children of immigrants are more likely to study hard and pursue for a better score. When talking about go to school, Salina felt that study can make her smarter and if she did not study hard she may end like a homeless. These ways of thinking may come from her teachers, parents, relatives or even classmates. In her mind, study was hooked up with living. Salina was living under too many pressures which
When Maria was wondering why the South African men were scared of them, it was clear how sheltered and brainwashed she was. It was then that she realized how unexposed she was and began to become more involved in the efforts to make a change.
The various love triangles throughout the movie reveal the flaws in the portrayal of Maria and the real life happenings of the Nazi era. Maria is used as a symbol of religious purity and various religious
First of all, Mariatu changes from being negative, regretful, and depressed being, to a positive and looking forward. In the beginning of the book, Mariatu has a plenty amount of horrific things done to her, and she goes through extremely traumatic experiences. However, at the end of the book, the people around her help her realize that their is always a future ahead, and she has to constantly look forward, not looking back. Mariatu takes this into consideration while trying to get a job to support her family, however, the last words of the book demonstrate what Mariatu really needed to do, and what made her accomplish her goals. Mariatu proclaims, “Something in me had changed. I knew now that I could look forward and back-without any regrets- at the same time.” (Kamara 212). Mariatu knew that in order to fix her past, and to help
When one thinks about Hispanics, all too often the image of a field full of migrant workers picking fruit or vegetables in the hot sun comes to mind. This has become the stereotypical picture of a people whose determination and character are as strong or stronger than that of the Polish, Jewish, Greek, or Italian who arrived in the United States in the early 1900's. Then, the center of the new beginning for each immigrant family was an education. An education was the "ladder by which the children of immigrants climbed out of poverty into the mainstream." (Calderon & Slavin, 2001, p. iv) That ideal has not changed, as the Hispanic population has grown in the United States to large numbers very quickly and with little fanfare. Now, the
These truths are that people will always want to better themselves. Living in poverty can make a person do extremities. Mothers and fathers will leave children in hope of a better chance, like Enrique's mother and himself. Readers are persuaded to think about immigration in a new light. It is more than looking for jobs, it is looking for a future. Central Americans are living in poverty and fantasizing about being worth more. The author shows a boy with this dream as he strives to make a life for his child. Immigration is strenuous and all that some know. Readers are becoming informed of how dire the task of having a good life can be for Central American
Denice Frohman also criticizes the superstructures that suppress the Latinx community, specifically the undocumented community. Denice Frohman recites, “Ana Maria is now 16. Her father works 18-hour days as a dishwasher. Her mother cleans houses she’ll never get to live in so that Ana Maria can sit in a college classroom and say, “I am here.” But her guidance counselor tells her she can’t get financial aid or the instate tuition rate because of her status. She says it like an apology. Ana wonders if her family ever crossed the border, or if they are just stuck inside another one, aggravating it like a soul. Her guidance counselor stands in front of her with a mouth full of fences” (). Denice Frohman narrates the structural hardships that undocumented families usually face. The arduous labor that is accepted from undocumented immigrants and their families but not their full acceptance into an exclusive society. The dehumanization of immigrants who are here to work towards a better life, but work so hard and never actualize their dreams. Moving across one border to be faced with another border. A border full of limits that forgets about the humanity of those it ousts.
Despite being a very diverse literature genre in terms of influence and inspiration, North American literature encompasses many works that share some very common thematic elements. Though there are several themes shared, one in particular can be found in most any work – the importance of identity. Particularly in some selected pieces yet to be named, identity is a very important element, not only because it is a necessity for a main character in any work of literature, but because these works express ideas about identity as being very individualistic – as opposed to being a mere result of cultural surroundings. Zora Neal Hurtson’s Their
The relationship between Mariam and Laila grows overtime into an unbreakable love. Mariam is a vulnerable character that experienced hardships and negativity throughout her life. Her reliance on faith and religion gave her hope. Laila however, has had a positive upbringing from modern parents. Her education is what made her a strong and intelligent girl. Their personalities contrast to bring the best out of each other. However at first, in fear of being overshadowed by Laila, Mariam says “If [Laila] thinks [she] can use [her] looks to get rid of me, [she is] wrong. [Mariam] was here first. [She] won't be thrown out” (225). As Mariam has never been a priority to anyone in her life she was very defensive over her role in the house. As jealousy embarked upon Mariam,
The narrator states that “it was [Maria] who did away with my generation’s virginity” (65). Garcia Marquez uses a hyperbole to portray how crucial Maria Cervantes’s contradictory role is in the men’s lives. She embraces her sexuality and is very open. In addition she also “taught [the men] much more than [they] should have learned, but she taught us above all that there’s no place in life sadder than an empty bed” (65). She reinforces the idea that sexuality should not be repressed because that would only bring on loneliness and despair. She recognizes the “disorder of love” that the townspeople live with because of repressed sexuality. The narrator describes Santiago Nasar’s passionate relationship with Maria Cervantes. He describes their relationship like “a falcon who chases a warlike crane” and that the falcon can only “hope for a life of pain” (65). The author uses a metaphor to compare Maria to a warlike crane in order to show her power and grace. The crane is a bird that stands tall and may look elegant and enticing but because Maria is “a warlike crane” she is able to stand up and fight for herself while still maintaining her grace. Another aspect of her independence would be that she stands alone in her battle against society. Garcia Marquez gives her these headstrong qualities to show how she follows her own path and goes against the town’s beliefs without showing any signs of stopping and to show that
Maria is fifteen years old. Her mother reports that Maria has been performing poorly in school and has withdrawn from her family. This began after her transition to secondary school. Her performance further deteriorated when she began second year. Maria stopped participating in a number of her occupations including hockey, playing the piano, the girl guides, shopping with friends and going to the cinema. She now prefers to stay on the computer of listening to music.
The film begins by showing Maria in an open and beautiful field. This gives her inspiration and a sense of adventure (based upon the images that images she sees). She works at an abbey and is continuing to face a number of difficulties. This is because Maria has the reputation for being mischievous and not following the practices of the nuns.
Maria was the last of five children. Her oldest sister died of Typhus, one sister became a teacher and a brother and a sister both became physicians. Her family was not very rich, but education was