And The Earth Did Not Devour Him Summary

Dr. Tomás Rivera’s book, ...And the Earth Did Not Devour Him, tells a story about a young boy growing up in a migrant farm worker family spanning over one year. This novel follows this young boy and his family and focuses of themes of poverty and hardship. In my personal favorite scene of the book, the boy and his father are working on a farm in the midst of the summer but the farmer they are doing work for does not allow anyone to take breaks, even the children. Several of the workers have taken to going to a water trough on the edge of a field to drink under the pretense of needing to relieve themselves. Soon, the farmer catches on and comes up with a tactic to scare them away and keep the workers from doing it again by shooting his rifle in their direction. Accidentally though, he shoots a young boy and the body falls in the trough. Although he was not found guilty of murder, he is ridden with guilt his entire life thereafter.

Many of them live in unsanitary conditions or are uneducated. In one scene, two characters discuss jobs they were offered in Utah and both of them believe the state is somewhere near Japan. This shows just how important education really is and makes me, personally, feel incredibly grateful for how much education I do already have and will continue to get in the coming years. Personally, I do not relate to Dr. Rivera’s book but I do think that it is beautifully written and an important read for people of all ages. I grew up in a middle class Caucasian family, pretty far from poverty-stricken Chicano farm workers as the book follows, but reading this book made me even more appreciative of the life I have and that which my parents have given me. Thankfully, I always lived in comfortable conditions growing up and still continue to get a good education so that I may succeed in