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Having Hope: The Hispanic American Experience The Hispanic American immigrant experience is one that is both unique in its own right and profoundly American. Although they all may be labeled within the same group, each of these individuals has a story that clearly demonstrates this. Cristina Henriquez is able to capture many of these feelings and experiences that are faced by Hispanic American immigrants quite successfully in her novel The Book of Unknown Americans. The novel covers the story of the Rivera family in the beginnings of their new life in America. They come to this country seeking better schooling for their mentally handicapped daughter. Assimilating into American culture does not come easy, and the Riveras face many hardships …show more content…
along the way. Other distinctive stories are given from the perspectives of different tenants within the Rivera’s building. While these stories may be fiction, they still depict a powerful message about what life is like for Hispanic American immigrants as they begin a new life in America. The Hispanic American experience is one of hope and hard work. This can be seen through how different the conventional majority culture is and through how these immigrants often have little to fall back on. Authors, such as Cristina Henriquez, successfully portray this through their literature by providing a realistic picture of what life is like for these people, which has caused me to view their situation in our society with much more empathy. Experience of Hope: Hispanic Americans have an experience that is largely chronicled by hope. For many of these immigrants, this was the most important factor in them leaving their home country and heading towards America. Characters such as Gustavo Milhojas left their country looking for a better life. In Gustavo’s home country of Guatemala, the military “had become too powerful… [and] the army began kidnapping citizens who they suspected were against them.” (Henriquez, 2014, p. 87) He first moved to Mexico, but later to America when he realized that there were not many well-paying jobs with which to support his family. The hope for Gustavo was for freedom from oppression and the opportunity to support his children through school so that they might have a better life someday, things that the United States could provide to him. For other Hispanic Americans, such as Nelia Zafon, coming to this land was in the hope of realizing a dream. She came because she “had a dream that [she] was going to be the next Rita Moreno… [and] going to be a star.” (Henriquez, 2014, p. 175) To her, America was a land of opportunity where she could try to live out her dreams, which might have not been possible in Puerto Rico. Hispanic Americans all come to America because they are hoping for something better in their lives, but they all seem to grasp that this ambition is not achieved easily. Experience of Hard Work: Hard work and dedication are both Hispanic cultural values which are carried over with Hispanic Americans into our society.
These two values are essential if these Hispanic Americans want to accomplish the goals that brought them to America. While the Rivera family came to America to give their daughter Maribel a better education for her brain injury, it would not have been possible without sacrifice and dedication. Arturo had to work long hours in a dark warehouse picking mushrooms to meet quotas and come “home from work each day tired and hungry, the crevices on his skin caked with dirt.” (Henriquez, 2014, p. 91) He had taken a step down from running a construction business in Mexico to now work a menial job where he was not even allowed to take a break. This work took a toll, but still Arturo would not give up on his job because it had provided him with the work visa his family needed to get into the United States. The hard work demonstrated here is absolutely essential to the Hispanic American experience because without it there is no hope. Adolfo “Fito” Angelino also had to endure hard work in America when he first arrived. After not being able to achieve his dream of becoming a great boxer, Fito became an apartment building manager and eventually “bought it out almost ten years ago after working jobs on the side [and] saving up.” (Henriquez, 2014, p. 144) Fito did not become what he had hoped for in the beginning, but he worked hard and was able to become successful …show more content…
in his own right through this way. Even if Hispanic Americans do not reach their primary goal, they still put in a strong effort so that they might be able to make a better life than what they had before. Mainstream Culture and Privilege: Often times, the majority of Americans do not see and understand the stories of these Hispanic American immigrants.
This only serves to create more obstacles for them to face on their quest for a better life. It is essential to know English to get anywhere in American society. As Arturo was in the process if looking for a job, he learned the English phrase “are you hiring?” to help out his prospects. Employers were able to understand this, but Arturo was unable to gain any ground, as he explained “I say it and they answer me in English and there’s nowhere to go from there [and then] they look at me like I’m stupid.” (Henriquez, 2014, p. 185) American culture revolves around the English language, so Arturo’s inability to speak it well cost him many opportunity and gave his Hispanic American experience another barrier that those already embedded in American culture would not have had to face. Furthermore, many Hispanic American immigrants do not have much to fall back on. Those that are born as American citizens often grow up with a strong support system in their family. The family unit for these mainstream Americans is a sort of emergency backup that can provide financial help or a place to stay when needed and a foundation with which to build their future upon. These Hispanic American immigrants generally had to leave behind their family when they came to America. The family unit is a privilege and means that mainstream Americans can take more risks, such as attending
college, while many Hispanic Americans have to work low-paying jobs to provide for the immediate needs of their family. The reality for many Hispanic Americans is that they will face many tough disadvantages simply because they are not a part of the culture in which the majority of traditional Americans belong to. Capturing the Experience: Henriquez seeks to capture this experience in her literature by providing a realistic scenario for her novel to occur in. She provides many details about the Riveras circumstances that are representative of how many Hispanic Americans lived when they first arrived. For example, Alma said that on their way to Delaware, when the driver stopped “and pointed to a discarded kitchen table, and later at a mattress… we understood what to do and loaded them into the truck.” (Henriquez, 2014, p. 5) Little details like this depict the reality of how Hispanic Americans often do not have many possessions when they first arrived. This realistic depiction has exposed me to the Hispanic American experience in a way that I had never really thought of before. This book, as well as some of the other literature we read in class, gave me so much more compassion for this group of people. Understanding how these immigrants live and what the Latin American culture is back home for them has been invaluable and has influenced my outlook greatly. This growth in compassion will allow me to view issues such as immigration and healthcare for immigrants in a much different way, one that takes into account what the immigrant is going through and views the humanity in the issue. Conclusion: Hispanic Americans immigrants come to this country with a heart full of hope for a better life. Their experience here is filled with the hard work necessary to achieve their dreams. They still face many barriers though, as they are not exactly a part of the mainstream American culture and do not have the privileges that others in American society possess. Henriquez is able to capture this experience in The Book of Unknown Americans by providing a realistic story about the Rivera family that demonstrates these aspects of the Hispanic American experience. Reading this book allowed me to grow both intellectually and spiritually, as I know have the knowledge about the Hispanic American experience to evaluate real world problems and view them from a compassionate perspective.
“It’s Hard Enough Being Me” by Anna Lisa Raya, is an essay written about the time when Raya first discovered she was Latina and her following experiences with this realization. It’s an essay that deals with culture shock and discrimination, with expectations from others based on your culture, and about being more than a word or a place. It’s a story that shows the importance of the characteristic-defining choices you make. The essay opens with a brief explanation of Raya’s family history and her home. She then moves on to talk about arriving in New York as a brand new college student. “When I entered college, I discovered I was Latina. Until then, I had never questioned who I was or where I was from … “(Raya 1). Raya writes about the culture
In Lives in Limbo, Roberto G. Gonzales dissects the disastrous effects of US immigration policy on young Latina/os struggling in the often untouched, unnoticed, uncared for, American underbelly. Through a striking ethnography, Gonzalez examines 150 illuminating case-studies of young undocumented Latina/os, shedding light on their shared experience in the struggle for legitimacy in the United States - their lives, effectively, in limbo. He develops two major groups with which to classify the struggling youth: the college-goers, like Cesar, who received strong marks in high school and was able to land himself a spot within the UC system, and the early-exiters, like Silvia, who was unable to attend college, resigned to a paranoid life plagued
interesting conversation because there were a lot similarities in adjusting to living in the United States . This book shows a viewpoint of the sisters coming to America . I classify this as American literature because the book was written in a style that would make it easy to read for a people to read here . There is mixed language , and there is really no strong presence of Spanish being spoken . Alvarez is a interesting writer because she uses writing as a tool to find out what she is thinking , and to understand things ,while developing books that are fun to read . If you take this book for example , it’s what she thinks about immigration and her understanding of the subject . This book was made for everyone to see what the immigration experience is like . Immigration appears to be an experience of struggle , and change shared by immigrants no matter what the origin .
Thesis statement: Sandra Cisneros “ Geraldo No Last Name” short story emphasises how Americans view Latin Americans by verbally and ruthlessly mistreating the so called “wet back”. Geraldo is a sympathetic man who only looked to help his family who happened to live in another country. The lack of interest by the doctors who were supposed to be his hero's, emphasises how American society views and cares for immigrants in the United States. Marin whom Geraldo seemed to loved to dance with, references to Geraldo in such discriminating ways which simply goes to show how society has come to view immigrants.
It sometimes is quite difficult to find one’s voice when no one is truly listening or understands. Yolanda, or "Yo", a Dominican immigrant, has grown up to be a writer and in the process infuriates her entire family by publishing the intimate details of their lives as fiction. “¡Yo!” is an exploration of a woman's soul, a meditation on the writing life, as well as a lyrical account of Latino immigrants’ search for identity and a place in the United States. Julia Alvarez divides her novel ¡Yo! into chapters to distinguish the perspectives of each member of the Garcia family. Through the stylistic, subtle homage to the Spanish language as well as speaking on the horrors that occurred during the Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, Julia Alvarez showcases storytelling in the first chapter of her novel titled “From ¡Yo! The Mother” to show how Yo and her entire family used it to cope with their struggles as immigrants in America. By telling stories, Yo’s mother Laura, battles between her Dominican and American identities to ultimately redefine not only who she is, but also who she and her family will be.
In the story Jubilee by Kirstin Valdez Quade A young very bright Latin American woman, Andrea, struggles with feeling like she’s been accepted in today’s society despite all of her achievements. These feelings tend to peak and turn negative whenever she’s around the family of her father’s lifelong employer, the Lowells, and in particularly their daughter Parker. Although the Lowells, as a whole seem to love Andrea and her family, she finds that their success and good fortune directly correlates to her family’s second rate citizenship. This story reveals that obsession with being accepted as an equal can be an ever increasing stressor that can severely damage a child’s identity, social skills and ultimately lead to misplaced resentment and
A large number of people in the Hispanic community whether Hispanics are not able to get the English literacy skills that they need not because they want to keep born in Latin America or the United States, speak Spanish primarily. This is basically because in present day time, Hispanics are more likely to pass Spanish to their kids now than they have done in the past. (Ortiz, P.149) This is seen as a social problem, especially because of the fact that there is an increasing demand that English should only be taught in public school and it should also be spoken within the Spanish community. Even though Hispanics do speak a lot of Spanish most of the time, they still do learn English also, especially the young. But, because of the large flow of immigrants, the use of Spanish is used more often because they are constantly encountering immigrants who speak no English. (Ortiz, P. 150) Before hand there has been said to have been lower achievements when Hispanics make frequent use of the Spanish la...
His ostracized youth compels him to spread the message to all other Hispanic Americans in assimilating the necessary skills to survive in the American society while not forgetting his roots like he momentarily did. He describes himself as a “Mexican-American who, in becoming an American, forgets his native society” (Rodriguez, p.230). Feelings of emotional intimacy and belonging are human traits. Everyone wants to belong somewhere. Rodriguez ascertains the theories that ethnic Americans face more dilemmas at finding their place in the world than the average American.
Sacrificing a leg, arm, hand, foot, or even a life is what immigrants go through when crossing the border from Mexico to the United States. Enrique’s Journey: The True Story of a Boy Determined to Reunite with His Mother by Sonia Nazario in 2006. Sonia Nazario being an American journalist and daughter of Argentinean immigrants. This novel can be classified as a biography. Enrique’s Journey involves many themes; however, the main theme of the book is family. Mothers ‘abandoning’ their children and then reuniting. Another main theme would be immigration, which connects the book to history. The author’s purpose is for one to be able to transport themselves into the characters shoes by having sympathy. As well as to those who have empathy and suffered through the same or similar experiences. This will review the overall point of Enrique’s Journey and my own critique of the book itself.
The struggle to find a place inside an un-welcoming America has forced the Latino to recreate one. The Latino feels out of place, torn from the womb inside of America's reality because she would rather use it than know it (Paz 226-227). In response, the Mexican women planted the seeds of home inside the corral*. These tended and potted plants became her burrow of solace and place of acceptance. In the comfort of the suns slices and underneath the orange scents, the women were free. Still the questions pounded in the rhythm of street side whispers. The outside stare thundered in pulses, you are different it said. Instead of listening she tried to instill within her children the pride of language, song, and culture. Her roots weave soul into the stubborn soil and strength grew with each blossom of the fig tree (Goldsmith).
The article “The Life of Carlos, an Undocumented New Yorker” exposes the dehumanizing atmosphere Honduras reveals to the population at a young age, causing many teenagers such as Carlos to be in search of a new life in the United States while losing their innocence along the journey to survive. Carlos makes it to the United States, but quickly is thrown to an adult detention center, but temporarily released to be with his U.S. citizen Grandmother. Alexandra Starr’s article is coupled with Edward Keating’s photography of Carlos. Starr’s writing focuses on the story of Carlos which vividly includes many experiences an average person will never experience in their lifetime expect Carlos experienced this all before the age of 20. Carlos’s court
To function in a new country, the immigrants have to learn the country 's language. This is why the parents in Pat Mora 's “Immigrants” focus on speaking to their children in “thick English” (line 7). They do not think it is necessary to teach their children their own native language, instead they “whisper in their dark parent bed” (lines 10-11). They do this to make their children fit in;
The American society is acclaimed by its citizens for its endless ability to integrate various ethnicities. It combined every nationality with various ethnicities to form a unified whole; renowned as a melting pot. The melting pot metaphor is supported in the articles, “Leave Your Name at the Border,” by Manuel Munoz, “Selections from Once Upon a Quinceanera,” by Julia Alvarez, and “Paper Tigers,” by Wesley Yang. Munoz focuses particularly on Hispanic people who have to change their cultural name into something more American for the convenience and adaptability of their new environment. Alvarez is concerned with whether the girls having a Quinceanera actually know the cultural meaning behind it or if they are just having one to brag about how these
Immigrants into the United States often perceive education as the principal method for their children to attain a better life than they have been able to provide for them. The immigrants have dreams and hopes of their children becoming successful and working in better conditions that they had to endure in order to survive. However for the children, accomplishing the immense dreams their parents set forth is not simple. While striving to obtain an education, the children face many cultural clashes that often pit their culture or family traditions and values against the education they are demanded to attain. This is an issue that is iterated in many texts by Latina writers through personal or fictional stories. In The Latin Deli by Judith Ortiz-Cofer,
When I was eight years old, I visited my family’s town for the first time; I walked the dirt roads with my cousin talking about the North. As I walked with her I felt the stares, it was obvious I was not from there, a foreigner. In my own culture I was seen different, I was a Chicana, an American with Mexican heritage. They could tell us apart by the clothing I wore compared to my cousin’s tattered jeans and stained white t-shirt, it was obvious. I came from the American privilege, I did not know how to make a tortilla, I did not struggle, and compared to them my simple home was a mansion. The difference to this day surprises me; at that age I knew my privilege. For many years I felt lost but with the help of my family and experiences, I was shown that identifying, as a Hispanic was important to my identity.