In Central America, some parents leave their children, and set out on a journey to the United States in hopes of making a better life for them. Throughout the years, the children who are left behind eventually go on a journey to be reunited with their family.Once they are reunited with their family, the children assume they can live happily ever after; in fact, it’s quite the opposite. In the United States, some of the children face a lot of negative and positive challenges, and they respond slightly differently. Particularly, in the book by Sonia Nazario titled Enrique’s Journey, author Nazario writes about, a young Honduran boy, named Enrique, who goes on a very long and arduous journey to reach the United States to find his mother. Upon …show more content…
his arrival, he reacts negatively and positively to the challenges he faces. Moreover, in the article “Expectations and Motivations of Hondurans Migrating to the United States,” Jana Sladkova writes about Honduran migrants, and their hope and reason for travelling into the U.S. Some of the negative challenges Enrique faces upon his arrival include the following: financial problems, resentment toward his mother, and alcohol and drug abuse. Even though Enrique responds negatively to these problems, there are some challenges that he responds positively to such as: saving money to make a life for his family, being openly affectionate to others except his mother, and abstaining from sniffing glue. Since Enrique has crossed into the United States, he’s had a lot of financial problems, which makes him respond negatively.
Enrique depends a lot on his mother for money. He decides to move out of his mother’s house, which makes him more financially unstable. Nazario writes, "Enrique is struggling financially. Fed up with the cramped conditions in his mother's apartment and their constant fights, yearning for some scrap of privacy, he has moved out and rented a bedroom in a trailer... Sometimes, when work is slow, Lourdes has to loan him money for his truck payment"(221). Nazario is saying that Enrique is struggling financially, and when work is slow he asks his mother for help. This is significant because it shows that even though Enrique is trying to be more independent he still is dependent on his mother. One of Enrique’s goals is to bring his girlfriend and daughter to the United States, yet he spends a good amount of money on drugs and alcohol. Enrique knows he has to change if he ever wants to see his family again. Nazario writes, “If he doesn't change, he will repeat his mother's mistake; time will slip by, and Jasmin will grow up without him. He must save $50,000 as quickly as possible to buy a house and start a business in Honduras” (218). Nazario is saying that if Enrique doesn’t get his life together, then he will repeat what his mother did, and as a result, he will never see Jasmin. In order for Enrique to go back to Honduras and see his daughter, he must save …show more content…
about $50,000 as fast as possible. This is significant because it shows how much Enrique is financially unstable. Although Enrique has a lot of financial issues, he is determined to work even harder, and save money to make a life for his family.
Since Enrique has crossed into the United States, he has been drinking a lot of alcohol. Enrique realizes he must change and be more responsible for his family. Nazario writes, “ He's tired of going to work after spending all night out drinking. He wants to look better when Maria Isabel comes to the United States. Most important, he has to be more responsible for Jasmin. He can't have her grow up worrying about money as he did. He wants her to study" (218). Nazario is saying that he’s tired of drinking, and wants to look good for his girlfriend, Maria Isabel. He also wants to be more responsible for his daughter, Jasmin. He doesn't want Jasmin to worry about financial issues, and wants her to study. Enrique cuts back on drinking so he can save that money, and be united with his family. Nazario writes, “"In North Carolina, Enrique focuses on working, on saving money, on cutting down even more on drinking and drugs. He'll need $5,000 for a smuggler to bring his girlfriend north"(234). Nazario is saying that Enrique needs $5,000 for a smuggler so Maria Isabel can come to the U.S., so he focuses on working and cutting down on drugs and alcohol. This is significant because it shows how badly Enrique wants to have his family with him. Enrique doesn't want to make the same mistake his mother did, and not go back to Honduras. Enrique wants to see his
daughter grow, and is only in the United States to save money. Nazario writes, “Enrique talks of saving enough money to buy a house and open a small store in Honduras someday. He talks of going back"(242). Nazario is saying that Enrique really wants to go back to Honduras to buy a house, and ultimately start a business there. This is significant because it shows how much Enrique wants to be together with his family, and is just in the United States to save money. Since Enrique has reached the United States, he starts resenting his mother, and to Lourdes, Enrique starts becoming a burden. When Enrique was on his journey to the United States, he thought once he reached his mother they would have a fairy tale ending. When they finally got reunited he started to resent his mother. Nazario writes, “Enrique knows he does not hate his mother. But with each passing day, his resentment grows. After months with his mother, he can no longer contain it. He tells Lourdes she didn't care enough about her children to stay with them in Honduras" (196). Nazario is saying that Enrique doesn't hate his mother, he just feels bitter that she didn't stay with her kids in Honduras, and started a new life in the U.S. This is significant because it shows how much resent he has against his mother. Enrique still has a lot of anger toward his mother, and starts to tell Lourdes that she isn’t his real mother. Nazario writes, “ A true mother, he tells Lourdes, isn’t the person who carries you in her womb. It is someone who raises and nurtures you. ‘My mother is my grandmother… You long ago lost the right to tell me what to do’ he says”(198). Enrique is telling Lourdes that she isn’t his true mother because she didn’t look after him. His actual mother who did care for him is his grandmother. He tells Lourdes that she lost the privilege of being his mother long ago. This is significant because it shows how much Enrique is hurt at the fact that Lourdes left him in Honduras when he was a young boy.Enrique disrespects Lourdes with each passing day. Eventually, Lourdes becomes tired of it. Nazario writes, “ ‘You must respect me. Don’t forget. I am your mother. I gave birth to you’ ‘I don’t love you as if you were my mother. I love my grandmother’ ‘I gave birth to you’... Lourdes slaps him on the mouth, hard” (217). Lourdes is becoming very irritated with Enrique. Enrique still believes that his true mother is his grandmother. Lourdes gets tired of being disrespected, so she slaps him very hard on the mouth. This is significant because it shows that Lourdes is starting to get very annoyed with Enrique, and his starting to become a burden. On the other hand, Enrique is openly affectionate towards other people except his mother. Even though Enrique is resentful towards his mother, he still respects others around him. Nazario writes, “ With others, Enrique is openly affectionate, especially with his half sister, Diana. He gives her money, drives her to the store, plays piggyback with her, caresses her cheek. He teaches her to dance. They play rhymes together” (217). Nazario is saying that Enrique is very loving to his half sister, Diana. This is significant because it shows that with others he can be very warmhearted. Enrique gets along with the people he lives with, including his mother's boyfriend. Nazario writes, “ Enrique likes the people in the trailer, especially his mother’s boyfriend; he could be a better father than his own dad, abandoned him ten years ago to start another family”(193). Nazario is saying that Enrique is very fond of his mother’s boyfriend. Enrique believes that he could’ve been a better father than his actual dad. This is significant because it shows that Enrique is openly affectionate to those who are very close with Lourdes. Furthemore, Enrique’s drug and alcohol abuse gets worse, which ultimately makes him respond negatively. Lourdes is suspicious about Enrique’s addiction with paint thinner. Nazario writes, “Twice in two weeks Lourdes has seen her son hold a smelly handkerchief over his nose...She asks about the smell. Enrique yells at her. Lourdes senses that he is hiding something”(211). Nazario is saying that every time Lourdes tries to confront Enrique about the smell, he shuts her down by yelling at her. Lourdes has a feeling he is hiding something from her. This is significant because it shows how bad Enrique’s problems with drugs are. Finally Lourdes smells the paint thinner, and gets very mad. Nazario writes, “ She smells paint thinner… Now she knows what the smell means… Lourdes’s words tumble out… ‘ You’re broken, ruined. A drug addict! Why did you even come here? To finish screwing yourself up? You’re a disgrace. Get your act together… If you keep sniffing thinner, you have to move out” (211). Lourdes is infuriated with Enrique. She questions why he came to the U.S. in the first place. She calls him a drug addict, and if he doesn’t stop sniffing glue, then he has to move out. This is significant because it shows how much Lourdes cares about her son. She wants him to get his act together, and not become a drug addict.
On his eighth attempt, Enrique finally makes it to a camp by the Rio Grande. His mother pays a smuggler to bring him safely across the river without being caught by the U.S. border patrol. Finally, he is reunited with his mother whom he hasn't seen in over a decade. His expectation that being with his mother would solve all his problems was soon shattered. Lourdes expects respect for everything she has done for him but is met with only Enriques resentment for leaving him. They fight constantly. Enrique returns to using
Mariano Escobedo was a healthy man he was my Grandparents great great grandparent. He was a Mexican General from Mexico. He wanted to govern Mexico, he fought against dynasty and he won. Escobedo fought against the French Invasion in Mexico to govern Mexico. He became a great general who fought against Napoleon III (French.) In Mexico City airport and in Monterey his name is printed and also in some streets of difference parts of Mexico. Mexico had borrowed money from England, France and Spain. In 1861 representatives from this countries got together in London to find a way to get Mexico to pay this countries. Troops from this three countries went to Veracruz in 1862. They were welcomed from representative from Mexico. The general Juan Prim, from Spain accepted the way Mexico was going to pay little by little so as England. The representative from France is not accepted he wanted the money and ordered his troops to prepare to fight. The government of Benito Juarez organize the defense. He made in charge the general Ignazio Zaragoza to get to Puebla and fight with the French. They attacked each other in the " Fuertes de Loreto y Guadalupe. The troops of Zaragoza, helped from the Indians Zacapoaxtla. In 1862of Mat 5 they won against the French. The emperor from France, Luis Napoleon Bonaparte, wanted to extend his powers in America and in Asia. He dreamed to form a great empire. Mexico took advantage of that situation to peek an European emperor to govern Mexico and to stop the politic anarchy. Luis Napoleon made them recommend Fernando Maximiliano de Habsurgo, brother of the emperor Francisco Jose. Maximiliano accepted his embarkation to Mexico but with her wife, the princess Carlota Amalia de Belgica. Luis Napoleon send his army to wish napoleon luck. Austria and Belgica also send troops. The emperors arrived to Mexico at the end of 1864. In Veracruz, Puebla were great big welcomes. To confront the invaders, to the president Juarez formed a government itinerante, who traveled from the capital to the north border. From this places it continue the position of the millitar action from the armies from the North, West, command from
Throughout Enrique’s many attempts at successfully making his way by train to the border between the United States and Mexico, he has encountered people who were more concerned with stopping and harming the travelers rather than ensuring their wellbeing. Therefore this imagery during the journey part of the novel helps to provide the reader with the sense that not everyone in Mexico is out to get the people who are trying to obtain a better
The narrator of the passage, Izzy, is being forced to move to New Mexico for two months while her mother works in Costa Rica. Moving to New Mexico for the summer is the last thing Izzy wants to do, so she tries every excuse she has to get out of it. But, as Izzy found out, her mom is forcing her to go, no matter what she does. This puts her in a state of hopelessness as she tries to argue her way out of the trip in every way possible, contradicting everything that her mother says. “‘This is a wonderful opportunity for you.
The push-and-pull factors in Enrique’s yearn for the U.S not only allows him to rediscover himself as an individual in a world of uncertainty, it also eliminates his constant fear of failing as a promising human being; in addition exhibits the undying hope of a desperate man found in hopeful migrants. In Sonia Nazario’s “Enrique’s Journey,” his mother’s trip streamed “emptiness” into the heart of a once comfortable child and left him to “struggle” to hold memories they shared. Enrique’s life after Lourdes’ departure triggered the traumatizing demise of his identity. He threw this broken identity away while facing many obstacles, nevertheless each endea...
The travelling progression seems to advance the sense of togetherness between individuals who migrate." when migrant workers whose living conditions I have described here crossed the border, they separate themselves from the social structures of their home country" (Chavez pg. 92) Some migrant workers make a sensible choice to leave their old insufficient way of life for what they think will be a certain paradise and freedom. The American dream search is short lived for some, never thinking about why or what they left behind. In most cases though, this is not the case at all, people leave for their families and the opportunities to work and return home.
Like many other migrants, Enrique had many troubles with his mother too. When Enrique first arrived to the U.S., Enrique and his mother’s relationship was going well. Lourdes was proud of Enrique for finding a job as a painter and sander. Lourdes would always brag to her friends that Enrique is her son and that he’s big and a miracle. However, Enrique starts going to a pool hall without asking Lourdes’s permission which makes her upset. Enrique often yells obscenities and mother tells him not to, but Enrique tells Lourdes that nobody can change who he is.
Failing to find a positive opportunity for work, Maria’s next job is seemingly much worse in multiple ways. Maria gets offered enough money to hold her over for a long time in Colombia, by becoming a international narcotrafficker, even though it still “yields ve...
The main events of the story occur in Honduras and Mexico. Tegucigalpa, Honduras is where Enrique was born and raised by several family members. In Tegucigalpa, Enrique is shuffled from house to house simply because he is unable to control his emotions. This makes Enrique angry and he begins to rebel against the people he lives with. At the age of 17, Enrique decides to leave his family in Honduras and travel to the United States in hopes that he will reunite with his mother. His journey will take him through Chiapas, Mexico, the most hostile city at the point of his travel. In Chiapas, corrupt Mexican police officers and gangs stop migrants and order them to give up anything in their possession. Enrique was beaten and thrown off a train in Chiapas by gang members who raiding the train. After being thrown off of the train Enrique realizes that the journey is not going to be as easy as he dreamed it was. The second most hostile city of the trip, Oaxaca is where many migrants are deported. The people of Oaxaca have a very distinct way of speaking and behaving. In Oaxaca Enrique is kept on toes, wondering if he will be deported because of his awkward dress and dialect. The last important place in the story is Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. Nuevo Laredo is last stop for immigrants travelling to the United States. From Nuevo Laredo immigrants will illegally enter Texas and begin their struggle for financial success in America. Enrique does finally enter Texas after being pushed on a boat from Nuevo Laredo. Once he entered Texas, Enrique takes a cab to North Carolina hoping to find his mother. Sonia Nazario begins the story by describing Enrique’s confusion as to why his mother has left him. He doesn’t understand that she can’t afford food and ...
Enrique and many other Central American kids have a hard life. They come to America where they think their mothers will magically solve their problems because their mothers are supposed to be perfect. Enrique and others realize this isn’t true and goes on to accept it. Migrants resent their mothers a little bit, but come to start loving them as the migrants did before their mothers left. Migrants also learn about life lessons on the trains. Migrants learn that people should not be trusted, but not all people are bad. The migrants just have to learn which people are bad and which aren’t. Migrants also learned that you shouldn’t have high expectations of everything and also that you shouldn’t put your problems on one person and expect them to go away. You have to figure life out on your own.
First of all, I can relate to the part in book when Joshua Davis said Luis Aranda’s mom (Maria) felt the only option to give her kid a better life was by coming to the United States (Davis, 82). A Japanese lady Maria worked for offered to adopt him, because she recognized Maria was struggling. Maria knew that Luis
In The Beast: Riding the Rails and Dodging Narcos on the Migrant Trail, Oscar Martinez comments on the injustices that occur while migrating from Central America. Central Americans are forced to leave their countries in fear of the inevitable consequences. The systematic abuse Central Americans endure while migrating is founded on that fear which results in more repercussions for migrants. The psychological effects of migrating is used by Martinez to give insight on the atrocities that happen in Central America. The corruption involved while migrating in Central America is against human rights and should be brought immediate attention internationally. Martinez uses the experiences of migrants to expose Mexico’s passivity on the subject and to expose readers’ to the hard truths that occur while migrating.
When they first arrived to the United States their only hopes were that they would have a better life and that there were better special education programs for Maribel to attend at Evers. Alma imagined that the buildings would look a lot nicer than they really were. The family was surprised that they could take things from the street that someone threw out of their house, but were in working condition. When they arrived they didn’t think that you would actually have to learn English to be able to communicate, but after going to stores and interacting with people they learned that they need to learn English if they want to live in America. They hoped that you could be able to afford anything in America by working, but based off of the money Arturo was making they learned that you can’t buy everyth...
In Eduardo’s conversation with an illegal immigrant, he explains that he is working to get his family across the border
The emotional letter that Juan left for his mother might be one of the most emotional scenes in the documentary. The pure emotions that the letter was written by Juan to her mother leaves the audience with the bonds and emotions felt between the kids and families. Juan Carlos’s father abandoned the family years ago and left to New York, consequently Juan believe it is his responsibility to provide for his family. He also wants to find his father in New York and confronts him about why he has forgotten about them. The story of Juan is not just about migration of children, but also the issue of family separation. The documentary does not dehumanize but rather bring the humane and sensitive lens to the story of Juan where the human drama that these young immigrants and their families live. Juan Carlos is not the first of Esmeralda’s sons to leave for the United states, his nine-year-old brother Francisco was smuggled into California one month earlier. Francisco now lives with Gloria, his grandmother, who paid a smuggler $3,500 to bring him to Los Angeles, California. Once Juan Carlos is in the shelter for child migrants his mother eagerly awaits him outside. After she sees him she signs a paper that says if Juan Carlos tries to travel again, he will be sent to a foster home.