Fresh Fruit Broken Bodies Summary

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In fresh fruit broken bodies, Holmes does a great job developing relationships with different people and in turn using these relationships to provide key information needed to inform the reader of his ethnographic theories. Over the course of his research he develops relationships with not only the pickers but also the farm owners, so that he can get a better understanding of the complex structure of farming and also migrant workers. By telling us stories he hears from the different migrant workers, he pulls on your emotions as a reader. These real-life accounts make it easier to sympathize because they are actual true stories of humans suffering in our current farm labor market. Holmes key relationships help us see how complex of a topic his ethnography is, but also makes for a very good read. …show more content…

One person in particular named Macario he becomes closer with. During this time in building this relationship with him, Macario opens up about the many struggles of crossing the border. Holmes would not have been able to experience such an event if he hadn’t built a relationship with Macario, his friendship allowed him into a world we Americans don’t understand because we haven’t experienced it. From the constant fear of being robbed, to the coyotes betraying them as the attempt to cross the border, the very real fear of getting bit by a rattlesnake, the horrible living conditions they face while trying to cross the border, and the knowledge of knowing that any minute they could be found and deported back to Oaxaca. Holmes being able to document the real-life event of trying to cross the border and sharing the stories of these immigrants straight from their mouths, not only helps to make a better ethnography but allows you as the reader to really experience the emotion behind these peoples

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