Highwire Moon Elvia

Susan Straight’s novel “Highwire Moon” discussed how two of her characters grew up without any parental guidance causing them to live a difficult life. Elva is a fifteen year-old girl who grew up not knowing her mother due to her being taken away by immigration services. Elvia has a few memories of what her mother use to do with her. Elvia grew up living in a foster home and only had a woman named Sandy as a role model and mother figure. Elvia was found and picked up by her father Larry. Larry wanted to be there for his daughter unlike his parents who never were. Larry grew up without his father because he left Larry at a young age. Larry’s mother soon died and left Larry to be alone. Both Elvia and Larry view cultures differently. Growing up without parents caused hardships that would have been prevented if their parents were there to guide them and be there for them.

Larry grew up only knowing one parent which was his mom; his dad left him the day he was born. He never found the reason to find his father because he believed his father did not want to be found. His mother sold herself to men in

order to put food on the table and later died freezing to death. He was then left alone and had no one help him grow up. There was only one object from his childhood that he could call home which is his truck. His truck is significant and symbolizes his past and became a place where he can go back and reflect. Growing up without parents caused him to grow up quickly. He was sent into a foster care as a teenager. Larry met his best friend and coworker, Dually. He was not able to go to school because he had to put food on the table for himself. Larry started working rather than continuing his education. He grew up hating other cultures and never embraced them for what they really were. His daughter was a mix between American and Mexican. He always told people that his daughter was only American and nothing else. On the other hand his daughter Elvia grew up with one parent and embraced her culture. She embraced her culture by telling people that she is Mexican.
Before Elvia started living with her dad, she used to live in a foster home with her foster mom Sandy. Larry found his daughter living in foster care and went to go get her. As he got her, Elvia was deciding of whether or not to go with him. She grew up without a mother and a father until she was older. As she grew up without a mother, she was always eager to find out why her mother left her alone. Unlike Larry, she wanted to find out what happened to her mother. Elvia lived a life without a mother to guide her. She then got pregnant and questioned herself if she was going to be just like her mother. As Larry has a truck to go back to, Elvia viewed her foster home as place to call home and place to go back to. When Elvia went to school she was always asked what ethnicity she was and she told them that she was Mexican. Her father resented that and told them she was only American.
Larry and Elvia are similar and different in many ways.

Larry hates the fact that her daughter loves being called mexican, He prefers to only acknowledge her as American, While Elvia on the other hand, embraces the fact that she is Mexican. Both have a place that they get to call home, but are not the houses they grew up in. Larry’s home is his truck that he had since his childhood and Elvia's is the foster home she grew up in. They both grew up living in foster home at a young age and no parents to provide guidance. Eliva’s father came back to her and was there for her unlike his father. He wanted to be different than his parents and be there for his daughter. Growing up without parents caused both of them to live a life they did not want to live. Larry wanted to be there for his daughter but Eliva didn't even want him there because she wanted answers about her

mother.