Separation In Enrique's Journey

She must go. She can’t seem to support her son otherwise. With tears in her eyes, she bids goodbye and departs for the United States. Now, every Sunday, her son runs to the payphone, anxious to hear his mother’s comforting voice. But despite the weekly phone calls and toys he gets in the mail, he knows something is missing - his mother’s presence. Parental separation in this example, clearly is harmful to their relationship. Similarly, separation of parent to child, in the nonfiction novel Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario, is clearly a key theme. After leaving Enrique at age five, the relationship between Enrique and his mother, Lourdes, is not the same. Enrique’s separation from his mother eventually leads him to going on a journey to reunite

with her. After reading the novel, one can conclude that separation between parent and child does great damage even if the parent is supporting their child back home.
First of all, the theme is developed at the beginning of the story after his mother first leaves him.

This is shown when the author states, “He feels he would rather be with his mother then get the money and gifts she sends” (Nazario 36). From this, it is evident that Enrique misses his mother. Soon after he realizes she will never return; “It’s all one big lie” (Nazario 37) he tells himself. The separation of Enrique from Lourdes causes him anger and grief, damaging their relationship. His anger towards his mother further damages the family as he refuses to sell spices, and eventually starts doing drugs. Even though Lourdes may be supporting her son back home, the cost of separation outweighs the benefits, which supports the

theme.
Finally, the theme is further supported in the middle of the story, after Enrique meets his mother in the United States. Enrique gets along with his half sister very well. This is shown in the text when it says “He gives her money, drives her to the store, plays piggyback with her, and gives her hugs … She is happy to have a big brother” (Nazario 166). But, Nazario juxtaposes this when she shows the tension between mother and son: “When he is with his mother, he is on edge. Their fights are often sparked by Lourdes’ scolding” (Nazario 166). This demonstrates how during their separation, Enrique was never disciplined. So, as Lourdes tries to discipline him after the fact, he refuses. He is still seething with anger and blame toward his mother, causing damage to their relationship, even after they are reunited. It may seem that as soon as separation ends, so will the damage. But from this quote it is evident that the damage from separation may take years to recover from, showing how parental separation can cause great damage.
Finally, when Enrique is locked in jail it further supports the idea that parental separation is damaging.

Although Enrique’s separation may not have been intentional, it still does damage to him and his children. Nazario demonstrates the damage in the relationship when the text states, “Sometimes, he asks them not to visit. It is too hard not to hug Jasmín. He has never cradled or even touched his own son” (Nazario 219). Because he is locked in jail, Enrique is missing Jasmín and Daniel’s childhood. They are also missing his presence. Even when they do visit, they are still separated by a television screen. This damages the relationship between Enrique and his children because they aren’t able to develop a loving relationship for him and he can’t really love them back. The lack of love between father and child further supports the

theme.
Despite the evident damage of parental separation, still many mothers leave their children in Mexico and move to the United States. Some children may try to reunite, but may be sent back on their way. Still, others like Enrique may reunite and separation will end, but the damage of the separation will not.