In his book Promises of Gold, Jose Olivarez showcases the way he’d ignore all the problems and issues the world has, emphasizing how often we overlook life. Olivarez is the son of migrants and also the author of Citizen Illegal. Olivarez’s vision was to push the idea that a promise is an attempt that can be broken. Through these poems, we find his resolution to the struggles of the world we live in, in the forms of loving, learning, and growing. Olivarez demonstrates his reflection of the world and writes about the importance of the struggle that comes with being ignorant. Through his poetry, José Olivarez explores the nature of ignorance and knowledge, suggesting that while the pursuit of understanding can lead to defeat, as seen in “Loyalty,” …show more content…
This is significant because it reminds others to put in perspective their own actions and compare them to the poem. If you’re doing the same, it may be that you aren’t keeping the promise you made to yourself, and you should instead be consistent, do the small actions that do help, and avoid the lies we tell ourselves. In his poem “All the Names We Say Because We Don’t Say Love," Olivarez becomes more knowledgeable and emphasizes that being clueless is okay. For example, all the lines contain one word, like a list, “motherfucker /ugly / bald-headed ass / ugly / ugly ass” (Olivarez 77). "Motherfucker" is literally a vulgar word, but it also has a more sentimental association with being close to another person, something only the relationship can understand. These words are the same as “homie / bro / fam / my guy / my brother” (Olivarez 77), words that also deliver endearment when exchanged with another person who is close. These are the kinds of issues we have in the world when a person is ignorant enough to assume before knowing the …show more content…
We become so accustomed to the same routine that we overlook our surroundings and lack appreciation for the moment. Neglecting our consciousness leads to a struggle to comprehend, conveniently trapping our mind in an unchanging state. Jose Olivarez captured the ignorance we humans experience in the poems listed previously. Reading Promises of Gold gave me direction to write about life using some of the techniques found in his poems, such as anaphora and imagery. The poems themselves are supposed to convey the message that being lost in a cycle is difficult to break out of, and that's okay because it takes time. To unpack my poems, we must look at the first poem, "Unchanging," which I attempted to write about my daily routine. I wake up from my sleep, reach for some coffee to get the momentum going, feeling like I can get something done for the day until I know it’s just going to be another unproductive day. Continuing with my day, I see the workload I have on my computer, and looking at it just makes me want to go to bed so I can put it off for the next day. The original poem that inspired me to write this one is from Olivarez, “Loyalty” (Olivarez 68). This poem resonated with me because I believe I am the definition of unloyal, which is contrary to the title. Going against your own words is what I connect with. I'm unaware of my actions until I’m in shambles, just so I
In a story of identity and empowerment, Juan Felipe Herrera’s poem “Borderbus” revolves around two Honduran women grappling with their fate regarding a detention center in the United States after crawling up the spine of Mexico from Honduras. While one grapples with their survival, fixated on the notion that their identities are the ultimate determinant for their future, the other remains fixated on maintaining their humanity by insisting instead of coming from nothingness they are everything. Herrera’s poem consists entirely of the dialogue between the two women, utilizing diction and imagery to emphasize one’s sense of isolation and empowerment in the face of adversity and what it takes to survive in America.
In today's world there is kids in child labor and many people struggling with poverty. It is important that Francisco Jimenez tells a story of migrant farm workers because many people don't understand the struggles the workers go throw.This is relevant to our lives because people who aren't struggling with poverty or are in child labor take most things for granted and those who struggle would be more than grateful for the most slightest
In Elvia Alvarado’s memoir Don’t Be Afraid, Gringo: A Honduran Woman Speaks from the Heart, she expresses the struggles that people such as herself, and numerous other Honduran citizens face every day. Elvia Alvarado was a Honduran woman, who was considered a peasant. She was born into a poor family in the countryside of Honduras. The book retails stories from Alvarado’s life and the obstacles she is forced to overcome in hopes of achieving a better life for herself and the people around her. She faces oppression due to her social class, ideals, and especially her gender. At the same time though, she is able to find support through these communities. While the odds are stacked against Elvia Alvarado, she is able to continuously preserve,
Rain of Gold, is a true story about the history of Mexican people, their culture, traditions and customs that were passed down from the Euro-Indian heritage of Mexico. Rain of Gold was written by Juan Villasenor in search for his ancestral roots. The people of this story are real and not fiction. The places that are discussed are true. And the incidents did actually happen to his family. There are several underlying themes that need addressing. Such as: the importance of family, the importance of religion and spiritualism, woman as center of home and family, respect--protection of woman's virtue; ideal of women as pure, power of the woman--the mother, being a man-man as protector of the family, pride of man to be a provider, importance of traditions, respect for life, work and education/learning, death as part of life, honor, dignity, and finally discrimination and prejudice. I will be using this book as a reference and as a guide throughout this review to discuss the themes that are stated above.
The themes explored in the novel illustrate a life of a peasant in Mexico during the post-revolution, important themes in the story are: lack of a father’s role model, death and revenge. Additionally, the author Juan Rulfo became an orphan after he lost
Bestseller journalist, Sonia Nazario, in her literacy non-fiction, Enrique’s Journey, describes a young man’s journey trying to reconcile with his mother in the United States, but has to go through many obstacles to reach her. Nazario’s purpose is to inform readers about how immigration affects children and their mothers in Central America. She adopts an optimistic/determined tone in order to reveal to her readers the difficulty and bravery the children have to face to get to the United States. Nazario begins her credibility with ethos to retrace an abandon teenager’s journey through Central America, pathos to follow the mother son relationship, and logos by giving facts and statistics for illegal immigrants in the U.S.
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.
This poem written by Francisco Alarcon describes the life of an illiterate man who finds himself signing away his freedom by placing his mark on a contract. He is unable to read the contract he is signing or even write his name. Being unable to read he leaves himself vulnerable to be taken advantage of and deceived. Alarcon, who was raised in a Hispanic community, was surrounded by illiteracy. Wanting to change the situation in which he was raised in he went to school to become a teacher and now focuses his efforts on eliminating illiteracy. This poem was written from the experience of watching those he cared about around him being taken advantage of because they were unable to read or write. "The X in My Name" shows the mistakes and ill consequences that illiteracy can bring upon those uneducated. It also sheds light onto how social structure and financial class play into illiteracy, and how detrimental illiteracy can be to those on the low end of the monetary spectrum. Though Alarcon only uses a few words it is easy to understand and see how the illiterate can be effortlessly be taken advantage of.
Jose Antonio Vargas’s article on My Life as an Undocumented Immigrant is a writing about his childhood journey from the Philippines to the United States as an Undocumented Immigrant. Vargas writes this article to emphasize the topic of immigrant and undocumented immigrant in the United States. He uses all three appeals: pathos, ethos, and logic in his writing, in specific, he mostly uses pathos throughout of his entire article with a purpose for the reader to sympathize and to feel compassion for him. The use of these appeals attract many readers, they can feel and understand his purpose is to ask for others to join and support other people who undocumented immigrant like himself. In addition, it gives other undocumented immigrant people courage
Jimmy Santiago Baca’s poem sends out a powerful message without the use of a strict structure. The modest wording and simple structure helps the writer send his message across. In addition, with the use of imagery, symbolism, diction, and tone, Baca is able to argue and ridicule American stereotypes on Mexican immigrants coming to the country and robbing them of job opportunities. The use of figurative language helps support Baca’s point of view on how the American misconception is irrational and prejudice.
In “Into the Beautiful North,” Luis Alberto Urrea tells a well-known story of life for thousands of Mexican people who seek a better future. He presents his novel through the experiences of the lives of his main characters that have different personalities but share a common goal. Through the main characters we are presented with different situations and problems that the characters encounter during their journey from Mexico to the United States. Urrea’s main theme in this novel is the border that separates both the U.S. and Mexico, and the difficulties that people face in the journey to cross. But that is not just the only theme that is presented; there is love, heroes and inspiration in which all the characters
The eternal endeavor of obtaining a realistic sense of selfhood is depicted for all struggling women of color in Gloria Anzaldua’s “Borderlands/La Frontera” (1987). Anzaldua illustrates the oppressing realities of her world – one that sets limitations for the minority. Albeit the obvious restraints against the white majority (the physical borderland between the U.S. and Mexico), there is a constant and overwhelming emotional battle against the psychological “borderlands” instilled in Anzaldua as she desperately seeks recognition as an openly queer Mestiza woman. With being a Mestiza comes a lot of cultural stereotypes that more than often try to define ones’ role in the world – especially if you are those whom have privilege above the “others”.
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 poem “Exile” by Julia Alvarez dramatizes the conflicts of a young girl’s family’s escape from an oppressive dictatorship in the Dominican Republic to the freedom of the United States. The setting of this poem starts in the city of Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, which was renamed for the brutal dictator Rafael Trujillo; however, it eventually changes to New York when the family succeeds to escape. The speaker is a young girl who is unsophisticated to the world; therefore, she does not know what is happening to her family, even though she surmises that something is wrong. The author uses an extended metaphor throughout the poem to compare “swimming” and escaping the Dominican Republic. Through the line “A hurried bag, allowing one toy a piece,” (13) it feels as if the family were exiled or forced to leave its country. The title of the poem “Exile,” informs the reader that there was no choice for the family but to leave the Dominican Republic, but certain words and phrases reiterate the title. In this poem, the speaker expresser her feeling about fleeing her home and how isolated she feels in the United States.
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.