Reading Enrique’s Journey, When the Emperor was Divine, and “Please Hear What I’m Not Saying” this semester has taught me there is more to the world than what is seen on the surface, which, in turn, has bettered my sense of global empathy. Sonia Nazario’s fictional novel Enrique’s Journey, sheds light on the truth behind the reason people migrate and the journey. Many of the people making this journey are children trying to locate their mothers in America because, in Enrique’s words, “My mom told me she loves me. No one else ever told me that” (143). The bond between a mother and child is not something that can be easily replaced. These children are willing to risk their lives for a chance to be with their mothers again. The dangerous journey …show more content…
The journey from Honduras to America involves many dangers that could lead to death. People are raped, robbed, jumped, and even killed. There are gangs that control the train tops and will beat immigrants and steal all their belongings. However, many are more afraid of the the train than the gangs. Hundreds have dies because of the trains tipping over or being hit off by branches. This journey destroys the spirit and soul of many of its survivors. Even though it seems like a choice to many for immigrants to come to America to find work or are in search of their mothers, it does not seem like a choice for them. They do not see a point in living life without their mothers. The connection they crave is a need, not a …show more content…
The characters of Enrique’s Journey are openly expressive about how they feel, where as, The many of the characters in The Tyrants Daughter will keep their emotions bottled in. In Julie Otsuka’s historic fictional novel The Tyrant’s Daughter Laila’s family came to America, a land that seemed like a dream, as refuges because according to Laila, “My old life, the one I fled, was real. It is real. It is real pain, and real war, and real deaths, and real guns” (279). After Laila’s Uncle had her father killed he took over as a dictator of the country. This caused the war between Laila’s family and its citizens to get worse. The war they faced does not happen on that large of a scale in America. So, many Americans do not know what it is like to live in constant fear of their own government killing them. As Laila is arriving to school late Emmy yells to her, “Laila! Where have you been? Have you heard the good news? Someone called in a bomb threat” (Otsuka 220). Jokes are made about terrible events that really take place around the world. Back in her home country Laila know about the bombs that have been dropped and hearing this news causes her to panic. These jokes are made because people do not know what it is like to really experience these things. I see this in my daily life when others make a joke about
“The Children of the Drug Wars” starts with Sonia Nazario describing the life of a 6th Grade Honduran boy named Christian. He wants to leave the country s soon as possible, and for good reason. His father was robbed and killed by narcos gangsters in a security guard night shift, he also knows of 3 others that were killed. Like this instance, people have been fleeing these violent communities because of violence. This number of children fleeing from these violent communities has spiked within the last three years; 6,800 to 90,000 detained in the United States.
He went through many challenges on the way to America including the risks of the trains, brutal gangs and police, and the struggle of leaving his other family in Honduras with terrible
While reading Enrique’s Journey, written by Sonia Nazario, a lot of themes were brought out throughout the book that served different meaning in Enrique’s story. The theme that stood out to me, was his journey because Enrique traveled all the way from Honduras to find his mom, who stayed in the United States. There are times in the book when he falls victim to his own shortcomings: doing drugs, tantalizing his mother, mismanaging his finances. He is ready to take yet another journey, this time marked by responsibility instead of adolescent rebellion and resentment. However, Enrique's journey is not only physical, but also mental as he grows from a boy to a man.
Olga was the perfect daughter who did not go to college, followed all rules, and put family above anything. While Julia is her complete opposite; troubled, outspoken, and independent, with many dreams of attending college and becoming a writer. Throughout the book, Julia struggles with accepting the role of being a perfect Mexican daughter, handling adolescence and her parents’ high expectations; after all her sister was the one who was the perfect one. However soon she discovers not everything is as black and white as it once seemed and starts to discover the truth behind being the perfect Mexican-American daughter. I am not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez is accurate with its truthful portrayal of the immigrant experience for Mexicans and the unfortunate history they have held when it comes to deportation, it provides a fair understanding of what the Mexican culture truly is and the values they uphold, while also providing a useful depiction of what it means to deal with mental health moreover giving more insight of the life of a teenage girl who is coping with grief and
if those so called jokes were turned into a compliment or praises to the person's heritage the world would be a nicer place. in society we have created a lot of negative meanings for things that should be positive a positive mind gets more work done in an hour than a negative mind can get accomplished in days the power of positive thinking is outstanding it is majorly understated and it needs to be embraced throughout the
Expanding the notion of the “disappeared” to take into account migrant disappearances at the border, these novels increasingly attend to the significance of absent bodies that interrupt narratives of belonging and identity. In assigning responsibility for cultural trauma, the novels condemn nativism and xenophobia, as well as the demand for cheap and exploitable labor, and the institution of border enforcement initiatives that knowingly increase the possibility of migrant deaths, in an effort to bring attention to the human costs of inhumane border and immigration policies. But they also suggest the construction of collective identities based on a recognition and narration of the trauma caused by migration and
Colloquial language and heavy sarcasm can be considered distinctly Australian as it makes it easy for the audience to understand and relate to. Kenny creates humour through the relatable jokes made. He uses sarcastic language and makes jokes about taboo subjects in order to create and portray humour. The way Kenny makes self-deprecating jokes about himself and his job allows the Australian audience to find humour in the simplicity of the jokes. The text used throughout this essay is Kenny which is a comedy mockumentary made in 2006.
Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario is the story about a boy in Honduras whose mother left him to pursue a better life in America. This story encompasses the coming of age period of Enrique’s life and many of his experiences can be related to by other children, even in different situations. Nazario develops an interesting novel that both documents the journey of Enrique to the United States but also creates a dramatic tone like a fiction novel would have. Through her diverse use of rhetorical strategies, Nazario was able to explain the positive and negative effects of family relationships through the life of Enrique. She does this by utilizing different literary devices, most evidently, nomos, in which she relates with the story and also opens
Alvarez and her family have a lot of trauma considering there lives in the dominican republic and living under the dictator,through it all alvarez's parents raised a daughter who would share their story in a fashionable matter that told the story how it was.
Kiruthi Sivakumar Professor Baez ENGL 161 05 May 2023 Comedy and Social Issues Comedy has been a popular form of entertainment for centuries, with its evolution reflecting changes in society and culture. From slapstick performances in the early 20th century to political satire and social commentary in the 21st century, comedy has continued to evolve alongside the changing values and beliefs of its audiences. Today, the internet and social media have enabled comedians to reach wider audiences and create new forms of comedy, such as online sketches and viral memes. Comedy is now being used as “a way to reach more young people and other viewers outside the international development community” (Sangillo).
Children experience violence, through witnessing gang violence at school, violence at home, and public lynching. In a United Nations Refugee Agency study of four hundred unaccompanied minors, forty-eight percent experienced violence by crime-organized groups, twenty-two percent experienced abuse at home, and thirty nine percent were recruited into human smuggling. Violence, specifically gang violence, homicides, and sexual abuse, has increased within the past decade, and the homicide rate doubled between 2000 and 2006. As a result, it can be less dangerous to migrate to the United States than to stay in Guatemala. In an interview on National Public Radio, Jose Alberto Lima Barrera, a child migrant, says “it’s scarier here than making the dangerous trek through Mexico”.
When a television show decides to use an unopposed, typically offensive idea or dialogue in relation to an Asian character, “and the moment is instead played for laughs - more damage is done than if Asian Americans were to remain off network television altogether,” (pg 1, lines 20-21). These jokes become normalized, leading to the idea that hurtful stereotypes can, “come from a good place,” and be, “humorous satire,” (pg 2, line 7). This unrestricted use of stereotypes, “has created a feeling of safety around mocking a group that is not commonly viewed to be disadvantaged or disenfranchised,” (pg 2, lines 14-15). The mocking simply becomes the actual opinions of those uninformed in the reality of the minor races and cultures.
An issue present all over the world, racism comes in many shapes and forms of varying offending degrees. Some may be jokes, but others can be harsh words delivered, quiet whispers behind others’ backs, or some may be straight out bullying or physical violence. We keep the fire of racism burning bright through stereotypes that are constantly being passed around from parents to children, classmates to classmates, and friends to friends. Many of them, especially ones passed through children, are as jokes.
The uncalled for joke may trigger feelings of anxiousness and nervousness. Simultaneously, stand up comedy takes dark subjects and makes light of them. “In 2014, Louis CK remarked on NPR that comedy is intended to ‘go to a scary place and laugh’, to defuse and demystify that fear. It is part of the darkness, uncertainty, and ineffability of this ‘scariness]’ that allows comics to connect with a deeper, human truth” (Henry). By doing this, it makes the subject manageable.
(Plous, 2003) Regarding participation in offensive jokes, people would rather refrain from taking part in them, while some do not mind them. A reason for that is everyone’s different type of humor – we find different things amusing and while we do not see a joke as offensive, even if it is done on our behalf, there are others who would be hurt by it. It is important to take that into consideration and always analyze our surroundings before engaging in controversial behavior. While most avoid using words that reinforce negative stereotypes, there are those who do it.