Andy Mulligan's Trash

La Misma Luna (Under the Same Moon) is a movie of Carlitos and his mother, Rosario. Rosario, illegally immigrated to the United States to live in Los Angeles, California. Rosario has been in America for four years, and has only been able to talk to Carlitos on the phone since she moved.

“Grief is like the ocean; it comes on waves ebbing and flowing. Sometimes the water is calm, and sometimes it is overwhelming. All we can do is learn to swim,” was once written by the author Vicki Harrison. In the short story Catch the Moon, by Judith Ortiz Cofer, the character Luis learns to “swim” with the assistance of the power of love. Cofer creates this story with the underlying message, grief has negative effects on people, however, love has the power to overcome the obstacles created by grief.

I sometimes ask students why they came to The United States. For instance one young lady was from China. She had a bachelor’s degree, worked in an office, had her own car, and I got the impression her family was fairly well-off. When I asked her why she left her friends, family, culture, and what sounded like a comfortable and satisfying way of life she replied, “Safety, security.” I asked, “Why, what were you afraid of?” “The government,” she answered. A young couple from Mexico told me they came here so their children would be exposed to more opportunities. A woman from Russia told me that the only way you can get more than the next person in her country is by paying someone with a position to allow you get ahead. She said, “Here in America you can get what ever you want, and be anything you want, just because you have the ability to do so. A young man from Brazil said he had no home. He lived on the streets. He said he was always in fear of his life from the police. He road on top of the “La Bestia,” the immigrant train. It is a 1,450 mile trek with a real danger of falling off, as hundreds, and possible thousands have, and the danger of being robbed, raped, or murdered by the Mexican gang known as MS13. I guess he saw the possibilities of danger getting to the

In Central America, some parents leave their children, and set out a journey to the United States in hopes of making a better life for them. Throughout the years, the children who are left behind eventually go on a journey to be reunited with their family. On the journey, the children acquire many character traits and skills that ultimately make them grow as a person. In the book by Sonia Nazario titled Enrique’s Journey, author Nazario writes about Enrique, a young Honduran boy, who goes on a long and strenuous trip to find his mother. In the article “Desperate Voyagers,” by Ioan Grillo, it talks on the subject of children fleeing their country due to gang violence. The majority of the children who have crossed into the U.S are usually reunited

Truly successful authors have the ability to convey their view of a place without actually saying it, to portray a landscape in a certain light simply by describing it. In the provided excerpt taken from the opening paragraphs of “Shame,” Dick Gregory does just this. Through his use of stylistic elements such as selection of detail, old-fashioned language, repetition of words and simple sentences, Gregory reveals the shame within being poor setting the stage for a periodic ending.

Andy Mulligan has made a very clear and bold statement about the inequalities and injustices that exist in our world today through his novel Trash. He uses his novel to explore these issues by focusing on key themes such as Poverty/Wealth and Justice/Injustice. The theme Poverty/Wealth conveys Mulligan’s statement about the inequalities of our world by using real-world examples of poverty and prosperity situations in his novel. Additionally, by exploring justice/injustice we see that Mulligan elaborates on a distinct and definite line between fair and unfair actions and their outcomes throughout his novel Trash. Therefore, the injustices and inequalities of our world today are clearly communicated and observed through Andy Mulligan’s novel.

The novel Across a Hundred Mountains is told from the eyes of a young Mexican girl named Juana. Juana learns the value of a family after her family is broken. Her family is described as poor but unified. Her family is also observed to be loyal, virtuous and of good ethic which we see in a few of Juana’s actions.

Everything you’ve ever wanted is on the other side of fear. As this anonymous quote elucidates, fear acts as a barrier that essentially traps us in our comfort zone, limiting our experiences and holds one back from achieving his or her potential. In The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho, the protagonist must overcome his own fear through obstacles that he comes across as fear diverts one from their purpose.

This is shown through numerous biblical allusions in the text. The opening paragraph begins with a monologue, “I knew enough about hell to stop me from stealing. I was holy in almost every bone.” Soto acknowledges the moral impurity and “sin” that comes from stealing, and yet due to him not being entirely holy, he cannot be voided from making mistakes and being a sinner. Multiple times throughout, Soto mentions a “howling” heard underneath his house in the plumbing. Each time, he describes an angelic figure, or even God himself, to be the source of the noise. This possibly symbolizes an intervention attempt of a higher power or a guilty conscience. Whenever he has reached the “depths,” of his house, there will always be some force that odes him to make the correct choices.

Something Wicked This Way Comes is a definite story of how one boy wants to grow up and the other will give anything to stay young. This book is a very interesting look into an increasingly common perspective of a pair of two young teenage boys. Sure, the two are complete opposites, but they still do have a little in common. One has no father and the other has an old father that almost dreams of a way to die. This is just one of many reasons that this is a coming of age story. The way that these two boys are raised is what makes them grow up in different ways at different speeds.

In Andy Mulligan’s ‘Trash’ there are three boys Gardo, Raphael and Rat. They are trash boys who scavenge amongst dumpsites looking for trash that can be sold so that they can earn a living. They were taught to scavenge for anything that could be sold. Which includes things like old tin cans and plastic bottles that can be recycled, to perhaps something more valuable, like a wallet. Which is what the boy’s find that change their lives. A wallet with an ID card a small locker key. The bag leaves them onto a massive adventure. Throughout the adventure they struggle as they do not have many resources where they live. The boys live in a place called Behala, where there is a mission school that they can attend to. Although the children believe ‘Education is not helpful when you work at a dumpsite’ they don’t realise that their education could provide them with essentials that they need in life.

Often in life, it is easy to make comparisons, whether it be comparing yourself to others or comparing two people to each other. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald makes such a comparison between Tom Buchanan and Jay Gatsby. Throughout the story these two men form an aggressive rivalry, due to the vastly different ways they found success, and fueled by their shared love for Daisy. F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby reveals the tremendous differences found in Tom and Gatsby; Fitzgerald seems to find more value in Jay, here’s why.

The need for a suitable role model as a child developed is key to helping them find themselves. Ideas revolving around this statement are explored in Sandra Cisneros's novella, The House on Mango Street. Cisneros writes through thirteen-year-old Esperanza, as she describes herself trying to discover who she truly is and what she wants to be like in different females. The novella tells about these experiences, and the poverty filled world around Esperanza. Esperanza views female role models in her life with question and curiosity. These women are stuck in undesirable circumstances as they wait for the change someone else will bring. However, Esperanza looks to different women to base her own life off of, females who do not wait for change. These

(TS) In Henry David Thoreau's memoir Walden, Thoreau relies upon symbols to illustrate that personal exploration in nature illuminates life more than material wealth. (PS1) Thoreau utilizes an isolated house as a symbol for living simply with influences of nature. (SS1) Thoreau recalls gaining independence when “[he] began to spend [his] nights as well as days [at his new house]” (1) on the same day as Independence Day representing the day he becomes self-reliant and an inhabitant of nature, thus leaving society behind. (SS2) Moving into a secluded house, he was unbound from the trivialities of reality and society and in a position to seek the true inspiration of nature saying, “I wanted