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Enrique's Journey Compare And Contrast Essay

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On first glance, "Enrique's Journey" and "Dreamers" seem like completely different books but the purpose of the books are the same; they convey the importance of relationships for immigrant families. "Enrique's Journey", written by Sonia Nazario, focuses on the story of a mother who leaves her children behind in Honduras, thinking that she could better help them with money from America. Enrique desperately craves reuniting with his mother after feeling completely isolated and risks his life to immigrate to the U.S. On the other hand, "Dreamers", written by Yuyi Morales, is about a mother who leaves behind all of her belongings to immigrate with her son to the U.S. Since they have nothing else, they rely on each other to settle into their new …show more content…

In Dreamers, after the family immigrated, "There [was] so many things we didn’t know. Unable to understand and afraid to speak, We made lots of mistakes" (Morales, p.7). The use of the pronoun "we" instead of "I" emphasizes that despite not being able to understand many parts of their environment, the mother and daughter worked together to experiment and learn. They could overcome their mistakes because. “Enrique loves to contradict his mother, to set her off, even when he knows she is right...He leaves his clothes and shoes strewn in the living room... Would he have turned out different, [Lourdes] asks herself repeatedly, if she hadn’t left him?” (Nazario, p.148). The phrase "asks herself repeatedly" shows that despite making countless sacrifices, Lourdes is constantly guilty for Enrique's problems. The relationship between Lourdes and Enrique is full of flaws but they still feel like they need each other. The differences between "Dreamers" and "Enrique's Journey" when discussing family shows that relationships between family members aren't perfect and not always beneficial. Pretending that they are discredits the experiences and struggles that some immigrants face because of their family. Despite their differences, both books emphasize how family plays a huge role in immigrants'

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