Jimmy Santiago Baca Research Paper

A man with nothing to lose could be considered more dangerous than a man with everything to gain. The back and forth, up and down, side to side story of Jimmy Santiago Baca’s life shows that a man fighting for survival yearns more than a man fighting for simple possessions. Prison takes a toll on people differently, but those people have to accept the fact that jail is now their home for the time being. Some may continue along the beaten path, consuming themselves with regret, anger, or denial; but, some may seek a smoother path, digging deep and figuring out how to modify their lives for the better. It is evident that in his memoir, A Place to Stand, Jimmy Santiago Baca sought out this

There are a few things that can bring the town of Odessa, Texas together, football is one. Certain families aggrandize over the sport more than others. There is a direct contrast between the families of Boobie Miles and Brian Chavez. Boobie Miles’ uncle LV Miles always pushes Boobie at home and tries to live out his high school dreams of playing football, which he could not do because of segregation and the black school not having a football program at the time, whereas Brian pushes himself to succeed in both football and academics because he knows that there is life after high school football.

In Chapter 2 of his memoir, poet and author Jimmy Santiago Baca recounts about being thirteen years old the first time he was incarcerated. He was made ward of the court and placed in a boys detention center for running away from the orphanage on various occasions. During his stay in the detention center, he was around other chicano boys who concealed their fears and suffering with a defiant pride, they taught him how to fight and intimidate others. The director of the facility decided to give him the opportunity to attend a local high school where he met the school’s football coach, and soon after joined the football team. Years of suppressed hurt and anger made him an asset to the team because of his aggressiveness in the sport. He felt proud from the admiration he received from his peers, a sense of satisfaction and

Dennis Chavez was born in New Mexico on April 1888 in Los Chavez, Valencia County,.His parents were David and Paz(Sanchez).Dennis had seven brothers and sisters. He started going to public schools when he was.Only as an 8th grader he had to start working because of financial issues in the household. He started working as a grocery store clerk in his town. Then later, after that he started in the engineering department in the city of Albuquerque for a while.After that he married Imelda Espinosa in 1911.She was a member of a very important family. Then after they moved to the Belen county in 1914.Shortly after they moved to Belen he started working for as a newspaper guy,private contractor,and a court interpreter.In 1917 he was given a job

Did you know that Sebastian Vizcaino named Monterey Bay California after the Spanish Viceroy conde de Monterey. Is Sebastian Vizcaino was born and extra min to Spain in 1548 he was born into a rich family emergency later and his life he became a Spanish merchant / adventure he is mainly famous for mapping out and naming many of the places along coastline but he is also famous for being named General of the manilla galleons.

Barrientos tells of learning to read and write in spanish. One key feature of a literacy narrative is an indication of the narrative 's significance. The aurthorś significance of learning the language is sha wants to feel like she belongs in the Latino community. According to the text the author felt out of place because she did not speak spanish, but she was Guatemalan. “I am Guatemalan by birth but pura gringa by Circumstance?” This quote explains that the author feels out of place. When Barrientos came to the United States she stopped speaking spanish, partly because her parents wanted her to speak english. One reason she did not want to be classified as Mexican American was that society has negative connotations outsiders. Learning spanish

Juana Barraza is a serial killer in Mexico. She was born on December 27, 1958 in Hidalgo, Mexico. As a child she had a thought life. Her mother Justa Samperio an alcoholic woman would exchange her to a man called Jose Lugo for a couple of beer. Barraza was sexually abuse; as a result she became a mother at the age of 13. After the death of her mother Juana went by herself and had three more children. In addition to this, by 1990’s she was a professional wrestler named La Dama Del Silencio after her personality. Although she was obsess with wrestler she had to give it up because of an injury. By the same token, after she retired from wrestler, she went and looked for old ladies that lived alone. Barraza would present herself as a nurse or

Terry Fox has brought hope, inspiration and change to countless amounts of lives. With his courageous and ambitious spirit, he single handedly started a revolution. His selfless deeds are still talked about to this day. A hero is defined as someone who is idolized by many because of a noble and outstanding achievements and that is exactly who Terry is. Terry Fox transformed the face of cancer with his big dreams and bigger actions. His long, hard road to success was the type of encouragement people need to help with the fight against cancer. Although he knew that cancer will forever change his life, he took that and made it into a positive. He could have immersed himself in self pity but instead, like a true iconic man, he fought for what he

Nathalie Diaz’s poems “How to Go to Dinner with a Brother on Drug” and “ My Brother at 3 A.M” point out how drug and alcohol abuse cause stress and problems over a family. Diaz explains the struggle that her family has to be through because of her brother addiction. Diaz’s poems show her life and the struggle she needs to experience such as drug addiction, violence, and poverty.

One day it finally hits him that he wants to get over his addiction so he calls Father Boyle asking if he would accompany him to get enrolled into a rehab center. Pedro is 30 days into his Rehab when he finds out his brother committed suicide while suffering from the same drug addiction. Father Boyle breaks the news to Pedro and picks him up from rehab to go to the funeral. There Pedro talks to Father Boyle about a dream where he is in a dark room, suddenly Father Boyle shows him the path to a light switch using a flashlight. Pedro knows he has to be the one to turn on the lights so he walks over and flips the switch. Being out of the dark he is filled with happiness the light has brought him. In the story Father Boyle was the faith Pedro needed, he never gave up on him and once Pedro found faith in himself he was able to be resilient against the challenges faced with and stayed in rehab in efforts of overcoming his drug addiction. In another chapter Father Boyle tells another story about a kid named George who he was preparing to give baptism to during his stay at a probation camp called Camp Munz. George had been serving time

1.“Driven from every other corner of the earth, freedom of thought and the right of private judgment in matters of conscience direct their course to this happy country as their last asylum” (Samuel Adams, 1776).

Horatio Alger was born in 1832 in Chelsea, Massachusetts and lived until 1899 where died in Natick, Massachusetts. Alger was born into a regular sized family with two brothers and a sister, Olivia Augusta Cheney, who was a well-known woman in her prime. She advocated for the rights of women in their time where women were only supposed to stay home and be perfect homemakers. She wanted more than that, and she spoke about it. She gave very good motivational speeches, and was a popular feminist who helped the woman’s’ rights movement. He was named after his father, and Alger was sometimes referred to as Horatio Alger Jr. His father was a church minister, and when Horatio got older, he took on the role of the minister. However, after accusations about some bad works with the boys in the congregation, Horatio was asked to leave the church and he never went back.

In 1773, there were slaves all over colonial America working in plantations, and cleaning their masters houses. It wasn’t common for a slave to be writing poetry with their owners consent. Phyllis Wheatley’s success as the first African American published poet was what inspired generations to tell her story. It was her intellectual mind and point of view that made her different from others, both black and white. Phyllis’s story broke the barrier for all African American writers, and proved that no matter the gender or race, all human beings are capable of having an intelligent state of mind. Her arrival in America in 1761, at the age of eight is what started the story of a legend.

Linda Sue Park’s book entitled A Long Walk To Water is about two people on different paths that eventually meet. One character named Nya is a girl who walks 12 hours a day to get water for her family. While the other character Salva is a boy who is left in a country surrounded by war. In Salva’s story, his survival became possible through three main factors:his uncle, food and water; the memory of his family.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft is a horror fictional writer who was very important and widely known in the twentieth century. He is considered one of the greatest fictional horror writers and he has been a hero and a villain who has influenced many people in positive and negative aspects.