Latino Literature Devil's Highway

The Devil's Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea is a great piece of work when it comes to looking into the border and immigration issues. When reading the book I saw something more then just a Physical border. I saw Borders and Boundaries that are formed by this Mexican and American Border. I noticed that language, and class are boundaries and with borders I found that Nationality is a big one.

Language  is a really big issue, not just in the book but nowadays as well. I see language as a boundary that limits us from being able to interact with one another. In Urrea's book the border patrol officers usually can't communicate well with the Immigrants. This one reason, leads to the mistreatment of immigrants. In other words not being able to speak or communicate causes separation. My family is a great example of this; at their jobs they only speak to Spanish speaking people (Mostly Mexicans). And when they try to interact with English speakers its usually hard to get a point across. So they usually try to avoid one another.

Class is another boundary that leads us to separation. It develops preconceived ideas of one another, examples are most immigrants (people of color) are poor, us Mexicans have the idea that most Americans are rich and snobby. These ideas of one another cause problems because we are not considering each other equal. Urrea speaks of Class throughout most of the book by talking, and going more depth on the immigrants lives. Most immigrants are poor and have little to nothing to their names. And it's usually the poor people that get signaled as bad people, while the rich are considered good.

Nationally sticks out like a sore thumb in this book. For immigrants its usually the back bone of why they  migrate to other places. Where I'm from, we are given so little opportunity to prosper. People in my hometown struggle everyday to get food on the table for their families. Just because of these reasons and many more it led to the migrating of my family to the United States. Even though most immigrants don't want leave their towns, they are forced to go in the end just like Ann said in class. I find it very true coming from an Immigrant family.

Separation occurs when people don't actually take the time to understand where these immigrants are coming from. Most people think that "WE" are criminals and what not. But they never take the time to understand or learn more about the reasons of immigrating. Understanding the nationality of people, should lead to a better connection with one another. This is the challenge that separates us from them.

This Novel did a wonderful job talking about the reasons of immigrating and I think that it will definitely serve as bridge between the United States and Mexico. Even though we don't speak the same language nor do we come from the same Class at times. It all comes down to understanding and developing dialogue between each other.

Once a Language boundary is relinquished it will help shape how we look at each other from a point of view. We will start to look at each other as equals not just Mexicans (poor) and Americans (rich),  but just Normal people!

Poet Analysis

John Olivares Espinoza
By Isaias Faustino February 1, 2013

 
    Photo by http://www.john-olivares-espinoza.com/

 BIO: John Olivares Espinoza was born and raised in Indio, California in 1978. His parents are Mexican-Americans. He spent a large part of his youth landscaping with his father. Later on in life, he went on to attend the University of California where he earned his B. A. degree in creative writing. Soon after, he graduated and got his M. F. A from Arizona State University. Espinoza now lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

The poems by John Olivares Espinoza in The Wind Shifts, serve as a bridge into the Mexican American/ Hispanic life, and they also act as a mirror/window towards the reader. The poems talk about struggles and hardships that a Mexican-American encounters while living, and trying to prosper in America. Most of them dealing with John's personal experiences.

The first poem that I choose is called "Contemporary American Hunger". In this poem John talks about going to McD's as a little kid, and mom buying two cheeseburgers with pure change, "Mom Pulled out her blue purse, laid out A buck thirty-eight- Two quarters. Six dimes, five nickels, and three parking-lot pennies". The way John describes this situation with detail, tells the reader how bad Mr. Espinoza's family was doing financially. But with him being so young, he didn't really seem to mind. This is a situation that many people in encounter in life and it's something helps mold who they will become. I know for me, seeing my parents struggle financially while growing up, has made me appreciate things a lot more.

The second poem is called "Aching Knees in Palm Springs". It's about John and his brother working for their father's landscaping business. They work all day on their knees pulling out weeds from rich peoples yards, in very hot weather. While reading the poem I could feel the frustration and the tiredness of John. He wanted to tell his father how hard and long the job was but stayed quiet, "Because I knew what he would say. It's the only way to put you through school - this oily sweat. I kept my tongue hidden behind my teeth." This tells the reader how hard one needs to work, in order to achieve success because nothing is given easily. In John's case, he had to work hard to get his education and to better his life. 

The final poem that I choose is called "I Go Dreaming, Raking Leaves". In this poem, John after 6 six years of not working in the Landscaping business, dreams of raking leaves. This speaks volumes of how much the landscaping work has affected him. "I rake a small pile, toss half into a plastic can And another pile takes its place." This tells me that even though he has a degree, the problems in life still keep coming.

These three poems show different situations but the same theme, a struggle. All coming from John's past.  Even though the poems show a window into the life of a Mexican-American. They can easily relate to anyone because every person at some point in life will face struggle. This is where I see a bridge into the Hispanic community because people can relate to them. Mr. Espinoza's poetry also resembled my life immensely, this is the mirror that I saw as reader.