Ellie Dillon
Mrs. Mungai
Multicultural Literature and Voice
16 February 2023
Desire and Longing Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario and Fighting for Family by Lan Nguyen both address the topic of desire in a migrant's journey, and their hope for the future. In Enrique's Journey, Nazario develops desire by showing the perspective of Lourdes, Enrique’s mother. The story of Fighting for Family follows desire as it shows the hardships of the father who had been deported and his longing for family. A comparison of Enrique’s Journey and Fighting for Family reveals that many migrants do not have the outcome they hoped for, and how their journeys can cause a desire for something far greater than jobs; Family. These two examples show that hope and
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Lourdes emigrated from Honduras to the United States because, “ she hoped she could provide her children an escape from their grinding poverty, a chance to attend school beyond the sixth grade” (Nazario 7). Lourdes came to the United States to give her children hope for the future, provide them with an education, and food on the table. She had their best interests in mind, which is why she decided to leave Honduras. The desire for family in an emigration/immigration journey is significant because the migrant had to leave behind their family in a place that might not have the right resources to survive. On the other hand, Chuh, was deported back to Vietnam for selling drugs. He explained, “It’s really hard for me to like, to sit alone by myself, especially at night time because I get used to spending time with my daughters” (Nguyen 24 minutes). Chuh was able to see parts of his children's lives, and still occasionally gets to see them. Although he lives in Vietnam, he is able to see them, and he has built them a better life in the United States. The differences between the desire in immigration and the desire in deportation are important because they show how different circumstances may show the extent of the longing for