ipl-logo

Enrique's Journey Essay

876 Words4 Pages

Written by Sonia Nazario, Enrique's Journey is a book that has a profound impact on readers beyond just increasing their knowledge of the hardships faced by immigrants. The book has the power to evoke empathy and create an emotional connection between the reader and the immigrant experience. It highlights the dangers and risks associated with migration, sheds light on the issue of family separation, and encourages readers to take action and advocate for change. By sharing the perilous journey of Enrique in search of his mother Lourdes, Nazario brings to life the human side of immigration, making it personal and relatable for readers. First, the book exposes readers to the realities of poverty and the economic inequality that drives many immigrants …show more content…

In this book specifically, the separation of children from their mothers. From the moment their mothers say goodbye, children consider their mothers to be, “larger than life,” (7). In their mothers’ absence, children long for their care and support. This highlights the importance of a mother’s role in a child’s life. Even in more developed countries, some children suffer psychologically while growing up due to the absence of a mother-figure, or any other parental figure. This proves that this is a universal experience that should be brought to light. Like the other migrant children, Enrique believed that all of his problems would be resolved once he found his mother. However, when he finally reunited with her, he is only reminded of the emotional damage his mother caused him. Blinded by his anger, he expresses emotional distress directed at his mother by saying, “‘You long ago lost the right to tell me what to do,’” (198). From the moment he is left behind in Honduras by his mother, Enrique struggles to cope with his feelings of abandonment. He grows up without the love and nurture of his mother, and this affects his self-esteem, leading to a sense of worthlessness and hopelessness. Without someone to guide him, he falls into the life of a delinquent, sniffing glue and doing drugs. It is evident through his journey that family separation ingrains devastating effects on him and other

Show More
Related
219 Words | 1 Pages

The book I am reading is Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario. I predict that the author will explore the human rights issue of Immigration Laws and the plight of illegal aliens in the United States. I believe that this issue will be important in the story because Enrique the main character in the story is very driven to find his mother who has gone herself illegally to the United States to earn money to provide an education for her children and to better the life of her family. I made this prediction because Lourdes leaves her children in Honduras as she goes to make money in the United States and her son Enrique is left saying “Donde esta mi mami?” “Where is my mom?”

Read More
262 Words | 2 Pages

In chapter two of the book Enrique’s Journey, Enrique has made a total of seven attempts trying to cross the borders. In the first attempt, la migra caught Enrique and his friend, Jose del Carmen Bustamante, while they were riding the train from Honduras and to Veracruz in Central Mexico. They got sent back to Guatemala on El Bus de Lagrimas, the Bus of Tears. In the second attempt, Enrique traveled alone and got caught by the police. They, once again, put him on the bus and sent him back to Guatemala.

Read More
216 Words | 1 Pages

While reading Enrique’s Journey, written by Sonia Nazario, a lot of themes were brought out throughout the book that served different meaning in Enrique’s story. The theme that stood out to me, was his journey because Enrique traveled all the way from Honduras to find his mom, who stayed in the United States. There are times in the book when he falls victim to his own shortcomings: doing drugs, tantalizing his mother, mismanaging his finances. He is ready to take yet another journey, this time marked by responsibility instead of adolescent rebellion and resentment. However, Enrique's journey is not only physical, but also mental as he grows from a boy to a man.

Read More
1072 Words | 5 Pages

Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario is the story about a boy in Honduras whose mother left him to pursue a better life in America. This story encompasses the coming of age period of Enrique’s life and many of his experiences can be related to by other children, even in different situations. Nazario develops an interesting novel that both documents the journey of Enrique to the United States but also creates a dramatic tone like a fiction novel would have. Through her diverse use of rhetorical strategies, Nazario was able to explain the positive and negative effects of family relationships through the life of Enrique. She does this by utilizing different literary devices, most evidently, nomos, in which she relates with the story and also opens

Read More
688 Words | 3 Pages

From Mexico to the United States, a very dangerous journey some take to have a better life or to reunite with their family. Even people who are as inexperienced, such as Enrique, go through this dangerous path to reunite himself with his mother. In the novel, Enrique's Journey, author Sonia Nazario uses literary devices such as theme, characterization, and POV to show us how events change a character along the way and reveals how a character truly is. Sonia Nazario uses theme to show us the drastic change in character, characterization to show us how the dangers of this journey has an impact on someone, and POV to show us how the character is someone else’s perspective.

Read More
674 Words | 3 Pages

but that's how a lot of people that don't have to deal with that feel. What makes these words even more stronger is that enrique was just jumped by 6 guys by this time and they told him that he had no business there. I feel that as very messed up. “The single mothers who are coming to this country, and the children who follow them, are changing the face of immigration to the United States." -Author notes context sentence:

Read More
779 Words | 4 Pages

This quote conveys how the reality of how mothers only looked through how they felt, but not seeing how their children could possibly be affected by this. In this situation, Enrique would live dirt poor with his mother in Honduras rather than having his mom try to succeed in America. This exemplifies how Enrique is desperate for her attention,

Read More
735 Words | 3 Pages

Many children from Central America have migrated to the United States but have been deported back to their country or killed by gang members during their their journey. Sonia Nazario, author of "Enrique's Journey" and "The Children of the Drug Wars: A Refugee Crisis, Not an Immigration Crisis," mostly talk about the lives of migrant children and the tragedy of their homeland. "Enrique's Journey" is about Enrique and his journey to reunite with his mother and Enrique is traveling on a train but faces challenges and problems during his journey. " The Children of the Drug Wars: A Refugee Crisis, Not an Immigration Crisis" is about Sonia Nazario giving her opinion about helping the children that are in danger and trying to get them safe from violence

Read More
1664 Words | 7 Pages

Enrique is the central character of Enrique’s Journey authored by Sonia Nazario (2007, 2014). Enrique’s journey is a touching account of the repercussions of an economically distressed society and the effects that this circumstance has on the citizens of Honduras. Enrique is five years old when his mother Lourdes is forced to leave Tegucigalpa, Honduras to the United States where she believes she has a better opportunity of earning an adequate amount of money to support Enrique and his sister Belky. As years pass, Enrique becomes more disheartened and decides to take the dangerous trip of traveling North to be with his mother.

Read More
887 Words | 4 Pages

Lourdes, Enrique’s mother, loved her children as every mother does and did anything in her power to provide for them even if it meant to travel 1,619 miles into a foreign country. Many parents like Lourdes have left their entire families for job opportunities and risk their lives through the dangerous journey but they have the hope and motivation because of love— love for their sons and daughters. Even Enrique found himself doing the same for his soon-to-be-born baby which was one of the components that made him persevere in his

Read More
1007 Words | 5 Pages

To begin with, Enrique's Journey, by Sonia Nazario shares the journey of a boy named Enrique who lives in Tegucigalpa, Honduras with his mother, Lourdes, and his sister, Belky. Enrique

Read More
380 Words | 2 Pages

Child abandonment is a choice a parent made to not be in their child life. In doing so, this causes a failure to have a strong relationship with their offspring, which can lead to an instability in child's life and the feelings of loneliness and hatred towards their parents. Abandoned children begin to think about doubts and uncertainty in their life. These neglected children are put in pain and misery at such a young age that might hangs how they act as they grow older. Throughout their life all they think about is the self-worth and why their life is set up a certain way.

Read More
1490 Words | 6 Pages

“Love you, mama, Miss you”(Aviv, 2), the words of three year old Adam to his mother who was placed with the Orange County Social Services. In Rachel Aviv’s article “ Where is your mother” thirty-nine year old, single working parent Niveen Ismail, “begged” them to return her son after she left Adam unsupervised at home whilst she was out. Niveen mentions that on this tragic day that, “It was mechanical- I wasn’t thinking anymore... I was just trying to survive” (Aviv, 6) she was overworked, undernourished and had just reached a “breaking point”.

Read More
599 Words | 3 Pages

Julio, on the other hand, lives in highly ethnically diverse Los Angeles as one of the immigrant children devoid of family ties. This immediate environment of family is what Bronfenbrenner calls the microsystem. Luis enjoyed a physical presence and handling of the eleven family members in their home. But for Julio, it was a negative experience when aspect of physical development as she just a mere immigrant without parents around to give her moral support. On a worldwide perspective, both Julio and Luis desire a better world beyond theirs.

Read More
1369 Words | 6 Pages

For a nine-year-old who wants nothing more than to make her mother proud this was exciting. In the beginning, we can see her excitement and desire, “in the beginning I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so.” (Tan). However, as we follow the story we see her excitement quickly fade to sorrow and anger. The high expectations immigrant families place on their children is still a very relevant social issue and can be witnessed throughout the United States.

Read More

More about Enrique's Journey Essay

Related Topics

Open Document