Enrique's Journey Sparknotes

In Central America, some parents leave their children, and set out a journey to the United States in hopes of making a better life for them. In the book by Sonia Nazario titled Enrique’s Journey, author Nazario writes about how a young Honduran boy goes on a journey to find his mother, Lourdes, who had left him when he was just a child. As Enrique is growing up, he assumes that she went to the U.S to make her life better, but in reality, she is working extremely hard to make a life for her two children she left behind. Enrique feels a sense of loneliness, and believes that no one truly loves him. He spent most of his time living with his grandma, until he started to do drugs and come home late. He becomes a burden toward his grandma, and she tells Enrique he has to find another place to stay. As a result, his Uncle Marco lets him stay at his place. Enrique starts feeling a sense of belonging, and trust, which makes living with him enjoyable. Unfortunately, his stay is short-lived due to Marco dying in a business deal. At

While Enrique is on his way to Chiapas, six gang members rob and beat him, which results in very serious injuries. Nazario writes, “The men pull off his pants. His mother’s number inked inside the waistband. But there is little money. Enrique has less than 50 pesos on him, only a few coins that he has gathered begging. The men curse and fling the pants overboard. The blows land harder, ‘Don’t kill me,’ Enrique pleads. ‘Shut up!’ someone says” (54). Enrique is getting robbed, by gang members. Enrique fears for his life, yelling not to kill him. The gang members continue to beat him, resulting in severe trauma. This quote is significant because it shows that even though Enrique is badly hurt. He still begs them not to kill him. If he dies, Lourdes will never know what happened to him and they would never be at