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Lourdes Central America Summary

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In the story the theme of the American dream can be related to after hearing of Lourdes’ experiences in the U.S. Starting from when she was a child, it was said that she glimpsed images of the U.S. on television. She was persuaded by the images she saw and created an image of her own that is often referred to as "the American Dream." Quickly, Lourdes realizes that the U.S. puts forth its own set of issues. She can’t keep a job for long and it is very tough to get one, and even when she gets it, racism and her status as an illegal immigrant limit her wages compared to normal U.S. citizens. Although she can send some money home to help Enrique her earnings are so low that she has to turn to a form of prostitution to boost her income. Though Lourdes …show more content…

Enrique spends a portion of his journey along the trains that are considered gang territories as gangs believe they own the trains so they can do anything they want to “their” riders, these would be demonstrated by Enrique as his journey progresses. The trains hazardous to the migrants traveling upon them, but those riding must also overcome their thoughts of quitting, loneliness, giving up while minding the physical dangers of getting pulled under the wheels while boarding the moving train, which can cause dismemberment or more likely death while others fall off the train while it is in motion. As stated earlier gangs rule the train tops, raping, robbing, beating, and even killing as much as they want because of the fact that they believe it is their territory. Migrants are also in danger of being caught by corrupt police and immigration authorities better known in the story as “la migra”. A scary thing to think about is the fact that all migrants have to make their journeys with the fear of rape along the whole migration road to America. Migrants suffer from starvation and dehydration which comes along with the limited amounts of food and water they are able to carry with them, they are also unable to go to the bathroom for

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On many of Enrique’s attempts, he rides atop trains and forms alliances with potentially dangerous gang members to avoid beatings by other criminals. Despite these friendships, Enrique is still beaten so badly on one trip that it leaves him with permanent physical damage to his face. However, the book also tells of dozens of other migrants who are mutilated or killed in train accidents, raped by coyotes or gangs, or robbed, beaten, and left for dead. In addition to these perils, many migrants drown or die from dehydration or asphyxiation during segments of the trip.

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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?”

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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.

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She vows to god she will never ask him for anything for her son” (260). This shows us how Lourdes once cared for her son, but now is burdened with him for all of his actions. The point of view shows us how how Enrique once cared for his mother but now his mother is crying because of what Enrique has turned out to be. In conclusion, the POV shows us how different perspectives show us how Enrique ended up because of how he changed. Analyzing how Nazario uses literary devices show us how Enrique has changed throughout the novel.

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As the story comes to a close i can see how this will continue to happen in future events. Enrique wants to believe that his family won’t be too hurt by his decision but he cycle of disappoint will most likely continue in my opinion. He tells mayor Carrasco that he does not think it is worth the time and money for doctors to save travelers like Enrique “This is what they get for doing this journey,” He says of migrants. Yor carrasco disagrees.

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In "Enrique's Journey," Enrique tries to survive on the train, meanwhile in "The Children of the Drug Wars: A Refugee Crisis, Not an Immigration Crisis," children are in danger and are trying to get somewhere safe from the violence of their country. According to Nazario, "Due to six men beating Enrique up on top of the train, he is always alert and afraid of who gets on the train" (2). In the article, "The High Commissioner interviewed children from Central America who arrived in the United States and most of those children are escaping from violence" (Nazario 1). The difference from the editorial and the biography is that the editorial is a call to action to help migrant children from danger and violence of their country, while the biography is about the point of view of a migrant person and to spread awareness about what happens to migrants during their journey to a safe place and what happens to them. For instance, "Nazario states that migrant children must be recognized as a refugee crisis, due to them being forced to sell drugs by narcos" (1).

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Faced with the prospect of having to feed two children off the meager income she earned in Honduras, Lourdes is faced with a self-imposed ultimatum, either live in constant poverty or seek the better opportunities that the United States seemingly offered, with the hope that in the future, she would be able to send back money to her children back in Honduras. Her reasoning shows that many immigrants do not make their journey out of want or greed, but out of absolute necessity, a desire to pull their children out of poverty and give them a better life. However, she is unable to return to Honduras for fear of not being able to come back to her sliver of security in America and coming home empty-handed. All the while, Enrique is similarly faced with poverty, as after being abandoned by his estranged father, he must provide for his grandmother, who he is living with “Enrique loves to climb his grandmother’s guayaba tree, but there is no more time for play… After school, Enqirue sells tamales and plastic bags of fruit juice from a bucket.”

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As a child, he is burdened with worry for his mother because she is not near him for many formidable years of his life. He is troubled by a perceived lack of love from his father, grandmother, and many members of his family still residing in Honduras. Enrique experiences the pressures of living within a low economic status when Lourdes is unable to send a sufficient amount of money for his livelihood. In later years, Enrique uses drug use as a coping mechanism and cannot release the stronghold that drugs have in his life so much so that he still uses drugs today. Enrique is also plagued with the increasing violence in his area.

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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

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