And the earth did not devour him, is a book written Tomas Rivera. The book tells short stories of Hispanic people and their struggle in American society. The short stories range from the everyday struggle like the racism and stereotypes that are pegged on minorities in very prejudice communities, and the inability to learn due to their families having to join the migrant circuit, only working to live and die. The book is about the past year in a boy’s life and how he accounts the past events to himself as he goes through the country as a migrant worker. The main points that are shown in the novel as a whole would be the lack of empathy, the prejudice, and the struggles of a worker at this time.
“Those who witnessed the crash said they had seen
…show more content…
The narrator is in a shack with two other people who are considered to be good hearted to the boy at first look. Later the boy sees all of their faults, how they play acts to gain what they want and their sour hearts. The boy would sleep in their storage place and they would conduct business. The wife starts to see another man besides her husband, the man is also a Chicano and the original couple kills him to take his money. They hide the body in the storage room with the boy sleeping next to him, the couple gives the boy the Chicanos ring to have the boy feel guilt and incrimination. Finally the boy leaves and holds on to the ring. “And the worst was that for a long time as soon as I would see a stranger, Id slip my hand into my pocket. That habit stayed with me for a long time.” The struggle of being a migrant worker was very hard to surpass. Having his parents rely on that couple to take care of their son seemed well off especially since they have the same experiences as one another. However the meaning of the passage is to show how, when put into a situation anyone can act irrational and even turn on the people who share their own common experiences instead of appeal to their common