The experiences people go through impact the way the see world and those around them. Children are raised by their parents and witnesses to the triumphs and failures. When the age comes many often question their parent’s decisions. Some may feel bitterness and contempt while others may feel admiration and motivation. The “Sign in My Father’s Hands” by Martin Espada conveys the feeling of being treated as a criminal for doing the right thing. Similarly, “Naturalization” by Jenny Xie is the story of a family who recently immigrated to America going through gauntlet of assimilation. In this paper I am going to analyze, discuss, compare and contrast the authors attitudes towards their parents according to perseverance paternalism and passivity with society. In Martin Espada’s “The Sign in My Father’s Hands” the central theme to the poem is social justice. His father is fighting for equal employment opportunities. Martin holds his father in high esteem, he admires him for his courage and enlightenment. “The beer company did not hire Blacks or Puerto Ricans, so my father joined the picket line” (Espada) This demonstrates his father’s instinctive reaction to pursue social equality. In particular, although a simple adverb, the word “so” used by Espada implies he viewed his father’s actions as an immediate moral obligation. Despite being well aware of the risks considering he had been jaded by the cruel realties of the word. Espada views his father as courageous and committed