Drown by Junot Diaz

Drown, by Junot Diaz, is a book I never would have selected for myself. For one, it’s a collection of short stories. I do not care for reading short stories; typically they are not developed enough for my liking. I prefer when a story comes to some sort of a resolution at the end. Genre and style aside, the content of these stories was disturbing to me. I read through the selected stories quickly so that I could put this book behind me. I had no desire to read the four remaining stories for I did not want to dwell in those depraved lives any further. This is not a book I would recommend to anyone, most certainly not students.

Maybe I just don’t get the point Diaz was trying to make when he wrote these stories. His absolutely negative view of the immigrant experience I find to be disheartening. Story after story, Diaz presents characters who act in illegal, immoral and socially reprehensible ways. These behaviors are not justifiable because people may be immigrants or poor. They are certainly not something to be glorified. People have been pulling themselves out of poverty for all time. Has Diaz given up on a sense of personal responsibility?

I am not naïve to think that situations presented in these stories are strictly fiction. However, the way Diaz presents his characters does little to endear me to them. The only character I truly felt for was the boy in No Face. That child was dealing with physical and the resulting emotional pains from the attack from the wild pig. It was a searing depiction of the occasional cruelty of society. For the most part, the other characters have choices to make in their lives. The fact that they choose to do drugs, have illicit sexual encounters, act in violent ways, use foul language, act in crude, disrespectful ways are entirely their choice. Poverty is not an excuse for these behaviors.

I’m left wondering how the Dominican community feels about his representation of their immigrant experience. Is this how they wish to be depicted?

Esperanza Rising

After reading Esperanza Rising, the one line that stuck with me the most was the final line of the Author's Note; "it's no wonder that in Spanish, esperanza means 'hope'." Hope is a very powerful word. It's limitless, knowing no bounds. With hope, all things are possible.

Esperanza Rising is the perfect title for this book, especially if we look at “esperanza” as both a common and proper noun. With a "lower case e", esperanza (hope) rises throughout the book as the characters struggle through the many challenges with which they are faced. Hope is exemplified through the characters’ escape to California, the growth of the rose plantings, Mama's recovery from Valley Fever, Abuelita joining the family and Esperanza and Miguel's budding romance. Esperanza, with an upper case E, rises throughout the story as well. We follow her journey, beginning with her life as a privileged, favorite daughter of wealthy Mexican farmers, to the scared girl as her world falls apart after her father’s death, to a teenager making tough decisions when her mother falls ill and finally to the strong young woman who does whatever needs to be done in order to help her family.

Hope was the emotion that ran through me as I read this charming story. I had hope that Papa would return home, hope that someone would stand up to the uncles, hope that Esperanza and the others would make it to California, hope that Esperanza would adjust to her new life, hope that Mama would get getter, hope that Abuelita would arrive and hope that the farm workers’ lives would improve. Of course, we know that not everything we hope for comes to fruition. But Esperanza had hope too and I believe that it was because of that hope that she was able to endure.

This is a wonderful story of an immigrant experience and what word better to represent immigration than hope. Most immigrants leave their homes to move to the United States because they are hoping for a better life. Pam Munoz Ryan paints a vivid picture of what life was like for the immigrants who worked the fields in California in the 1920s and 30s. The life Esperanza expected when she left Mexico was very different from the reality she lived when she began her new life in America. However different that reality was, Esperenza exemplified the hardworking spirit of the immigrant. She lived in hope that life would get better.

I think this book would be a welcome addition to an upper elementary/middle school reading curriculum. It is a fabulous example of historical fiction. That it was based on the life of the author’s grandmother is an added bonus. It stands as an example that writers draw from their own lives for inspiration. This book could also be used in a social studies context e.g. what life was like in California in the years preceding The Great Depression. The history of labor laws could be explored. Rich discussions could ensue about the varied treatment of the different workers groups (Mexicans vs. Okies). In reading this book, I learned something new and disturbing. During the workers’ rights movement American citizens of Mexican descent were captured and sent to Mexico against their will. I was shocked to read in the author’s note that more Mexicans were deported during The Great Depression than the number of Native Americans displaced in the 1800s or Japanese placed in internment camps during World War II. I think it is important for students to learn all parts of American history, even the “not so pretty” parts. We can only hope that they will learn from our country’s collective mistakes and strive to do better.

Black and White

Black and White by Paul Volponi is a gripping story of two friends who must live with the consequences of poor choices they have made. Told from both boys’ (Black is Marcus and White is Eddie) perspective, the story catches the reader up in the lives of these two best friends as the struggle to make sense of how their lives and their friendship have changed once Marcus gets arrested for the robbery/shooting that both boys committed.

When I first started reading this book, I wasn’t sure I would be able to identify with the story or the characters. I’m not a teenage boy from an urban area. I’m a Caucasian female who has lived her entire life in suburbia. I grew up comfortably, never needing to worry about the basic needs of life nor the extras such as “senior dues”. Yet, the further I read, the more engaged I became in these boys’ story. At points, I didn’t want to put the book down. Volponi’s idea to write the story alternating between Marcus and Eddie was brilliant. Not only was I brought along the path with these boys, I heard the story from each in their own voice. Volponi wrote in such a vivid ways, painting clear pictures not only of what physically was happening but also of the emotional journey the boys faced. I felt the excitement from the basketball court as Marcus and Eddie played as a well-oiled team, the rush the boys felt after the first two robberies and then the fear when the third went incredibly wrong. From Marcus, I first shared the shame he felt when he was arrested and he thought of his mother, the pain of uncertainty of his friendship with Eddie, acceptance of his punishment and hope at the end. Eddie shared Marcus’ uncertainty about their friendship; but the overriding feeling I got from him was that of guilt. Guilt because they hurt someone, guilt because Marcus took the fall, guilt because he lost the “big” game, guilt because his father knew about the gun, guilt because he accepted the scholarship the night Marcus was arrested, guilt he will have to live with the rest of his life if he does not come forward and accept responsibility the way Marcus did.

This book would be a powerful tool to use in a classroom to discuss race relations. I know one of the themes this book tries to bring forth is that of racial inequity in the justice system. This book would be a good springboard for the discussion. In my opinion, it wasn’t so much racial inequities but economic inequities. Marcus was identified by the victim and therefore arrested first. The police officers continued to investigate until they were able to arrest Eddie as the accomplice, though that victim wasn’t 100% sure. I feel the differing situations for the boys came down to money; Eddie’s parents were able to afford a lawyer to fight the charges. Might there also be the argument of morals? Though both boys were in the wrong, at the end of the story, Marcus was the only one to admit to his failures and to accept the consequences. In a way, the truth set him free while Eddie was weighed down by lies and guilt.

I think one of the reasons I like teaching in the elementary grades is because these children are for the most part still innocent. When I speak of time before the Civil Rights Movement, they are outraged that blacks were treated so differently. They cannot imagine school without all of their friends (regardless of color). If only life stayed so simple.