Enrique's Journey: Determination

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Enrique’s Journey is by an American journalist, Sonia Nazario. This novel is based on a true story of an adolescent boy trying to reconnect with his long-lost mother as he travels from Honduras to the United States. While this story is written from Nazario’s own curiosity, it is written to show the difficulty that takes place when parents decide to leave their children behind and the results children may face. I enjoy reading this novel knowing that the author was inspired by her background of being an immigrant from Argentina. I feel as though this can influence many adolescent readers from different countries to be more open with their cultures and aware of immigration with all of the turmoil that now takes place in the United States. It is evident that immigrants are looked down on and not given a chance once they are caught in the US, also they end up in harsh conditions when placed in concentration camps. Also, an unstable environment can affect the way adolescents interact socially, emotionally and most importantly affect educational needs. This is a great novel to teach in a classroom to allow readers to look at issues from different perspectives. Also, it is a good way to bring attention to the issues that still take place, since they can quickly be forgotten.

“In spite of everything, Enrique has failed again – he will not reach the United States this time, either. He tells himself over and over again that he’ll just have to try again.” (60) This quote was very powerful to me to see how determined someone so young was to reunite with their mother, there are not many brave adolescents like that. My questions are, how often do parents leave their children behind? How many children are affected by this yearly? Lastly, how often is it that children take the same journey as Enrique to find their parents?
 

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