Literary Analysis Essay on Everything Is Far From Here

Introduction

Christina Henriquez is the author of the short story " Everything is far from here" which comprises of the issues and life encountered by the illegal immigrants who are situated in the detention centers. The story describes the problems faced by women as detainees. The short story elaborates the physical condition and inner feelings of the female protagonist who crossed the United States southern border. This woman is detained due to her unauthorized entry into the United States. During her first, there is a sense of relief since the protagonist feeling is different from the appearance. Hope is the sign of relief since she has rested from the tiresome journey that has made her have blisters on her ankles and bruises on her body. The woman had left her hometown since she was threatened of violence hence having no other choice. The protagonist woman got in the United States expecting to live a free life and having the hope of enjoying the fundamental rights. Her arrival in America assured her of the fulfillment of a sense of safety and dreams which she anticipated for in life (Henriquez 2014). The son of this protagonist woman has been separated from throughout the journey, and she has hope that she will soon meet her son. The women remain in the detention center without getting a chance to meet her son.

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The story majors on the role played by gender, class and the race of individuals who left their nations in search of peace in other nations. The tile of the story suggests that the happiness and hope which the immigrants had when getting to a foreign country is far away from its reach. Whenever the immigrants lose the confidence of the good life they expected, nothing is achieved, and they accept their condition by calling it fate. The protagonist lost hope of meeting her son whom she was separated with during her journey the United States (Reimann 2018). This condition makes the protagonist remain helpless since they are stuck stack on the bunk beds like the bodies in a morgue. Therefore, these immigrants remain lifeless due to grief and fear which overrules them.

Furthermore, the author has focused on the experiences and lives of the women detainees. The protagonist explains to her lawyer why she had run away from her country to see if she can get justice. She describes how she had been sexually mistreated which made her fear living in her country one more. After the lawyer asks' some questions which are answered by the protagonist he gives a remark which signals to the lady that her issue is not a big deal. Women tend to encounter many life issues compared to men (Reimann 2018). As the women were migrating to the United States, they were sexually assaulted while others lost their children which are evidenced by the protagonist woman.

As the lady was tirelessly looking for her daughter, a young mother gave assurance to the protagonist that individuals who were detained could eventually make it, but it was a lie. The remarks provided by the young mother proofed that people are not aware of the issues which the immigrants pass through. Currently, an individual's worth is determined by their class and race (Henriquez 2014). Therefore, the story proves that the government and other authorities have lost humanity since they only care for the citizens belonging to their nation.

The detainees are self-centered making them to lack compassion for others. This situation makes it hard for the detainees to replicate the good deeds to other persons hence being a representation of the heedless nature of humans who care about themselves. The story elaborates about the lives of other refugees who do not acquire justice, and they remain struggling and experiencing various issues in the refugee camps. Not every individual in the detention centers is nice since some individuals are hardened and bitter. The protagonist woman tries to acquire information about her son from another woman after giving her all the possessions, but the information turns out to be useless (Reimann 2018). The protagonist woman feels no kindness and comfort hence making the other young mother to decompensate the possessions.

The purpose of the author was to generalize the idea since the story was not about a single woman, but it includes even those who died in the desert while trying to get to America. The refugees who have lost hope in the detention center feel experience various circumstances which make them lose faith concerning the freedom which they anticipated to have in the United States. The author achieved her goal by showing how individuals' mental ability was disintegrated and washed away by selfishness and being self-centered. Therefore, the topic of the story acts a symbolism since those described in the story do not receive the treatment which they had anticipated for when trying to get to America.

Work Cited

Henriquez, Cristina. The Book of Unknown Americans: A Novel. Vintage, 2014.Retrieved from https://hubpages.com/literature/An-Analysis-of-Everything-Is-Far-from-Here-by-Cristina-Henrquez

Reimann, Chloe Ruth. "Crossing the Border into Poetry: Documenting the Undocumented and the Trauma of Migration in Javier Zamora's" Unaccompanied." (2018). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.bard.edu/senproj_s2018/250/