Lupita Manana - Literary Analysis Essay

Introduction

Patricia Beatty wrote the book Lupita Manana. It is a novel about the life of two siblings Salvador and Lupita Torres. After their father died, Salvador and Lupita decide to smuggle their way through the Mexican border to the United States state of California where their aunt was living. The father was working as a fisherman in their small fishing village in Mexico was the breadwinner of the family. Therefore, due to his death, they had to find a way of raising money to support their family. They decided to make a move to the United States to support their family on behalf of their deceased father. They were to live with their aunt in California.

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Their journey to California was not a smooth one. First, before reaching the border city of Tijuana where they expected to cross to California, they had gone through challenges on transport and feeding. They had sustained a lot of problems through the lousy terrain and transport system to Tijuana. Finally, they managed to reach the city. Another challenge they faced was on crossing the border to the states. They had no legal documents to travel to the am and therefore had to smuggle themselves across the border. After several unsuccessful attempts s to go through the border patrol, they managed to cross by hiding in a truck ferrying fruits from Baja to San Diego in California. Beatty manages to plot the risks that Mexicans put themselves in to cross the border to the states.

After they had successfully crossed the border to the states, they managed to reach their aunt, but life was not as easy as they thought. First, they always believed their aunt was rich until they got to her place. They discovered that he lived with several other, and they struggled to make ends meet. Therefore, Salvador and Lupita were a burden to the family. The siblings had to, therefore, work in several places to make money. The book provides knowledge of how illegal immigrants face exploitation in workplaces. Bosses deliberately use their workers by threatening to hand them over to immigration police. Also, being an unlawful immigrant, finding a job is hard; this makes them desperate for employment hence tend to cling to any opportunity that presents itself before them. Life as illegal immigrants makes them vulnerable to exploitation. The novel vividly reveals the desperation and hardship that illegal immigrants go through in the hand of their bosses.

After some years of struggle, Salvador made friends and decided to leave his aunts family. He became rouge. He finally got deported after being captured on a random raid. Lupita remained in California, and she vowed to work hard to earn legal status and travel back to Mexico to her family. Through this, the book reflects the benefits of appreciation and respect. Salvador failed to appreciate the little that their aunt could do for them. He was unable to understand the situations at hand and ended up facing deportation.

On the other hand, Lupita remained with her aunt and managed to survive without facing deportation. Also, the text shows the strictness and seriousness of the working of the immigration officers. Salvador faced immediate eviction after his capture in the raid. This reflects how serious the issues of illegal immigration are to the United States.

Significant ideas from the book

The book is a substantial resource in the field of both literature and social studies. It presents the pressing issues of immigration and the struggles of illegal immigrants. Throughout the text, Beatty tries to avoid bias by submitting neutral accounts of the relationship between the migration police and illegal immigrants and the life that criminal immigrant lead. Making a comparison from the belief that illegal immigrants are the reason for increased crime and a burden to the economy, Beatty, brings in light a different perspective of the issues.

The book sheds light on the ideas of the Mexican immigrants and the social issues that make them go through the hard conditions to attain the American dream. Salvador and his sister undergo harsh conditions but preserve to achieve the American dream. They first faced a hard journey from their village to the border town. Without giving up despite all the harsh conditions on their way, they managed to get to their destination. They also had to risk their lives by going through the border on a fruit truck. For them, they had to take any risk possible to cross the border. The driving force behind this persistence was to get to California and be able to get good jobs to take care of their family back in Mexico.

Another idea that came out clear from the book is that it is not as easy as people think to attain the American dream. It can be deduced from the book that the American dream does not exist. Back in their village, they believed that their aunt who lives in California was rich and was living the American dream life, but when they got to California, things were different. Also, they came to learn that for you to survive in the states, you need to work hard. No shortcut. Beatty portrays hard work through the life of Lupita and tries to show the reward for roguishness and being unruly for immigrants through the life of Salvador.

I found the text both entertaining and educating. As you read the story from chapter to chapter, you cannot sneak your attention from the book. From the language used to how the situation is vividly described, Beatty succeeded to deliver an eye-catching story that provides an educative content on the issues of immigration. Both students and teachers can use the book in understanding the immigration system, and what drives the illegal immigrants to the states despite the risks on their way. The book also provides a story that shows the reward for hard work. The two siblings never gave up through all the hardship that they went through until they managed to reach their destination. Because of the issues above, I can recommend this book for the teacher, students and the general public. Any person with interest in the problems of illegal immigration and immigration laws will find this as an essential resource to them.