"The Distance between US" Cultural and Immigration Trauma - Free Essay

The Distance Between Us reconnoitered the aspect of immigration trauma among children through the lens of parents who were seeking a better life in their journey to "el otro lado." I can define cultural trauma as the outcome of an event that was impactful such that it permanently changes vital aspects of culture. In my perceptive, immigration trauma is the adverse results and effects experienced by individuals alongside their generations after moving or migrating to a new place from their initial homes. Both cultural and immigration trauma relate since most causes of cultural trauma are due to immigration trauma. Following the inevitable changes connected to immigrating, there results in a change in culture as the people do not freely integrate compared to how they could have if they were in their homeland. The distance from their homes affects their culture. Status, language barrier, new status, and multiple mental health issues act as trauma facilitators for both undocumented and documented people in different parts of the world with different cultural backgrounds.

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According to the book, Mago was assigned to look after and be in charge of Carlos, Betty, and Reyna. The role of Mago taking responsibility for her younger siblings was her mother's burden. She acted as her sibling's "little mother" (Muñoz & Vigil, 2019). Amongst all the characters, Mago felt the challenges arising from immigration trauma. She had to stand out from the other children, and as a result, she grew up very fast, such that she did not enjoy her childhood.

While growing up, she made lots of mistakes. For example, she made poop tacos for her younger brothers, following her envy towards their mother's relationship with them (Muñoz & Vigil, 2019). At most times, Mago was pessimist as she continuously said how their parents were not going to return every time they left. Since her mother left her with the responsibility of looking after the other children on multiple occasions, she was bitter towards her.

She felt that no reason was viable enough to justify why her mother left them. After moving to the US, both Mago and her siblings felt like an outcast as their father appeared to be rigorous. Furthermore, their parents did not show any affection or love as she expected. Since in Mexico, Mago perceived her father to be the "hero" (Muñoz & Vigil, 2019). However, after the migration, her high hopes of her father, saving them from poverty, fell short. Nonetheless, her father's strictness might be the reason she was the first person to achieve a job and a high school diploma to support her family.

Throughout the book, Ryna's suffering, just like the other siblings, is depicted. However, unlike Mago, she viewed the world from a different angle, through a different lens. Sometimes, Reyna could correct the other siblings since their behavior could put them in trouble. An example is when Reyna convinced Mago not to make the poop tacos. In most cases, Reyna puts Mago in check, like when she cries after Mago gives Tio Creces' newborn puppy hot pepper leading them to die (Rohrleitner, 2017).

On most occasions, confusion dominated Reyna. She lived with both pessimistic and optimistic siblings. Mago was pessimistic, while on the other hand, Carlos was optimistic. Carlos was hopeful about their parent's return (Rohrleitner, 2017). He always hoped that their family would eventually reunite and sparkle the happy family times they had and always wanted. As observed, Reyna lived with siblings who were the opposite. Mago did not think their parents would return and go back for them.

An example is illustrated in the event when their mother arrived from the US after she had left for the first time. While Mago was bitter with her mother, Carlos was ultimately the opposite; he ran and hugged her mother. After seeing her mother, Reyna did not know what to do, she froze, and Mago went to the house without greeting their mother (Rohrleitner, 2017). After migrating to the US, the children experienced the same challenges with their parents, especially their father.

Their father, who was a drunkard, was strict and did not need to find any reason to beat them. Even though their father wanted to protect them, his method of disciplining them did more harm than good. Reyna was restricted from going out. Like Mago, she felt like she did not belong or was an outcast. She continuously aimed for good grades, lest her father would beat her. An example is when her father punished her until she broke her nose (Rohrleitner, 2017).

Despite all that, Reyna understood things better than Mago. She passed her high school level. Her graduation from high school led her to join a university and a college, which resulted in her success. As an immigrant child with the immigrant experience, living in the new culture of not going out with friends was not simple or easy. She acted as an excellent example to the other siblings. The effects of immigration trauma extend to the Latino community since it affects what they cherish; it affects their strong community-based relationships together with demoting the level of importance of family and a healthy community (Rohrleitner, 2017). An example is when Mago was bitter about her mother and even failed to greet her after arriving from the US. This aspect shows that immigration trauma lowered the importance of a family.

Conclusion

In conclusion, facing the challenges that we encounter head-on alongside communicating can be among the ways of healing immigration trauma. Reyna Grande, explained the challenges she faced while writing the book since the memories were awful and painful. However, she met the challenges and communicated via the book. It was liberating to explain the whole aspect of immigration trauma because it is crucial for the current generations who have moved or plan to move to new places and cultures.

References

Muñoz, A., & Vigil, A. E. (2019). A Journey to/through Family: Nostalgia, Gender, and the American Dream in Reyna Grande's The Distance Between Us. Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, 40(2), 219-242. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5250/fronjwomestud.40.2.0219

Rohrleitner, M. (2017). Chicana Memoir and the DREAMer Generation: Reyna Grande's The Distance Between Us as Neo-colonial Critique and Feminist Testimonio. Gender a výzkum, 18(2), 36-54. https://www.ceeol.com/search/article-detail?id=603780