Tough Times for Migrant Workers

After reading And the Earth Did Not Devour Him and Casa de Carton my heart broke for these main characters. With each reading assigned for this class I learn so much about the world outside my bubble I live in.  

Casa de carton stuck out to me the most. I could not even begin to understand the pain of having to move all the time and never be able to set down roots. The main character just wanted to go to school and learn and live normally, but his family forced him to leave so they could find work. While I understand the need for work, I still feel terrible for the boy who wants so badly to be educated and feel a part of something.  I wish that he could go to school so he would be able to be educated and get a job other than working in the field to help his family survive. Unfortunately, they need him to work to increase the profits for the family. It’s just a difficult situation all around, but should not have to be a problem because of the mistreatment of the workers in the first place.

And the Earth Did Not Devour Him exemplified the mistreatment of workers as well, but to an

extreme. The workers were getting diseases from the sun and overwork. They were forced to push themselves to work through the blaring hot sun with little food and water intake. It is not surprising that they are getting sick because their bodies are even more prone to catching a disease. The main character persisted in making sure he was able to keep working and survive all the difficulties he faced. This is the main theme in my opinion. He was able to beat all the odds stacked up against him and “the earth did not devour him.” That title is so powerful proving he was supreme over the tribulations he faced.

These two selections go well together because they both discuss the idea of the sacrifices made to work the fields as they try to survive and earn a living. I cannot begin to imagine the amount of inner strength it took to face these challenges, and do so successfully.