StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border by Luis Alberto Urrea - Book Report/Review Example

Cite this document
Summary
As the paper tells, more than an exploration of the true socio-economic scenario of the region, the book “Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border” explores the reason behind the tendency of these people since ages to slip through the fenced wires of the border to the USA…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.2% of users find it useful
Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border by Luis Alberto Urrea
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border by Luis Alberto Urrea"

The book is a tribute and a salute to the perseverance and hardship which these people undertake to sustain and conduct their livelihood behind the fascinating geographical terrain.Thesis Statement The essay intends to explore the main tone of the book, which is often treated as exposing documentation on the history and socio-economic paradigm of life across the fences. But in reality, this book is a testimony of thousands of human souls struggling every day for life and livelihood. The book is an acclamation for the relentless struggle these people undertake for their life and livelihood.

Theme A patch of land located just twenty miles from one of the world’s most sought-after places, San Diego. But the saddest part of the story lies in the fact that no one actually bothers to peep into this geographical terrain that captivates the saga of an age-old pang, deprivation, and poverty. Yet, life moves on at these refugee camps on the other side of the Mexican border and the book is that limited space where author Urrea is able to pay homage to the true spirit of human endeavor and struggle for existence.

To delineate deep into the thematic realm of the book, it is important to locate and comprehend the soul of the book. The real story inherent in the book is actually the theme celebrated of the book. Urrea was a native from San Diego and he spends his life in the areas around the Mexican border in and around Tijuana working for a Protestant aid group. He had that insight, a proper eye to transcend beyond the economically backward area to find the exact living condition of the human beings residing in these areas and pull out the exuberant spirit with which they relentlessly fight in their battle of existence.

The narrative of the book is candid and this is quite purposeful. Urrea never wanted to over-sensationalize the situations, and personal reminiscences mentioned in the book. He narrates every story in the book with reverence, compassion, and empathy. And in this procedure, Urrea successfully traces out the reason for the high rate of immigration to the United States from these areas. A cohesive empathy and insightful mind from the writer echoes after a close inspection across the area, “Poverty is personal: it smells and it shocks and it invades your space.

You come home dirty when you get close to the poor” ((Urrea, “Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border”, Pg 10). This is one of the most striking and pragmatic descriptions of poverty ever given in any book. It is a luscious image but true to its deepest core. The pang of deprivation and the helpless situation of the people narrated in the book, not only celebrate the theme of the book but also reflect the oddest environment in which life still gets its nourishment subjected to extreme tenacity.

The exploitation of the women by cops and the life at the dumps, where people are literally sustaining on a bed and a car battery that runs television as their only possession in the world, might be striking and astonishing. This fact might fall beyond the mundane sensibility of the human mind but is true. Mention of such exploitation also recalls the harassment that author had to face while his father expired in a car accident and the exploitation of the cop and the insurance agency in this regard.

The boom has a very interesting Prologue and a heart-melting Epilogue bearing the title “Christmas Story”. Apart from this, it contains ten chapters recalling and reminiscing true stories of hardship and identities that are almost forgotten and bizarre. The book ends with one of the most naked truths of life which says, “There is not much you can do, but you do what you can, and you dare to hope after all. Heartbreak and hope- business as usual in Tijuana” (Urrea, “Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border”, Pg - 190).

These lines sum up the total theme of the book which celebrates life as a shade of grey where no emotion or facet is recorded in the extreme spectrum, where life and its spirit never cease, and amid all the adversities, it moves on with a spirit and vanity.Conclusion More than a mundane text of socio-demography or socio-economy, the book, “Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border” by Luis Alberto Urrea, is a story of human tenacity and narrative of life that operate amid all odds of nature unidentified and far away from the reach of human attention, publicity, and searchlights.

Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border by Luis Admission/Application Essay”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/history/1439879-zinn
(Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border by Luis Admission/Application Essay)
https://studentshare.org/history/1439879-zinn.
“Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border by Luis Admission/Application Essay”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/history/1439879-zinn.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Across the Wire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border by Luis Alberto Urrea

Reading respond

The book In the Devils Highway is clearly a work of grave beauty by the author luis alberto urrea.... In his story, the author luis alberto urrea refers to this happening as The Big Die-off as it is considered as the largest death event on American border history.... luis alberto urrea focuses on individual subjects of this tragedy, as well as the various circumstances that resulted to making the risky and unfortunate decision to cross the border, having prior knowledge about the risk behind this transition that would later result to their untimely deaths....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Managing across borders

The family of Kelly is having a difficulty to adapt to the new environment thus, finding it hard to live in Japan.... hellip; In addition, Kelly and her family have very little information concerning the area and thus, they keep on doing things in the American style thus, they end up having a hard time to survive with the Japanese.... Kelly experiences a hard time at work due to the fact that she is a female while the Japanese are used to being led by males....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

The Devils Highway

The Devil's Highway Journalist luis alberto urrea shares with us such an occasion in his book, The Devil's Highway.... Crossing over the mexican border has not always been illegal though.... hellip; the mexican migration, however still remains a serious issue that does not seem to be ending any time soon.... The 1920s depression however saw an end to this and a barrier was constructed across the border to stop the crossing over....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Devil's Highway

luis alberto urrea tells a real story of 26 people who get lost in this track while attempting to cross over to the United States illegally in May 2001.... The title The Devil's Highway has reference to the oldest track to cross over to the United States from the mexican boarder.... the mexican Govt.... the mexican Govt.... Hence, the mexican Govt.... When one looks at this historical perspective, urrea's book forces one to see it all as a reversal of history....
4 Pages (1000 words) Book Report/Review

American-Mexican border issues

It divides these two countries, and six states of Mexico and four of the US are along this border.... More than forty – eight other counties also share this border region.... The border region is notorious In addition, the border region between the US and Mexico is a place of significance for the people who live in it.... Moreover, they enjoy the unique features of an international border (Anderson and Gerber 1)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Cross Border Health Care Flows

In the paper “Cross border Health Care Flows” the author provides the study of how the sick move through the system of healthcare.... Globally, particularly in the US, healthcare consumes a huge percentage of the economy.... The causes of the rising costs are due to the aging population....
8 Pages (2000 words) Article

Slavery in the 21st Century

This paper describes capitalism as a slavery system in 21st century.... nbsp;Capitalism itself is a system that enslaves human beings.... For capitalism sees and treats everything as objects or commodities.... hellip; Karl Marx's famous theory of alienation comes from this aspect of the capitalism....
10 Pages (2500 words) Report

Immigration Crisis in the United States: A Time to Reform Laws

There are children and females crossing the mexican-American border in large numbers which have made dealing with the issue sensitive and has put pressure on the economy.... mmigration of children and family from the mexican borders is increasing day by day which has led to complaints and claims of sexual harassment, abuse, strip searches and allegations of threats by the hands of the border police.... There has also been an increase in the minor aged immigrants in the United States which has led to major problems of accommodation in shelters since no recognition on the part of government plays a vital role for them ( urrea's 357, Basu)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Coursework
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us