Carlos, An Undocumented New Yorker: Article Analysis

The article “The Life of Carlos, an Undocumented New Yorker” exposes the dehumanizing atmosphere Honduras reveals to the population at a young age, causing many teenagers such as Carlos to be in search of a new life in the United States while losing their innocence along the journey to survive. Carlos makes it to the United States, but quickly is thrown to an adult detention center, but temporarily released to be with his U.S. citizen Grandmother. Alexandra Starr’s article is coupled with Edward Keating’s photography of Carlos. Starr’s writing focuses on the story of Carlos which vividly includes many experiences an average person will never experience in their lifetime expect Carlos experienced this all before the age of 20. Carlos’s court

Starr draws on description throughout the whole article to bring into the light Carlos’s life, both the positive and the negative to ultimately express how living is ultimately a blessing. Starr’s description pattern begins with mostly detailed heavy experiences or detailed statements that were appalling. Starr makes it clear that Carlos’s life was difficult through the line, “ His hometown San Pedro de Sula has the highest homicide rate in the Americas. Once, gang members on motorcycles arrived at a park where he had been playing soccer and opened fire(Starr).” The writer includes informational details about Honduras and the sets us up to envision an experience to shed a personal connection to Carlos. As the article continues the writer transitions to uplifting and rejuvenating detailed sections. The transitions through Starr’s writing manifest Carlos appreciation for life after his past. Carlos’s positivity in life is seen through lines from the text such as, “While some players love to play defense, Carlos likes to attack. When he scores a goal, he grinds his hips and turns in a circle as his teammates laugh (Starr).” Starr makes use of the details to show how Carlos is still a teenager despite his tragedies and he brings light to those around him because he simply is motivated to see the value of