Character Analysis: Enrique's Journey

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Nicole Garavito Mrs. McGee H English 9 15 September 2015 La Familia In “Enrique’s Journey”, by Sonia Nazario a young boy from Honduras, sets out to reunite with his mother, Lourdes, that abandoned him when he was just five years old. Lourdes leaves to the United States, in hopes to find a better job as an immigrant and to better provide for her family. After many years of suffering without his mom, he travels through Central America to the United States in order to finally reunite with her. He finds his mother beginning to move on as she has a little daughter, named Diana. They run into problems of resentment. Will they be able to finally be a family? Sonia develops this theme of family by using specific facts and characterization. Importance …show more content…

“Donde esta mi mami?” Enrique cries, over and over where is my mom?” (Nazario 5). Enrique repeats these words again and again as his mother leaves headed for the U.S. These words represent the depth of abandonment Enrique felt and shows the effect Lourdes's choice had on her family. This one, difficult decision to leave her family for money, will destroy her family. As readers, we witness how this hard decision could have been the wrong one as the helpless, five-year-old would have to live without her. Lourdes starts to feel guilty about her decision and just reminds herself, that this sacrifice was necessary and her children will understand this. Tragically, Enrique doesn't understand what he did to make his mother leave. Enrique and Lourdes both suffer from this decision, as Lourdes greatly misses her children, and Enrique desperately misses his …show more content…

“He tells Lourdes she didn’t care enough about her children to stay with them in Honduras. He berates Lourdes for leaving him with a father she knew was irresponsible “(Nazario 197). Even when Enrique travels all this way to be with his mom, he is still not able to forgive her for leaving him and thinking money could replace her presence. Enrique travels to the United States because he believes, by being with her this will automatically undo all the damage. The sad reality, is Enrique and Lourdes have become strangers to each other. Lourdes hardly called and when she did there were never answers that would satisfy Enrique. This is why when they finally meet each other, they have conflicts because they don’t understand each other. This is because Lourdes has missed out on Enrique’s entire childhood. Enrique and Lourdes are both upset; Enrique because it didn’t meet the perfect family expectations that he had fantasized in his head for all these years, and Lourdes would see her children as not being appreciative of all that she did. These wounds will be lifelong, meanwhile money is only temporary and can come and go as time

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