I thought that Urrea's short story "A Day in the Life" was wonderfully written. The structure that he uses makes it very easy for average US citizens to compare lifestyles with the characters in the book. By laying out the day in time increments we as readers can compare and contrast our own daily events with the daily events of this family. Urrea's goal is to show us the differences in lifestyle and values by allowing us to explore their world on our own. It is one thing for him to tell us that our lives our different, but it is something else for us to discover it for ourselves.
The quote from page 69 says "In stacked bunk beds and on a mattress on the floor, separated from manuel by a hanging sheet, thirteen people sleep in a room twelve feet by ten feet. Of these thirtee, seven are her own children". You simply don't hear of things like this in "White" America. This type of thing is looked down upon as uncivilized and undignified. Why? Is it that bad to care about people enough to offer them shelter in your home? Over half the people staying under this woman's roof were not her family and we think of that as a bad thing? We should be praising her for doing a great work of love! It is simply amazing at how backwards our thinking has become in America.
Josh,
ReplyDeleteYeah. We appreciate the weirdest things, when our friends and family are right in front of us most of the time.