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A poignant narrative exploring the struggles of migrant workers and their spiritual questioning in a harsh world. Through ambiguous pronouns and religious imagery, the story delves into themes of labor, identity, and faith.
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Close ReadingThis migrant earth TomÁs Rivera
“And how is it we’re the ones? Like we’ve been buried alive here, on top of the earth? And when it isn’t TB, it’s something else. The sun! Always sick, somebody is. Why is that? “And there’s my dad… no one can say he’s a loafer. He works hard. He was born working. There he was, he says, five years old, barely five years old, and he was already working out there… with his Pa, planting corn. “What’s the use? Why? Here we are: feeding this earth, feeding it and feeding the sun, too. And then what? That suns just beats you down, to the ground… on your knees. “And what can we do? Nothing. That’s what; nothing. And then Ma and Pa pray to God, of all things. God doesn’t care. He doesn’t even know we’re here. “Shoot! I don’t think there’s such a thing as G… Hmph. What if I say it? What if Pa gets worse? Then what? I don’t know, maybe praying’s good for them, if it makes them feel better.”
Narrative and Rhetorical Strategies • Ambiguous pronouns, brings attention to the family, in collective context
Ambiguous pronouns • …”we’re the ones..” • “…here we are…” • “…he doesn’t know we’re here…” • “…good for them…” • We Ma and Pa • but also? • We, a larger group consciousness
“And how is it we’re the ones? Like we’ve been buried alive here, on top of the earth? And when it isn’t TB, it’s something else. The sun! Always sick, somebody is. Why is that? “And there’s my dad… no one can say he’s a loafer. He works hard. He was born working. There he was, he says, five years old, barely five years old, and he was already working out there… with his Pa, planting corn. “What’s the use? Why? Here we are: feeding this earth, feeding it and feeding the sun, too. And then what? That suns just beats you down, to the ground… on your knees. “And what can we do? Nothing. That’s what; nothing. And then Ma and Pa pray to God, of all things. God doesn’t care. He doesn’t even know we’re here. “Shoot! I don’t think there’s such a thing as G… Hmph. What if I say it? What if Pa gets worse? Then what? I don’t know, maybe praying’s good for them, if it makes them feel better.”
Narrative and Rhetorical Strategies • Un-named narrator addresses himself • “Alone” the form of a dramatic soliloquy • At the very center of the book: an address to G-d • Religious imagery and context • Confession • “feeding,” “on your knees” • Anaphora • Anaphora and call-and-response • Ironic depth: liturgical blasphemy, a defiant prayer
Ambiguous pronouns • And how is it we’rethe ones? Like we’ve been buried alive here, on top of the earth? And when it isn’t TB, it’s something else. The sun! Always sick, somebody is. Why is that? “And there’s my dad… no one can say he’s a loafer. He works hard. He was born working. There he was, he says, five years old, barely five years old, and he was already working out there… with his Pa, planting corn. “What’s the use? Why? Here we are: feeding this earth, feeding it and feeding the sun, too. And then what? That sun just beats you down, to the ground… on your knees. “And what can we do? Nothing. That’s what; nothing. And then Ma and Pa pray to God, of all things. God doesn’t care. He doesn’t even know we’rehere. “Shoot! I don’t think there’s such a thing as G… Hmph. What if I say it? What if Pa gets worse? Then what? I don’t know, maybe praying’s good for them, if it makes them feel better.”
Ambiguous pronouns in context Context: “removed the scapularies” “Alone:” but then direct questions “we’re the ones” Who is feeding the earth? What does that mean?
Religious imagery • And how is it we’re the ones? Like we’ve been buried alive here, on top of the earth? And when it isn’t TB, it’s something else. The sun! Always sick, somebody is. Why is that? “And there’s my dad… no one can say he’s a loafer. He works hard. He was born working. There he was, he says, five years old, barely five years old, and he was already working out there… with his Pa, planting corn. “What’s the use? Why? Here we are: feeding this earth, feeding it and feeding the sun, too. And then what? That sun just beats you down, to the ground… on your knees. “And what can we do? Nothing. That’s what; nothing. And then Ma and Pa pray to God, of all things. God doesn’t care. He doesn’t even know we’rehere. “Shoot! I don’t think there’s such a thing as G… Hmph. What if I say it? What if Pa gets worse? Then what? I don’t know, maybe praying’s good for them, if it makes them feel better.”
Anaphora, liturgical rhythm, call & response • “And how is it we’re the ones? Like we’ve been buried alive here, on top of the earth? And when it isn’t TB, it’s something else. The sun! Always sick, somebody is. Why is that? “And there’s my dad… no one can say he’s a loafer. He works hard. He was born working. There he was, he says, five years old, barely five years old, and he was already working out there… with his Pa, planting corn. “What’s the use? Why? Here we are: feeding this earth, feeding it and feeding the sun, too. And then what? That sun just beats you down, to the ground… on your knees. “And what can we do? Nothing. That’s what; nothing. And then Ma and Pa pray to God, of all things. God doesn’t care. He doesn’t even know we’rehere. “Shoot! I don’t think there’s such a thing as G… Hmph. What if I say it? What if Pa gets worse? Then what? I don’t know, maybe praying’s good for them, if it makes them feel better.”
The religious imagery is in tension with the boy’s agnosticism or religious doubts. • Why? • A prayer that is not a prayer? • Irony. • The literal meaning is not the same as the intended meaning. • Dramatic irony • Cosmic irony.
Final narrative shift “‘Shoot! I don’t think there’s such a thing as G… Hmph. What if I say it? What if Pa gets worse? Then what? I don’t know, maybe praying’s good for them, if it makes themfeel better.’ His mother could see how angry he was—raging almost. So she tried to get him to calm down; it’s in God hands, she’s day. Pa’ll be all right, you’ll see, with God’s help.” (Rivera 1106)
Observationthen: ask why? • Why this shift in perspective? • What do we see? • What don’t we see? • What kind of information is missing? To what effect?
Overall ambiguity and irony • “And how is it we’re the ones? Like we’ve been buried alive here, on top of the earth? And when it isn’t TB, it’s something else. The sun! Always sick, somebody is. Why is that? “And there’s my dad… no one can say he’s a loafer. He works hard. He was born working. There he was, he says, five years old, barely five years old, and he was already working out there… with his Pa, planting corn. “What’s the use? Why? Here we are: feeding this earth, feeding it and feeding the sun, too. And then what? That suns just beats you down, to the ground… on your knees. “And what can we do? Nothing. That’s what; nothing. And then Ma and Pa pray to God, of all things. God doesn’t care. He doesn’t even know we’rehere. “Shoot!I don’t think there’s such a thing as G… Hmph. What if I say it? What if Pa gets worse? Then what? I don’t know, maybe praying’s good for them, if it makes them feel better.”
Question: • Why might the narrator both invoke and resist religious imagery? Who does he address by skirting blasphemy? How does this irony bring in a particular audience? More than one audience? Where does this formal passage position the narrator (vs. the character)? How does that formal position place the reader? What larger questions does this formal narration raise by drawing attention to the difference between the narrator’s position and the character’s position?
