Journal #17 Maria Amparo Ruiz De Burton: The Great Wall of Mexico!

QUOTE:

“’What do you expect us to do in return? To give back to you our homesteads?’ asked Hughes” (De Burton 96).


SUMMARY:

The Don is offering the squatters a compromise that seems too good to be true. The squatters are expecting to find a “catch” to the deal because they assume the Don has a plan to drive them off of his land.


RESPONSE:

The most ironic quote in The Squatter and the Don is probably when Hughes asks these questions. I keep expecting to read about when the squatters purchased a part of the Don’s land, but then it wouldn’t make sense to call them “squatters.” Since the squatters have the audacity to bargain for land that doesn’t even belong to them, of course they think something is wrong with the Don’s generous deal. Perhaps the Don is actually planning on sabotaging the squatters’ plans, but it seems more like the Don is just trying to make the best out of an irritating situation. However, referring back to the status of Native Americans in this “food chain,” I don’t have too much sympathy for the Don once I think about how he treats the Native Americans.

The last two authors we have read make me frustrated with history. It’s interesting for me to read, but at the same time, it makes me wish the Europeans never stole this land. I know for me to be here today, this history had to happen, so I’m torn between wanting to give the country back to the Native Americans and just excepting that a lot of shadiness has happened in the United States over time. I do, however, think going as far as building a wall on the Mexico border in the 21st Century is a really awful idea. For one reason, it makes me think of the Berlin Wall (like how many others are seeing it as well), and I don’t think illegal immigrants are really causing as many problems as people like to assume they are in their generalizations.