Hard Work and Tenacity
When describing the work in the fields, Viramontes describes the exhausting work in shocking detail, yet also juxtaposes this labor to the lush, beautiful scenery of the California farmland. How do these descriptions highlight the characters’ attitudes towards their work and circumstances? Finally, how can we compare these characters’ attitudes with our own, especially from the lenses of college students?
The way that the author juxtaposes the grueling labor with the picturesque California landscape highlights that the characters attitudes are ones of positivity when thinking about their circumstances. Although they are doing extremely demanding work, the characters choose to not let it ruin the beauty that is around them. Many would let their circumstances break them and they would look at all things in the world in a shade of grey as their circumstances cloud all beauty around them. But not these characters who can look past the hard work and still appreciate what they can. I can compare these circumstances with my own not only in how college will be, but also where I work currently. I am often time doing 12-14 hour shifts at a golf club. This amount of hours worked can be draining, but I always make sure that I look out the window everyone in awhile and look at the beautiful view of Mt. Hood. Every time I do this I feel blessed to work their no matter how tired I am. I also feel that this is how I will feel in college. Because I know I am going to have to work harder than ever before to achieve my goals. I could let that detract from the fact that I am extremely lucky to even be attending college when so many kids my age are unable to.
I agree. It’s easy for us as readers to look at the characters lives and think how terrible they are. Although for the characters they have never known anything better. The juxtaposition shows the character’s appreciation for their circumstance and simple things that most people overlook.
Viramontes juxtaposes the beautiful landscape with the intense working conditions to show that the characters are still able to acknowledge the scenery that surrounds them. I think this appreciation comes from the the characters’ awareness of their circumstances. The characters have only experienced intense and hazardous labor; it is their norm. Although the characters wish for different conditions at times, their work is their life. That is why Viramontes compares the beauty of the scenery with the rigorous working conditions. While the characters are in a situation that is almost impossible for most people to imagine, the descriptions of scenery emphasize that the workers have become so accustomed to their hardship that it does not detract from what surrounds them. Without acknowledging the scenery, the characters might feel even more trapped than they already do. In a socioeconomic position that feels so unfair, the characters are forced to find beauty in other places.
I can’t honestly say that I can relate to the characters’ attitudes simply because I have never been in a remotely similar situation. My job is worlds away from that of the characters, so I can’t even guess how I would operate under the same circumstances. However, I believe that finding beauty in struggle, as demonstrated through the juxtaposition of the scenery and the work, is an attitude I share with the characters.
The author’a juxtaposition of the migrant workers’ labor with the beautiful scenery of the California farmland highlights the mental and physical strength of the characters. This juxtaposition shows that although the migrant workers endure harsh working conditions, they do not let these conditions hinder their ability to get the work done. On the other hand, it also shows that although their circumstances are difficult, they know they must be strong mentally and physically in order to succeed at their job. They appreciate the small things that the beautiful scenery has to offer all while continuing to struggle through the harsh conditions of migrant work.
These attitudes are similar to how college students must persist when their schoolwork gets tough, because they know that there is a lot on the line regarding their success in their education. The mental strength that the characters have is personally very inspiring because it taught me that when things become difficult you have to remind yourself what’s the purpose of your work and allow that to encourage you to continue on.
I agree with Jake, that the author includes vivid descriptions of the scenery to show one must not lose sight of the beauty around them. Zoey also makes a good point that the landscape along with the work is so normal to the characters that both the pain of the physical labour and the beauty of the eucalyptus trees are a normal part of their daily lives. Another reason that Viramontes may have chosen to include vivid landscape imagery is to show the good that the characters hope to find in the country of the land that they are on. The day to day lives of the characters are agonizing at worst and bleak at best, however the trees and nature surrounding them is bright and fresh. They choose to stay and live in the United States despite the circumstances of their living because they hope to find a bright and fresh new start in it. The trees, fruits, and flowers growing from the ground may be meant to symbolize the hope that stems from the United States.
Or perhaps Viramontes juxtaposed the lush scenery to the pain of working in the fields as a way of pointing out that what is beautiful for some is not beautiful for all. To the American people consuming the fruit picked by farm workers, a peach tree is probably a pretty sight. However to Estrella and her family a peach tree may just remind them of the work that they have to do in order to pick the peaches. Viramontes may have been suggesting that a life of poverty is able to suck the beauty out of things.
All of the characters in this story work incredibly hard because they have to. I sometimes struggle to get through my 8 hour shifts at my air-conditioned indoor job and I really wonder if I would have the strength to go on working long hours in the scorching sun day after day. While I admire the persistence of the characters, the fact that they had to persist through such conditions in the first place just doesn’t seem right. I hope that I am able to harness even a fraction of their determination and tenacity as I move through college.
The direct contrast of the grueling, labor-intensive work done by Estrella and her family to the scenery they are surrounded by illustrates the depth of the character’s experience. It isn’t just struggle and strife or beauty and ease, but a blend of the two. Each side lessens the strength of the other; the work making the landscape seem less attractive, and the setting relieving the struggles of the job. Through both her job and her surroundings, Estrella seems to have a connection to the earth. She values its bounty and resources as others may not. You see many of the characters make the most of what they have, and find gratitude during times of struggle. This is something we can examine as college students in comparison to our own lives through the lens of privilege. Looking back to our upbringing and the opportunities we’ve had access to may bring a sense of awareness around the real privilege that college is.