06.07.07
Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs
Life is difficult for the Flores family. When Victor’s father dies, he tries to support his family on their farm in Mexico. When corn prices drop, Victor attempts a dangerous border crossing, jumping trains and fleeing thieves and border officials to make it to the United Stated to find work.
Elizabeth VHS said,
November 30, 2007 at 1:44 pm
I give this book a 7 out of 10 because of the boring parts. Now on to the FRT questions…
Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
I think he means that, in Mexico, if you’re born poor you’ll never be able to pull yourself off of the ground and earn a decent living. Basically, if you’re the son of a farmer, you’ll be a farmer the rest of your life, but if you’re born the son of a wealthy man, then you’ll be a wealthy man.
How do you feel about the illegal immigrant issue? Do you think Victor should be allowed to stay in America, what about his family? Give some reasons to support your argument.
Even after reading this book I still do not support illegal immigrants. I my opinion, they are cheating. There are people in Mexico that go through the process to get here legally and I don’t think it’s fair to those individuals who have to wait that there are people cheating the system and being allowed to work here. Granted, the US should lower its standards to let more people in but I still think that illegal immigrants should be forced to go back to Mexico and should go through the paperwork like everyone else…
Melissa 2 VHS said,
December 3, 2007 at 10:34 pm
1. Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
I believe it means that compared to Mexico to U.S.A, it is a lot harder for the poor in Mexico to make a living. The poor people have to work hard as they could only to feed their families. In U.S.A there is more of a chance of getting to middle class instead of being on the street forever. So this analogy means its as hard as getting from poor to rich in Mexico as it is climbing a branchless lard coated tree. The book also said something like U.S.A having more fruits in a tree than Mexico or being easier to climb.
This book was ok not the best but not the worst.
Matt M. VHS said,
December 17, 2007 at 1:34 pm
1. Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
I think it means that if you are born poor it is really hard to make a living on it.
2. Victor’s nickname in the book is “tortuga” or turtle, do you think this is an appropriate nickname for Victor or not and why? Give an example or two.
It is appropriate for him because he is always cautious about thing kind of like a turtle which always hides in its shell.
3. How do you feel about the illegal immigrant issue? Do you think Victor should be allowed to stay in America, what about his family? Give some reasons to support your argument.
I think they should let immigrants into the U.S. because they are not really doing anything bad they just want to make money in America. Now if there were drug smugglers u shouldn’t let them in because they are sellin illegal substances.
AlexG.EJSHS said,
February 19, 2008 at 9:29 pm
3. How do you feel about the illegal immigrant issue? Do you think Victor should be allowed to stay in America, what about his family? Give some reasons to support your argument.
Response:
Illegal immigration is a touchy issue. The question of whether a person should or shouldn’t be allowed to stay in the country they have immigrated to should certainly be handled on a case-by-case basis. If, for example, a person such as Victor Flores, whose life and the lives of his family members depended on the immigration, were to attempt to immigrate illegally, that person should immediately be allowed entrance to the country. If, however, a person like Rico were to attempt to “cross the wire”, who was immigrating purely for greed, rather than for need, that person should be sent back.
If there is time to ask a person, when in custody, their name, or fingerprint them, there should also be time to ask the reason for trying to immigrate illegally in the first place. For example, if a person were to cross the border with true necessity, as Victor did, that person should be allowed to live and work in the country in question. We have no right to turn a person and/or their families away if that person were to starve, go homeless, or die otherwise.
On the other hand, if a person who tried immigrating illegally with no real need, who could survive in the country they are emigrating from, should not be allowed entrance into the country they have tried to immigrate to. For instance, if a person such as Rico were to cross the border into the U.S., he should be turned back, as Rico had no real reason to immigrate, other than wanting to make more money than he did currently. Since this isn’t an issue of survival, there should be no reason to allow this person entrance into a country.
Thus, the question of whether a person or family should be turned away or allowed to pass a border when trying to cross illegally should be a case-by-case decision, as reasons for trying to cross vary by person. Therefore, the question remains: did the person cross out of need or greed?
Chad A. EJSHS said,
February 27, 2008 at 5:24 pm
2. Victor’s nickname in the book is “tortuga” or turtle, do you think this is an appropriate nickname for Victor or not and why? Give an example or two.
I think turtle is a good nick name in the beginning because he was very cautious. He was cautious because he didn’t want his mom to worry about him. He got this nick name from his friend Rico that really liked America. When Rico showed Victor the American money he asked him what are going to do with this money. Rico said he was going to cross the border, and Victor said you have to be kidding, but he wasn’t. So after Rico went to cross the boarder Victor thought he should go to. The reason for him was totally different then Rico’s. Victor was going to support his family because his father had passed away, and they needed money and the corn wasn’t going to get the money he needed. So when he goes to cross the border is when I don’t think his nick name should be turtle any more because that is a very scary thing to do. While he was crossing the border he had a few obstacles he had to go through like get a cross because he did not have any coyote money like his friend Rico did. Also the other things he had to go through were the fact that he made it a cross the border and was in Arizona when he was deported back to Mexico. The other thing that he did was smuggle drugs across the border but then ran away and was hunted by a guy with an Ak-47. Those are the reasons why turtle was an appropriate nickname in the begging of the story but at the end it wasn’t appropriate.
Kaitlinshsdoerr4 said,
March 9, 2008 at 9:01 pm
1.That if you are born poor you can’t get rich, and life is really bad.
2.No, because he is faster than a truck and can keep up with kids that have a heavier load than him.
3.He should be allowed in America with his family because if America steals the work from the Mexicans than they have no money to survive.
Bridgett VHS said,
March 13, 2008 at 1:05 pm
2. Victor’s nickname in the book is “tortuga” or turtle, do you think this is an appropriate nickname for Victor or not and why? Give an example or two.
No, I don’t believe that Victor’s nickname suits him because he takes risks left and right. He had to live his cautions behind inorder to help his family. Even when he gets got by the Board Control, he still tries again and again.
3. How do you feel about the illegal immigrant issue? Do you think Victor should be allowed to stay in America, what about his family? Give some reasons to support your argument.
I believe that as long as the immagrants aren’t causing trouble they should be aloud to stay in America. I do believe that Victor should be aloud to stay in America.
Alexm EJSHS said,
March 18, 2008 at 4:47 pm
1. Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
Victor’s analogy here is his way to point out that in Mexico there is no easy way to earn a living, to climb your way to the top of the economical tree. He makes a good point in this and it is my belief that in Victor’s situation, standing by these words was a wise decision. He will obviously make more money in America, as portrayed by his father’s earnings early on, as well as all other peoples word on the matter, which brings up the next question that i would like to try and answer:
3. How do you feel about the illegal immigrant issue? Do you think Victor should be allowed to stay in America, what about his family? Give some reasons to support your argument.
I feel that the illegal immigrant issue is only an issue to Americans when drug dealers “cross the wire” creating problems for both sides. I agree wholeheartedly with AlexG.EJSHS in that the choice of allowance into America is a case-by-case decision, one that needs to be examined by the immigrants motives and background. Certainly a drug dealer should be stopped from coming across the border, but people like Victor should be allowed to stay in America to earn a living. If Americans continue to eliminate the possibilities of Mexicans working in America, America’s economic level will surely drop tremendously, just showing another reason for the immigrants to be allowed into the country. The idea above is not just mine, in the book, the wise old man, who helps Victor in his first attempt accross the border, says very much of the same thoughts in one of his chats with Victor. Not to say that anyone should be allowed through, and withought careful examination of set person, but people like Victor should definitely be allowed through in a life or death situation like his. Like Matt M. VHS said, the allowance of immigration from Mexico is not a problem as long as the people crossing have no intention of doing illegal things in America.
zane EJSHS said,
March 19, 2008 at 8:27 pm
1. Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
Miguel says this to contrast it with the difficulty it is to succeed in the USA by preceding that statement when he says, “In the States it’s possible to start from the ground and work your way to the top of the tree.” Miguel has been to the USA and back multiple times and has seen first hand the opportunities that lie there. The USA is such a better place to work for them because minimum wage in the States is a decent salary for poor Mexicans. For Victor, the States are better because with the falling price of corn in Mexico he could no longer support his family off their corn harvests.
To comment on Elizabeth from VHS, I don’t think he means that if your dad is a farmer then you will be farmer so much, but that it is very hard and rare to start poor in Mexico and find a job that will make a family financially stable. Miguel is more likely saying that not only is the next branch out of reach, but that it is covered in lard meaning the Mexican economy isn’t geared to have lower class citizens make a decent living. At the wages most of those Mexicans are making they don’t have enough left over time or money to educate their children. This causes a chain of poverty and abandonment for the border.
Corbin EJSHS said,
March 19, 2008 at 9:33 pm
3.) How do you feel about the illegal immigrant issue? Do you think Victor should be allowed to stay in America, what about his family? Give some reasons to support your argument.
Immigration is one of those issues in which both sides present a generally good case. I think Victor should be able to stay in America along with his family because of the given circumstances. The family is only trying to survive and support themselves. I personally think that this kind of thing is what America stands for. America is the land of opportunity, and this family is looking for just that.
AlexG. says “The question of whether a person should or shouldn’t be allowed to stay in the country they have immigrated to should certainly be handled on a case-by-case basis”. I agree with this statement entirely. I think that Victor had a very good reason to go to America, and should be allowed to go, just as Rico should not because he was doing it out of greed.
trevorjEJSHS said,
March 19, 2008 at 10:01 pm
1. Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
I believe that in the novel, Paulsen describes this analogy through the lower class citizens in Mexico. He says that if you were born into a pore class, it would be little to no chance of climbing the chain to a better life and a higher class. He also used another analogy when he said that the trees in the U.S. are suited with more fruits- and would be easier to climb; than being coated with lard. But in the U.S., he writes that it is much easier to get yourself to a better life; you could move from the ’streets’ to more of a normal, modern life by finding easy and low paying jobs.
Brody EJHS said,
March 23, 2008 at 7:53 pm
3.) How do you feel about the illegal immigrant issue? Do you think Victor should be allowed to stay in America, what about his family? Give some reasons to support your argument.
Illegal immigration is definitely something where every occurrence is unique. There are some issues of immigration that I believe that there are certain circumstances that should be looked past.
Just as Corbin said “America is the land of opportunity.” Which means certain people should be given the opportunity such as Victor and his family. Especially in Victor’s circumstances where he is going so he and his family can have better lives. He should also stay because he is not going just to be greedy and want money like the other guy it’s just best for his family.
Kyle EJSHS said,
March 23, 2008 at 9:42 pm
1. Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
I believe that the analogy means, that if you are born poor in Mexico, and cannot emigrate into the United States, then you are stuck in Mexico, and will be poor for the rest of your life. He also means that it is easier to make money and have a stable life in the United States by starting with nothing, than there is in Mexico. So in the end, Miguel is stating that all of the Mexicans in poverty should emigrate to the United States.
Brenton EHSHS said,
March 23, 2008 at 10:18 pm
1. Victor says on p. 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
I think this analogy means that being poor in Mexico gives you no opportunities in life to better yourself and even if you work as hard as possible, you will always fall back down. Victor feels that there is no way to make it out of the “poor farmer” class that his father is in.
2. Victor’s nickname in the book is “tortuga” or turtle, do you think this is an appropriate nickname for Victor or not?
I think this is not the best nickname for Victor because he spends so much of his time in the story “running” or trying to escape. Maybe the author picked the nickname “tortuga” because even though he was running/trying to escape, the process was slow and he was eventually caught and deported which brought him back to square one.
3. How do you feel about the illegal immigrant issue? Do you think Victor should be allowed to stay in America, what about his family?
I believe that there are laws about illegal immigrants for good reasons, however, like some of the other bloggers, I think that Victor had good reasons for coming to America and it’s too bad that the law wasn’t based on a case by case situation. I know that most illegal immigrants only want to better themselves and come here to work hard and support their family, unfortunately, there are still those that come to America and end up doing illegal things, such as selling drugs and other crimes. For this reason, I believe that illegal immigrants should be sent back to their home country as we have enough crime already and there is no way to determine which illegal immigrants will remain “good” citizens and which will not.
EricEJSHS said,
March 25, 2008 at 6:11 pm
1. Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
I think that William Hobbs means that, in Mexico, it is difficult for a person to climb their way up in society. He is saying that the status a person in Mexico is born with is what they grow up with, live off of, and, eventually, pass on to their kids. For example, Victor Flores worked on his family’s farm growing corn. They did not have very much money and the price of corn was dropping. This status was probably the way their family lived for generation after generation. Through Victor’s analogy, he is saying that they have no chance in Mexico to gain success and wealth. When he says there are no branches within reach, he is saying that there is a large distance between the lower and upper classes. This means that you have to be born into a family with at least a well-paying job to be able to gain any success. If you are born poor, there is a huge chance that you will stay that way for the rest of your life as Victor compares with the trunk covered in lard.
However, Victor goes on, in the book, to talk about America and that it is very different from Mexico. He thinks that you can go from living on the streets in America, find a job, and come out with a lot of money working your way up. To Victor and other Mojados, the money they could make in “El Norte” was way greater than what they were making in Mexico. This thought was what drove him to push north to help his family. He was driven by the stories he heard from his friend Rico and others around the village. He did not care what kind of work he had to do in the States, he knew it was much greater than how he was doing now. So, William Hobbs is overall trying to say that, compared to Mexico, anybody can survive in America and it is much easier to be successful. Also, that sometimes we take advantage of what we have and do not appreciate it.
Sam N said,
April 22, 2008 at 4:03 pm
1. Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
This analogy is saying that if you are into a poor living style, than life will be tough for you. In the book, he is poor and low class. In Mexico, the poor people have to work as hard as they could only to feed their families. In the USA there is more of a chance of getting to middle class instead of being on the street forever. So this analogy means it’s as hard as getting from poor to rich in Mexico as it is climbing a branchless lard coated tree. The poorer you are, the more coated the tree is with lard. In Mexico there is no easy way to earn a living (to climb your way to the top of the lard- covered tree). The Author makes a good point in this and it is my belief that in Victor’s situation, standing by these words was a wise decision. He will make more money in America (be able to climb the tree), as portrayed by his father’s earnings early on, and not stay at the bottom of the tree forever (poor).
The reader could also say this to contrast it with the difficulty it is to succeed in the USA by preceding that statement when he says, “In the States it’s possible to start from the ground and work your way to the top of the tree.” The author has obviously been to the USA and back multiple times and has seen first hand the opportunities that lie there. The USA is such a better place to work for them because minimum wage in the States is a decent salary for poor Mexicans. For Victor, the States are better because with the falling price of corn in Mexico he could no longer support his family off their corn harvests.
KianaEJSHS said,
April 22, 2008 at 8:11 pm
Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
When victor says this analogy he means that in Mexico there is no way of improving yourself. There is no way to make you a better person. If you are born poor then you will stay poor all of your life, there is no way you can become someone of a higher class because no one will extend a hand to help or there are no resources to help you become better, you must make a means by what you have and what you will always be. By saying that the trunk is coated with lard he means that even if once in your life you achieve something to improve yourself, you cannot keep going because something is going to stop you and bring you right back down to where you started. I do not believe that Victor’s statement is entirely true but there is some truth to it. I do not believe that if you are born poor you will always be poor because I think that there is always a way to improve or better yourself even if it is a little bit. You could be extremely poor one year and the next year you have more skill or experience and be a little less poor. The part that I think is true is when he says the trunk is coated with lard. I especially think it is true in the aspect of people. If someone of higher class sees you as lower than them they probably will not come to help you because they want to maintain the higher class level, they do not want some poor person up to their level.
Zach EJRSRHS said,
April 22, 2008 at 8:48 pm
I feel illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay in America. Illegal immigrants may not be here legally but are a great contribution to our society. Sure, they may take our jobs but what are those jobs? Garbage men or laborers? They take jobs nobody else wants and are essentially the lower class of America. Take them out and society will crumble, who does want the low paying hard jobs? Illegal immigrants should be allowed to stay, this the “home of the free.” Everybody is equal, or does that only apply to citizens who are here legally? There is also a law that lets immigrants stay if they have one foot on American soil.
This however, only applies to honest immigrants. We can’t let smugglers, thieves, or convicts in illegally. Most illegal immigrants do nothing wrong, they are simply trying to survive. Immigrants should just apply to immigrate legally but the US should be more lenient letting them in.
In Victor’s case, I do think he should be allowed to stay in America, but maybe because he is the protagonist. By definition I’m supposed to sympathize with him and his family. Victor is trying to find a job in America because it pays better than in Mexico. The only downside is everything he buys will have American prices. If he found a job in México, he would earn less money, but products cost less. Rico, on the other had, is greedy, people like him shouldn’t be led in. back to one of my earlier case; this should be determined seperately.
Arnaldo EJSHS said,
April 29, 2008 at 10:16 pm
1. Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
What Victor is trying to say is that in Mexico, and in many other places, the poor community is going to continue being poor. The branches that Victor mentions in his analogy represent opportunities. These opportunities are the ones that could give the poor a second chance, a chance for another life, a new beginning. This, for the poor, could be money or a job and other things like such. This could really help the life of a poor one but these opportunities aren’t so easy to get. These “branches” are at the top of the tree and as an obstacle, the trunk is coated with lard. The slippery lard makes it almost impossible for one to be able to climb the tree, the tree that is full of hope and new beginnings. Victor is trying to say that it is hard for some that is poor in Mexico, it will be hard for them to get back on their feet. I believe that all obstacles can be overcome. Nothing is impossible, so even though the poor may be poor now but anything can change that.
Anderson Yeh EJSHS said,
May 19, 2008 at 5:38 pm
The illegal immigrant is a tough issue to deal with because we have the human morals that we have to consider and the fact that we would not like to be put in that situation also complicates that law. I believe that the issue should be handled individually. For example, Victor would fall under the category of exceptional illegal immigrant because his family depended on the illegal immigration for food and money and the immigration was necessary because it was for Victor and his family’s survival. But someone like Rico, who wants to cross the border for greed and money, would fit under the category of illegal immigrant because it is for his own personal gain and that is wrong for the other people who need the immigration for their survival.
On the contrary, people like Victor should be allowed to immigrant because it is not right if we just made him turn around and go back to his country and let him and his family starve or die because they have no money.
It would not be an extreme case because Victor is just there to make honest money and it is to support his family. But Rico should be turned away because he wanted to make more money than he already had and he was one of the wealthiest men in all of Mexico.
It is too bad that the law is not based on case by case situations because then a lot of people’s lives would be much better off than it was but the law cannot be like that because it would just take too much time and those cases would eventually get piled up and all the cases would never be done. So immigration is a issue where both sides presents good arguments.
Armando EJSHS said,
May 20, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Victor says on page 97 in the book “…in Mexico if you are born poor, there are no branches within reach, and the trunk is coated with lard.” What do you think he means by this analogy?
With this analogy, Victor is explaining his position as a poor person. The tree represents his life, the path he will be taking. The farther he climbs the tree, the more successful he will be. The branches represent the opportunities he has to change his course and tide of his life. But because of he is poor; he says climbing the tree would be impossible for him. The tree is covered in lard, making the tree slippery. This symbolizes that when he is climbing, he will just fall back to the bottom again. The branches are farther up the tree, showing that no matter how far his arm reaches, he will not be able to grasp the branch with just his hands. He is saying in this that he will never be able to grab and hold onto that chance and be able to continue up the tree and follow a dream to become bigger. And all this falls onto the poor community of Mexico according to Victor. But I say he is wrong. Everyone has the chance to become better than what they are. For me Victor could use spiked boots, a symbolism of help and support from all his friends and family. There’s other ways to climb the tree, and is you are determine, you would be able to change your stars.
George EJSHS said,
May 20, 2008 at 10:36 pm
3. How do you feel about the illegal immigrant issue? Do you think Victor should be allowed to stay in America, what about his family? Give some reasons to support your argument.
I feel that the illegal immigration issue should be enforced to the full extent. I’m not saying that people don’t have good reason’s for wanting to leave someplace that they hate, but immigration is what it means moving from one place to another. In this case it is moving from one country to another, which can have many problems. First of all, different country means different laws, so for example in the country your coming from you are allowed to carry a weapon with you, or something to that effect, if you were to come to the US you would probably get arrested and put in jail and once they found out you were illegal without having done anything you will get put in jail. So in my opinion it is important to follow the rules because they have them for a reason.
No to be mean, but I still back up my statement about enforcing illegal immigration to the fullest. Victor and his family may have been poor, but if they got into the country legally they would have no problems starting fresh. The problem with sneaking in is if they get caught they get deported and get put under heavy watch and will never have a chance to get to the US again.
Overall I didn’t really like the book I would not recommend it to people.