And The Earth Did Not Devour Him Analysis

“The land of the free and the home of the brave” – America’s proud promise that it parades like a tall flag to the outside world. However, to the millions of migrant workers whom have been immigrating to this great nation for over half of its history in search of a life of opportunity, this promise has been revealed time and time again to be nothing more than a facade. Tomas Rivera’s …And the Earth did not Devour Him protests the bitter reality of America’s harsh treatment towards these people by exposing the lives of several Chicano migrant families, a people who are often shoved to the margins of American society. The novel is a social critique that gives an honest depiction of what life is like for these immigrants as they struggle to establish …show more content…
It is one of many American privileges to never know such desperation. Among poverty and exploitation, racism is perhaps the worst adversity faced by these immigrants. Poverty, though often next to impossible, can be overcome. Which means exploitation, can be made impossible. However, one can never hide or runaway from the color of their skin. Rivera sheds light on how even the children of these migrant workers were subjected to racism. In schools, Mexican students were often viewed as dirtier than Caucasian students, because of the stigma attached to their race at the time. It was also not uncommon for business owners and shop keepers to refuse service to Mexicans. Ruben Donato states, “Tomas Rivera’s novel, …Y no se lo trago la tierra (…And the Earth did not Devour Him) tells of barbershops that would refuse to cut their hair and school nurses who would strip search them for lice”(Donato 79-80). Here, Rivera protests the aspect of institutional racism that often plagues America’s social infrastructure by exposing it on such a fundamental level. When a disenfranchised group, such as the Chicano migrants, becomes subject to such targeted racism, poverty is sure to