Life is a constant battle, a battle in which one characteristic can be the cause of a victorious ending or an ongoing defeat. Sometimes in life, a person's trait can be their greatest help and hindrance. In “Born Worker” by Gary Soto, main character Jose is a victim of this situation. Jose is a low-class boy of Hispanic descent which causes people to stereotype him. Jose has a cousin Arnie who is a middle-class boy. Arnie receives all the luxuries in life and instead of accepting and appreciating his life, he takes it for granted and brags about it to Jose. Despite all the things against Jose, he is still able to persevere with hope in his mind for a more successful future. One of the most influential traits Jose possesses is his honesty. Throughout
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Since he was a little kid his parents have taught him to embrace this characteristic because it will allow him to flourish and live a better life than his parents are able to give to him. Jose has observed his parents work countless hours each day in order to ensure he can indeed live a better life and the phrase “monkey see, monkey do” is clearly applicable in his life. “Jose peeled of shingles from a rickety garage roof, carried rocks down a path to where a pond would go, and spray painted lawn furniture” (70). In this text example, Jose and Arnie have been hired to complete jobs for their neighbors. While Jose is working hard and completing the tasks, Arnie is relaxing and getting a tan in addition to doing minimal labor. Jose’s honesty is portrayed in this text example because he would easily be able to slack off and not do his share, like his cousin. Nevertheless his conscious makes him do what is right. He understands that he has a job and he must complete it to the best of his ability. Even though his cousin is not helping him, he still knows the job must be done at no expense and he sacrifices his time to complete the tasks the two were supposed to complete together. In this quote his honesty towards completing the jobs solo, even though it is unequal, shows how hardworking he is. The way he reacts to this unfair situation shows that
Since he was a little kid his parents have taught him to embrace this characteristic because it will allow him to flourish and live a better life than his parents are able to give to him. Jose has observed his parents work countless hours each day in order to ensure he can indeed live a better life and the phrase “monkey see, monkey do” is clearly applicable in his life. “Jose peeled of shingles from a rickety garage roof, carried rocks down a path to where a pond would go, and spray painted lawn furniture” (70). In this text example, Jose and Arnie have been hired to complete jobs for their neighbors. While Jose is working hard and completing the tasks, Arnie is relaxing and getting a tan in addition to doing minimal labor. Jose’s honesty is portrayed in this text example because he would easily be able to slack off and not do his share, like his cousin. Nevertheless his conscious makes him do what is right. He understands that he has a job and he must complete it to the best of his ability. Even though his cousin is not helping him, he still knows the job must be done at no expense and he sacrifices his time to complete the tasks the two were supposed to complete together. In this quote his honesty towards completing the jobs solo, even though it is unequal, shows how hardworking he is. The way he reacts to this unfair situation shows that