Reflection On The Devil's Highway

The novel I read was The Devil’s Highway by Luis Alberto Urrea. The Devil’s Highway is a true story about Mexican immigration to the United States. It retells the devastating journey of the group of men who attempted to cross the U.S. border by entering one of the deadliest regions in Arizona known as the Devil’s Highway. There were twenty-six men who entered the region, and only twelve survived. This journey was the largest number of border-event deaths in history. Urrea introduces each immigrant and the guides and throughout the novel he discusses the circumstances that lead them to the decision to cross the border. The horrific deaths throughout this journey arose from desperation and confusion. The character I selected for my performance was Nahum Landa Ortiz. I chose this character because he was one of the survivors and he was filled with passion. In this essay, the concepts I will be discussing are co-cultural communication, voluntary migrants, and culture shock and how they are represented throughout my novel. Next, I will discuss empathy and implicature as it relates to my performance, concluded by a critical self-reflection. …show more content…
There are three general ways people in non-dominant groups communicate with the dominant groups, which is by being assertive, non-assertive, or aggressive. Then they may try to assimilate, separate, or accommodate to the dominant group. In this novel, the Mexicans were trying to become a part of the co-cultural non-dominant group. If they made it across the border and through the journey, they were prepared to assimilate to the dominant group so they could find jobs to provide a better life for their families back home. The next concept I will discuss is voluntary