Chapter Summary: The Black Market By Helen Thorpe

Helen Thorpe illustrates the struggles of four immigrant girls all with similar dispositions of attending college. Collectively, these young women strive to achieve the American dream of one day successfully attending college. Despite the unfavorable odds, which were heavily present for two, the four women are accepted into college, two without proper documentation, and the other two with good documentation. The author depicts the efforts of these immigrant students attempting to be acclimated to live away from their kinship systems, the dorm life, and the difficulties in managing financial responsibilities. The resiliency conveyed by these women are amazing and worth noting, as the author provides the readers a glimpse into the endeavors …show more content…
Yadira was motivated to complete all of her academics at DU with the highest grades possible and was not concerned with working or obtaining a job while in school. Her ideology was the funding that she received from her scholarship covers her financial expenses at the present. Later in the chapter, “The Black Market” becomes a practical method to triumph over her inability to obtain a social security card with the Mexican Consulate. Shamed that she used Zulema’s actual social security number, just changing the last digit, and the problem was solved (Thorpe …show more content…
This derived from the education gained from a course at DU concerning demographics and learning why immigrants are migrating to the United States illegally. For that reason, the girls would endure frequent questioning from their peers asking why they were not working at the campus establishments. Also, Marisela is beginning to overstep her boundaries with Yadira, as she is adopting different mannerisms that not longer align with hers (Thorpe