Victor Carlos Cruz Business

Zaniness in Victor Hernandez Cruz’s “Business” The poem “Business” by Victor Hernandez Cruz exposes the mediocre side of mainland United States. Business portrays the difficulties of an immigrant making a living as a street vendor in a metropolitan city. His business, he sold puppets and whistles for a living and also play his guitar. This is how he made his money. He would gather crowds of people and put on shows and play his guitar. This was his only source of income as an immigrant. He wasn’t disturbing anyone but it was against the law so he was arrested. This leads us to examine street vending or peddling. As an established street vendor, the man in the poem finds himself caught between two desires: earning a living and abiding by the law (Artemis). This was illegal so by him doing this he had to face the consequences of his actions each …show more content…
He took his puppets out and started a puppet show. It was so hilarious that the detectives and court clerks were laughing uncontrollably. That showed that they were impressed with his talents. They thought that he was so talented that they wanted to buy his puppets and whistles. The judge was furious. He yelled “What type of business is this. The man said I am the monkey man and I sell monkey business”. Why does this man say he is a monkey man? The last matter to bear in mind in analyzing Cruz's symbolic poem is the correlation between the monkey man and the monkey. In literature, the monkey symbolizes play, zaniness, and intelligence. It's the most similar of all mammals to humans. In addition, the term "monkey business" means mischief, shenanigans, trouble, and pranks. Therefore, monkey man as an entrepreneur is a fittingly symbolic one. The monkey man appears as if he's playing when he strums his guitar and sells puppets or whistles; yet, like nature's monkey, he's engaging in survival skills. He's doing what it takes to ensure he gets food on the table