Migrant alienated, unfairly treated and on top
Migrant workers have always played an important role in the US economy, so they should not be treated as illegal or undeserving individuals. Most of them are competent, qualified workers who pay taxes and contribute to American well-being. Paul Cuadros the author of “A Home On The Field” finds a way to capture the experience of the Latino community exploding in Siler City, NC as Cuadros sees the struggles of these immigrants from all sorts Latino countries because Cuadros himself was an immigrant.
He felt alienated, unfairly treated and on top of this he didn’t understand English he knew what these kids were going through. Cuadros wanted to do something to help them out and took matters into his own hands and formed a soccer team at Jordan-Matthews High School even though his idea at first was not liked by many. “Soccer was seen by the longtime residents as yet another imposition on the traditional Southern way of life,” he writes. “Latinos had already ‘taken over’ parts of the local park with their game.
For some, a line had been drawn around the football field at JM. There would be no soccer there” (Cuadros 27). Since football at JM was part of the culture there it was sacred so for them to share with the soccer program it was a big deal. Refusing to give in, Cuadros convinced the school principal to incorporate a soccer program in JM after lots of hard work getting the kids eligible, buying uniforms and equipment, and lining the field. He encouraged the boys who work demanding part-time jobs, live in extremely challenging home environments and have little motivation to remain in school or even remain eligible to play soccer for the school.
They were expected to pour their hearts out on the field and that’s exactly what they did. The kids practiced everyday with their eyes on the prize the whole way through, and in just three seasons after hard work and dedication, the Jordan-Matthews High School soccer team won the state championship after being doubted by many. The author really cared about these kids and everything he did for them just shows how much of a good person he is. Throughout the book he used lots of Pathos by attempting to put us in the shoes of all these kids, he explained all their hardships and struggles. For example before one of their big games one of their parents have been shot or having to decide whether to drop out to help support the family for food and such or continue playing and risk being homeless.Passage Analysis:The author Paul Cuadros did an amazing job using diction, syntax, imagery, detail, and tone to really help us capture the moment.”I remembered what John Phillips has said to me once a long time before: you’re there Coach, not their social worker.
He was right. But I had coached with love and I believed in That very strongly. I couldn’t abandon that belief just because Guero had dropped out. I couldn’t save them. But I could be there for them.
And maybe that was all anybody can do. Just be there for someone. Listen to them, help them if you can, offered advice if they want it, And just be there. They had to live their own lives. Soccer is a players game.
Once the whistle blows, it is up to the players to figure out how to play the game and work together to score and win. The coaches can do little to affect the game once it is being played. Life was like that too. There is little that people can really do for you. You have to figure out how to play at life. People can support you parents, teachers, coaches, and friends.
But ultimately you have to run down the field in order to try to fill your goals. I would always be there for these boys on the field and off. I look down at the soccer ball to see what Guero had written. It said, I promise to be back.”Cuadros made a connection between Soccer and life in this passage and tried to talk from his experience by using abstract diction and a understandable syntax.
He did this to really emphasize his emotions for example when he said “I couldn’t abandon that belief just because Guero had dropped out. I couldn’t save them. But I could be there for them.” In this piece Cuadros trys to tell us what he experienced while coaching these kids, and he got this across very well because of these elements. Imagery in this passage along with in the book is different than the usual, he explains situations as if your actually there rather than looking back into the past for example Cuadros says, “He moves up the left wing and sends the ball to Perico…”(Cuadros 256).
Also you can see he doesn’t miss a detail because in order to catch a moment in the present good you have to know every little that happened. Cuadros really wants the readers to feel his emotion by using a very subtle and caring tone that makes the reader really feel for these kids and their lives so you could really understand them, you see this in this quote “I would always be there for these boys on the field and off. I look down at the soccer ball to see what Guero had written. It said, I promise to be back.” I chose this passage because it applies to everyone in a way nowadays. Our parents do everything they can to guide us and show us the way, but at the end of the day we have to learn to live our lives take on responsiblities and it’s just nice to know that Cuadros really cared for these kids and tried his best even though for some it wasnt enough it definitely made an impact on some kids lives.Reflection/Evaluation:For undocumented Latino immigrants probably one of the most difficult challenges willhave to be finding a home in a country where they are consistently being alienated and marginalized.
I’m thankful for the tireless efforts Cuadro has put in not only to help his players find a home on the field, but also to tell the world all about it. I can relate to this book maybe not me personall but rather my parents, I can remember when my dad would tell me how hard it would be for him to sit in class for hours and not understand a single word. But all it took was a little help from a role model like Cuadro to the kids and my dad is now a CIO in NIGMS.
It’s just nice to know that theres always people looking out for you. In the book the kids suffered from lots of discrimmination and I can decently understand what they went through because of the problems in this subject the U.S are facing. I would recommend this book to everyone I feel as if this could book could really change peoples opinions on the hispanic community.
