Paradox of Expectation

After reading this piece, I went right back to the title: “Proofs”. I don't really understand why it is called this, any suggestions? Although I am a little perplexed about the title, I found the rest of the story to be very straight foward and detailed. I enjoyed the way he began the piece. Short, blunt sentences, that don't exactly make sense until a couple of more paragraphs in. It catches the eye of the reader, and makes it more compelling once the reader realizes the story being told. I especially enjoy the way that he elaborates on the American Dream. But to have that dream, there must be many sacrafices that are made. It meant leaving your family for months or years, to hopefully make enough money to send for them, or to go home rich (Rodriquez, 33).

As John J. Rawls says in his essay, “California, A Place, A People, A Dream asserts that The dream promises too much and cause people to become disillusioned and they failed to look at the reality. Many people fail to see that nothing can be guaranteed. The dream may not be as sweet as for everyone.

He repeats many times that “It was a man's journey” and that “you have to come into the country on your knees with you head down. You are a man” (309). It is interesting to see that although the Mexicans (as described) were degraded in the type of work that they did, and how they were treated, that they thought that being submissive to this type of treatment meant you were a man.

I especially liked the paragraph in which he describes the differences between American's and Mexican's. “Mexico is poor. But mama says there are no love songs like the loves songs of Mexico… The people are kinder-poor, but kinder to each other” (310). I think that this paragraph is esential to his writing. It shows that no matter what, it is not money that makes you who you are, or how you act. It is more important to live happily while spending time with the people you love, rather than try to get things with your money. However, in this case, there is a catch 22. The men must be away from their families to provide enough money for them to live (Rodriquez, 34).

The Novella, “Proofs”, begins by considering the question, Why are evangelical Protestant ...