The section I chose to look at was “Hands in His Pocket.” In this section of his book I feel Rivera truly does portray the struggle, strength and beauty of the character when he is staying with Don and Dona. His experiences their while in school are definitely struggle filled experiences. From the nasty habits of his care takers to the food he eats and the room he sleeps all present daily struggles for him. In this section “Hands in His Pocket,” in Rivera’s book …And the Earth Did Not Devour Him the character states “they told me I looked thin and was sick from fright (“Hands in His Pocket” pg 101).” This shows the physical roles of the struggles he went through. This also shows strength when he denies the terrible experiences he went through to keep from disappointing his father as well as to save himself. “I told them no (“Hands in His Pocket” pg 101).” He then blames it on school and him playing. He has the strength to lie and describe positive experience in order to save his father and mother from the horrible truth. There is also beauty in all of this. He is willing to hide the truth from others to ensure their happiness. Especially his family. It shows the beauty of a tight family bond. He is willing to sacrifice a part of his mind to keep his parents happy and thinking that they spent their hard earned money on god experiences for their son.
Rivera portrays theses characteristics through narrative of his main character. The character describes each situation and how it made him feel. By doing this he is using the appeal of ethos or emotion to reach the reader so they fully understand the struggle and experiences he is going through. For strength and beauty Rivera portrays these characteristics by having the character take certain actions and make certain choices. He uses the plot to portray these things.