In the section, “And the Earth Did Not Devour Him” author Tomas Rivera describes his loss of faith that comes from prejudice, hard work, and forced cultural assimilation. This section is interesting because Rivera begins to question why Mexican Americans are discriminated against. This questioning of the abuse of power that migrant workers had to endure arguably led to the Chicano movement. For instance, Rivera even though questioning his faith claims, “Not yet, you can’t swallow me up yet. Someday, yes. But I’ll never know it,” (And the Earth did not Devour Him). Even though Rivera loses some of his faith he learns to take more pride in his cultural identity. His cultural pride and his perseverance provide hope for the future.
Rivera uses emotion and the theme of family to emphasize migrant workers struggles. In the section, The Little Burnt Victims” Rivera uses emotion to capture his reader’s attention. For example, Rivera describes the hardships of migrant workers when he asks, “But I wonder why the gloves didn’t get burned up,”(The Little Burnt Victims). In this segment, Rivera expresses the tough choices that poor families have to make. Often migrant workers have to leave their family and children at home while they attend the fields. In this segment, it exemplifies the tragedy that often occurs to underprivileged migrant families. The tragedy and death to children in this chapter further shows the inequality that migrant workers faced. The emotional appeal that Rivera uses spreads awareness and hopefully provides more inspiration for equality movements.