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The Tattooed Soldier By Hector Tobar Pages 131-250. 4/c Kelly Campbell 4/c Kate Compagnoni 4/c Kelly Grills 4/c Stephanie Jocis 4/c Anthony Monteforte. Hector Tobar. LA-born son of Guatemalan immigrants
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The Tattooed SoldierBy Hector TobarPages 131-250 4/c Kelly Campbell 4/c Kate Compagnoni 4/c Kelly Grills 4/c Stephanie Jocis 4/c Anthony Monteforte
Hector Tobar • LA-born son of Guatemalan immigrants • Graduate of UC Santa Cruz—suddenly “got the bug to learn the history of Latin America [he] had not been taught,” which inspired him to delve into Latino issues. • Wrote The Tattooed Soldier in 1995, then returned to the L.A. Times as the National and Foreign correspondent to Latin America for over a decade. • His next book, “Translation Nation,” documented Latino communities that did not follow the archetypal pattern of Latino immigration, and often blossomed in communities where they were originally unwanted. This book received mixed reviews, and was generally viewed as meticulous, but overreaching and somewhat redundant.
Current Works • Calls for unity among blacks and Latinos in L.A., and insists that “without [blacks’] sacrifice, [Latinos] would be 30 years behind in the fight for civil rights.” • Focuses on the plight of displaced Latino immigrants—particularly those from Guatemala—in the wake of the California’s job crisis, forced into “L.A. limbo,” waiting for the opportunity to create the life they dreamed of in the United States or return home. • Attempts to eradicate the stereotypes and criticisms that plague Latinos across the U.S., specifically the “anchor-baby” theory. • Involved in 10x10, an adult literacy initiative aimed at Latino immigrants.
How many of you have given money or food to a homeless person?
Homelessness • On page 231 of The Tattooed Soldier, a policeman announces with a bullhorn, “This is an illegal encampment. You are trespassing on private property. You are in violation of Penal Code Section Six-four-sever, a misdemeanor. This is an illegal encampment” (231). • In AshrafKahlil and Cara Mia DiMassa’s article, “Homeless Seeking Option Away From Downtown”, published in The Los Angeles Times, they discuss how in 2006 Los Angeles deployed 50 additional officers get rid of the homeless who lived on the streets during the day.
Contrast • “Groups in dirty clusters, black men with black men, Latinos with Latinos, whites with whites, they assembled on Third Street, shivering in the rushing wind of morning traffic, a steady current of cars feeding into the orderly, pedestrian-free streets of the Financial District. They drew befuddles stares from the commuters accelerating and decelerating on Third, men in ties and women in suits who took in the spectacle of these refuges as if it were an image from a faded newsreel. This was something unusual, a break from the monotony of the morning drive” (233).
Homelessness in Los Angeles • According to the Institute for the Study of Homelessness and Poverty at the Weingart Center, an estimated 254,000 men, women and children experience homelessness in Los Angeles County during some part of the year. • Approximately, 82,000 people are homeless on any given night. • Although homeless people may be found throughout the county, the largest percentages are in South Los Angeles and Metro Los Angeles. • About 14 to 18 percent of homeless adults in Los Angeles County are not U.S. citizens compared with 29% of adults overall. • Around 20% of the homeless population are veterans. • Although only 9% of the citizens in Los Angeles are African American, African Americans consist of about 50% of the Los Angeles County homeless population.
Racial Barriers • “Together Lopez and Longoria had been to Fort Bragg and Panama where they had endured the taunts of the smart-ass Salvadorans who treated them like simple backwoods cousins.” P. 186 • “ Fucking pigs! Pigs!” The Mayor raised a brown fist in their faces…” P. 231 • “We don’t need any warrant, asshole,” answered one, a white man who seemed too young to be talking to the Mayor that way, without proper respect.”P. 231
Isolation • “ ‘This isn’t our home,” he said after a long pause. “We’re outsider’s here” (133) • “Grouped in dirty clusters, black men with black men, Latinos with Latinos, whites with whites, they assembled on Third Street, shivering in the rushing wind of morning traffic, a steady current of cars feeding into the orderly, pedestrian-free streets of the Financial District. They drew befuddled stares from the commuters accelerating and decelerating on Third, men in ties and women in suits who took in the spectacle of these refuges as if they were an image from a faded newsreel” (233).
“The jaguar protected me during the last war. Now it will protect me in this Los Angeles war. It will protect me if the man with the pipe comes looking for me again.”
Child Soldiers http://www.alongwaygone.com/media.html
Imagery The Murder of Elena and Carlos • “Scorching bullets to the neck and skull” (146). • “The woman’s scream pierces the numbness that has filled Longoria’s ears” (146). • “They step a way from the seeping pool of blood that is now forming by the woman’s head” (147).
Imagery of the Burning Church • “Seconds later a woman stumbled out the church door, her arms and face covered with deep gashes… She tried to scramble to her feet, but the sergeant put his boot on her back and pushed her into the dirt. Straddling her, he unsheathed a hunting knife from his hip, grabbed her by the hair, and slit her throat” (246). • “They chopped and grunted like men trying to clear a sugarcane field, strings of perspiration running down their necks. Steel against bone. Hack, Hack. This was work you couldn’t do without splattering pink and red and brown all over you” (247). • “First the a wisp of smoke snaking skyward, then a little cone of fire, the dance of saffron tongues, and the whoosh of a hot wind” (248) • The Patriot
