

He depicts the struggle and the hard life of migrant agricultural workers in the United States in the 1950s. In this new edition of a powerful novel comprised of short vignettes, Rivera writes hauntingly about alienation, love and betrayal, man and nature, death and resurrection and the search for community. The novel And the Earth Did Not Devour Him, by author Tomas Rivera shows a kind of Mexican American literature not yet to be encountered by many. Forced to leave their home in search of work, the migrants are exploited by farmers, shopkeepers, even other Mexican Americans, and the boy must forge his identity in the face of exploitation, death and disease, constant moving and conflicts with school officials. And the earth did not swallow him and recipient of the first award for Chicano literature, the Premio Quinto Sol, in 1970, Rivera's masterpiece recounts the experiences of a Mexican-American community through the eyes of a young boy. The young boy can't understand his parents' faith in a god that would impose such horrible suffering, poverty and injustice on innocent people.Īdapted into the award-winning film. On occasion he attempted to recall and, pretty much when he thought everything was clearing up, he would be speechless. During World War II, many Americans enlisted in the armed forces, and so there was an increased demand for workers within the American labor force.
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Outside the chicken coop that is their home, his father wails in pain from the unbearable cramps brought on by sunstroke after working in the hot fields. It was published in Spanish in 1971, and immediately carved out a place for itself in Mexican-. Book: And the Earth Did Not Devour Him Topics: Ambiguity, Anecdote, Critical, Play, Speaker Pages: 4 Words: 1765 Views: 1009 See Entire Document Download Document Text Preview 1. And the Earth Did Not Devour Him takes place during the late 1940’s and early 1950s, a time when many Mexicans came to the United States to work.

Tell me, why must we live here like this? What have we done to deserve this? You're so good and yet you suffer so much," a young boy tells his mother in Tomás Rivera's classic novel about the migrant worker experience. Students examine impressions of a community of migrant workers in Texas who go north to pick crops. "I tell you, God could care less about the poor.
