In Los Pobres, Richard Rodriquez describes a summer job that led to a revelation about personal and social identity. He gets to see the struggle of working-class people nearly when he chooses to work in a construction site. He goes to Standford. He doesn't know anything about physical labor. Yet he decides to go and work with the Princeton graduated contractor. He works as a migrant Mexican farmworkers who had to do hard work for little money. He takes off his shirt and works in the sun. He realizes his arms tightened by sleep starts to get flexible. He no longer thinks of his looks. As he stops work at 3:30, he feels relaxed.
He recalls some men corrected him to use a pick and shovel correctly. He finds being laughed at. They told him to hold all the pressure at the back cause that might hurt him. He remained silent even though he wanted to reply them back.
He discovered in the company of the workers like carpenters, electricians, plumbers, and painters, he remained silent and observant. She got to know about the diversity of workers. Few of them were youngsters talking about sex, howling to women, some of them were nice and silent, they were also rough and good-natured. He also met some of the college diplomas. They were all middle-class Americans. He thinks they were not the poor people his mother had talked about. He also met with Mexicans. They had their own natures. Some of them work in a son's father duo and others worked anonymously. The writer used to glance at them. They worked and talked to each other in voices too hard to be heard.
He also worked as a translator for his contactor. He knew Spanish and he had to explain to Spanish workers at the site for the contractor. He and those Spanish speakers have one thing in common and that is their Mexican root.
While working with those people Rodriguez realizes how difficult it is for Mexican to work and earn. Even though they worked individually they were paid in collectively. He was sad for them and their vulnerability. At that point, he realized he wouldn't want to become like them.
He recalled his father's saying. When he saw how the work took place, he could then admit his father was right. Mexicans were deprived of rightful wages that is because of their disadvantaged condition. They lacked public identity and they are like an alien. They live apart and lack a union. That's why they have to do an unreasonable task. After meeting with Mexicans he thought they were the real poor people.
He believed his education will serve him to make different experiences than those workers and father. Even though he will never know how does it feel like to work as Mexican but he knows his interests, to unionize, to petition, to speak to challenge and demands. He lastly considers Mexicans as Los pobres the poors accepting their social status.
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