“I didn’t let much spill out. To give him the entirety of what I’d been through academically would require me to back up way too much, to admit how far I now was from his idea of me when it came to school. To tell him everything, to let so many feelings just plop onto the table, would make him so uncomfortable that I wouldn’t be surprised if he left his coffee behind and walked onto his van.”
Lizet is cautious of uncovering her sentiments to her father, who is only keen about her grades which he considers ought to be A’s only. Lizet’s admittance about her existing academic struggle matches that of college students whose parents anticipate them to score the uppermost grades. Clearly, Lizet’s father would not grasp her state considering his probable reaction should Lizet open up. Her father is not unquestionably sympathetic or reassuring.
“Ariel’s U.S family didn’t have the right to apply for asylum on this behalf in the first place. Only his legal guardian could do that, and so only his father, in Cuba and apparently staying in the capital as a guest of Fidel Castro, had the right to file the motion that his soon be granted asylum.”
Ariel’s position illuminates the impediments which folks pursuing asylum endure. The legal charter confounds his chances of receiving asylum which means that he is predisposed to deportation which would mark the dissolution of his American dream.
“What people have to understand…is that this is our story, too. I came here with my girls the same way Ariel’s mother came with him. Ariel’s story is my story, the story of my daughters.”
Lourdes egotistically, selfishly exploits Ariel’s story so that she can be crowned a heroine. She deliberately lies about sacrificing and confronting perils for her Miami-born daughters. Her tactic is envisioned to make her legendary and to appeal to the masses sympathy. She appeals for a compassion which neither she nor her daughters deserve; she is not fighting for Ariel, she is striving for her approval.
