Richard Misrach Analysis

This year’s election cycle brought heated debates and discussions about many things; “the wall”, free trade, NAFTA, immigration issues, borders security and policy issues. Regardless of which side of the political isle you stand, which way the political winds sway in Washington D.C., one thing is certain not to change with the election cycle, and that is, the actual physical border between The United States and Mexico. Therefore, if we can’t change that, and we can’t, then there needs to be solutions to problems that continue to exist between the two sovereign countries. Trade and Security are two of the most important factors for neighboring countries and they must not be ignored. Beyond just good political, diplomatic, and strategic vision it is important to understand there are cultural, education and diversity complexities which takes tremendous and often times delicate maneuvering to come together for the greater good of both economies and governments, as millions of people rely on successful trade agreements and security.

Another symbolic image in this mural is the bald eagle. In America, it is also a way of displaying freedom because that is the emblem of our nation. The last main symbol in this mural is the Native American woman because Native Americans were here in the land we call as the United States. They were nomads who traveled throughout the country and even beyond the country since there were no border or a sign displaying if they can pass or not. They were just free to go anywhere with no problem at all. Overall the whole message of this powerful mural is that migrating is natural for the reason that animals and human beings have been migrating since the beginning of time. In other words, they had freedom to migrate from place to place. This message can be connected towards the Latino community because many of them come to America to start a new life where they can have opportunities for themselves and their family. But coming to America, is not allowed without having papers since it is illegal and what Levi Ponce is saying in his mural is that they should come without having a problem because they just want their life change for the

The border between the United States and Mexico consists of 1,952 miles of land border that divides a “first” world and “third” world nation. Any border is an environment of opportunity. People flock to borders around the world to exploit the regions’ resources and people. There are always plenty of people at the borders of nations to build large factories, or to traffic narcotics and weapons into neighboring nations.

The wall that Bowden discusses is the barrier between the United States and the country of Mexico to the south. He uses the terms fences, borders, and barricades. Part of the wall is constructed of metal. Other portions are concrete. Each of the materials that are used is hard and designed to be uncomfortable and discouraging to those who see it, effectively creating both a physical and psychological barrier between acceptable and unacceptable populations. The purpose of the wall, according to Bowden, is to keep a certain population out of the United States. Mexican illegal immigrants are crossing the border into the United States in large numbers. For the American government, illegal immigration is an unacceptable set of circumstances and the purpose of erecting a wall was to keep those people from crossing the border into the United States. Bowden explains that the wall is effective only until the point when inclination and desire of the excluded population overcomes the existence of the wall. People will then cross over it or crash through it. If their will is strong enough, then the people will be able to overcome the wall, making its presence outdated and ineffectual. Since people overcome the wall, there is no need to keep the wall or to provide moneys to either enlarge it or for the upkeep of the wall. Each

‘Our Wall’; written by Charles Bowden; is one of the essays focused on border problems, especially with the illegal immigrants and smuggling; and the wall to prevent the same. The author is an American non-fiction author, journalist, and essayist who mainly depicts the realism, and presents it to the society with the hope of change. In this essay, ‘Our Wall’, he cites the wall is made by U.S in order to control the illegal immigrants from Mexico. The essay collects views and comments before and after the establishment of wall of the people from both sides. This essay seems to be in against of the wall, which generally breaks up the personal ties and humanitarian relationship of the people in and out of the wall, and the wall stands still

One of the biggest problem people face on a daily basis in the border of Texas is the dispute about the border wall. Many believe the wall has brought more bad than it has good. Due to the location of the wall certain people had to relocate to another home, which many did not have. Although the making of said wall did provide many men and women with jobs many were forced to give their land to the government so that they could build the wall on their territory.

One quote the author gives from someone in favor of the wall is from a man named Dan Duley who lives on the United States side of the wall. He says “We need help. We’re being invaded. They’ve taken away our jobs, our security. I’m just a

With that, a regional spirit of racism and bigotry is felt from the neighbor. The speaker scorns his neighbor’s wall building antics, but has no choice but to settle with them. Ironically though, the speaker is way more involved and indulged with the annual repairing of the wall more so than the neighbor. The speaker tends to “bug” the neighbor about the wall in a way and comes off very clingy. He seems very excited about repairing a wall that he despises. The speaker sets the day they will repair on the wall together and also informs. Regardless of the, dubious attitude that the speaker gives off, it seems that he is more tied to the mending-wall tradition, more than the neighbor. The speaker comes off more of a modern man, while the neighbor is stuck in ancient, with building a “wall”. However, the speaker is no different from the neighbor; he likes his privacy and his sense of ownership.

In her book, Line in the Sand: A History of the Western U.S.-Mexico Border, Rachel St. John provides a dynamic argument that focuses not just on the physical border itself or merely how border policy came to be, but looks at the borderlands as an entire region and how Mexico too played a part in creating both the border and border enforcement. St. John describes in her various chapters the development of border towns and how both the U.S. and Mexico created not just a physical barrier, but also a symbolic barrier that resulted in the division of races and cultures. The creation of national identities, argues St. John, is just as much a result of border policy as is the actual physical border. Additionally, St. John discusses the varied

Rios conveys the border as being an unnatural thing placed in the natural world. In his poem, Rios states, “the border is a line that birds cannot see” saying that the natural world cannot see the unnatural thing. This quote is a metaphor comparing birds to the natural world and the border to the unnatural thing to show that the border does not belong there. Rios also compares government offices to tigers when he says, “content to crouch ominous as tigers, waiting.” He is comparing the natural world to the unnatural world by using the offices as the unnatural and the tigers as the natural. “Metal landing-strip pieces, electronic sensors, helicopters, guns

In 1998, Julio César Gallegos tried to cross again. This time he and several others would not be so lucky. The group was waiting to be picked up by a vehicle that never came. The extreme heat killed them in a matter of weeks, and were soon found. Groups like Gallegos’ risk their lives each day to enter the United States without authorization from Mexico. “This helps explain why the boundary simultaneously serves as both an obstacle and a gateway- functions that are both contradictory and complimentary” (78). The border is a gateway that allows individuals to travel between both countries with legal documentation. On the other hand, the boundary is an obstacle because it is a danger to the people who try to cross illegally. That is why U.S. law enforcement policies have been put in place.

During an off-the-record interview with reporters onboard Air Force One, President Trump disclosed more details about his border wall plan. He states, “It’s a 2,000 mile border, but you don’t need 2,000 miles of wall because you have a lot of natural barriers. But you’ll need anywhere from 700 to 900 miles” (Trump). Here he is explaining that a physical wall will not be necessary throughout the entire length of the United States-Mexico border as there are natural landmarks such as lakes, rivers, and mountains that serve as a partition between the two countries. President Trump also mentions the possibility of the wall to include solar panels to provide renewable energy in addition to protecting United States’ southern border. Additionally, he elaborates with more detail on the physical appearance of the wall describing it as “a steel wall with openings.” (Trump). Donald Trump emphasizes transparency of the wall to ensure the safety of those in its vicinity. Finally, Trump concludes the interview portion about the wall by explaining that his proposal has technically already

The right hand side depicts the United States and how it is a very industrialized nation compared to Mexico. The foreground is taken up by three separate objects which all need power leads, they are a red loudspeaker, floodlight and some machine which seems to resemble a fan. It is interesting to note that instead of roots going into the ground on the Mexican side of the border, but on the United States electrical lead penetrates the earth. The middle ground has three grey pipes leading up to barrels with holes in the top of them. The background is dominated by large building and white smoke that is coming from four chimneys with ford written on them. The sun is not visible on the United States side possibly because of

However, when the responders’ delves deeper into the poem, it is clear that at a allegorical level the wall is a metaphor representing the barrier that exists in the neighbours’ friendship. The first eleven lines of the poem if rife with imagery that describes the dilapidation of the wall. The first line of the poem emphasises that “something” exists that “doesn’t love a wall”. This personification makes the “something” seem human-like. The use of words such as “spills” and “makes gaps” convey an image of animate actions and create a vivid impression of the degradation of the wall. Nature, presented in the form of cold weather, frost and the activities of creatures, also seeks to destroy the wall. The idea that walls are unnatural and therefore nature abhors walls is portrayed in the phrase “makes gaps even two can pass abreast”, which metaphorically indicates that nature desires for man to walk side by side with no barrier between them. When the two meet to fix the wall, it is a metaphor that could be interpreted as the two repairing their friendship as “To each the boulders have fallen to each” which shows that faults in their relationship lie on behalf of them both. While they are mending the wall, a light-hearted tone is established. This is shown through the inclusion of the metaphor “spring is mischief in me” which shows the neighbours having fun together in repairing the wall,

“The parallel plots of a novel… would act in the reader's mind and perhaps the author's as a kind of splitting” (Holland). Frost meant the wall to embody the physical and psychological boundaries people set up to maintain their privacy. The narrator tone for most of the poem is ironic, because he expresses his desire to rid himself of the wall “There where it is we do not need the wall” (Frost 245), but he repairs it nonetheless, “I have come after them and made repair” (Frost 245). Frost introduces the reader with different causes for the recurring destruction of the wall. The narrator’s first possible cause is nature, but does Frost means a force of nature? His choice of words where “Frozen-ground-swell” (Frost 245), which is another way of saying Frost. The poet might be indicating that in actuality he is the one that want the wall destroyed. The second possible reason for the wall’s destruction is the hunters. The narrator constantly expresses his dislike of the wall, but is quick to reprimand anyone who destroys it; in this case the hunters. The narrator’s act of patching the wall when damaged, is a clear sign that he yearns for a psychological to distance him from the neighbor. This ironic tone continues throughout the poem, but it is never completely clear it the speaker wants the wall removed for good, or keep it as it is. The neighbor on the other hand,