The Devils highway / Luis Urrea / 10/2/08

Pages read: 5

Summary:

The narrator talks about how the border patrol agents do their everyday routine, and how they handle different situations, how sometimes they do bad things to the people they find. And how sometimes people trying to cross turn themselves in because the conditions are really bad.

My Questions:

1. Do you think they should turn themselves in knowing that they were close?

2. Is it right for the border patrol to do bad things to the people they find?

My Response: I think that it can go both ways, many of them might think that its fate to keep on going and make it while others might think that its their free will, and that they will control the outcome. It is not right that they do bad things to them because they are human too, and trying to cross to help their families.

Quote (page # ): “terrified, some of them gave up immediately”  (17)

“Border patrol, taking prisoners and having their way with them” (17)

The Devils highway / Luis Urrea / 10/3/08

Pages read: 10

Summary: The narrator starts talking about the people that want to get across that are from Veracruz. And also explains how they live and their conditions.

My Questions:

1.  Do you think that how they live influences if they want to cross or not?

2. Do you think it’s worth it to risk your life?

My Response: I think that how they live and their conditions do influence if they cross or not because they want to provide better for their family, but then again risking your life is big, because if you don’t make it you will hurt your family. This relates to free vs. free will because they might think it was their fate to cross and make it to the U.S, and they also might think that god put them in that situation.

Quote (page # ): “many families used bean sack curtains for homes that could no longer afford beans…” (47)

“Many didn’t even know how to feed their families” (47)

The Devils highway / Luis Urrea / 10/4/08

Pages read: 10

Summary: The narrator talks about the people that are going to cross, they meet the person that said he will get them there. They call him Don Moi. Don Moi tells them that they will be crossing through the desert and how much it’s going to cost. Don Moi told them that it would cost them 20,000 pesos.

My Questions:

1. Do you think that the people should risk all of that money for something they might not accomplish?

My Response: I think that its a lot of money for them to risk because of the conditions they live in, and for many of them its their life savings, and they would be throwing it away if they don’t make it. I think that its their decision if they want to give up that money and its their free will

Quote (page # ): twenty thousand pesos!, it takes us a year to make twenty thousand pesos.” (49)

The Devils Highway/Luis Urrea/ 11-19-08

Pages read:3

Summary: The narrator talks about five men trying to cross the border and how their struggling to survive in the desert.

My Questions:

1.Do you think its a good idea?

2. Do you think they will make it?

My Response:

 I think that it can go both ways because if you do make it then  help your family more by sending money and other things, but if you dont make it you will hurt your family. The desert is also has bad conditions.

Quote (page # ):”they were burned nearly black, their lips huge and cracking….”

Does life make sense? I think that life is complicated, you don’t know how your life is going to play out. For example we don’t know what will happen in the future. I also believe that life has a meaning or purpose, because many people do great things, and that is their purpose. I think that there was a purpose to life before we were born. As we get older you start to get ideas of what you want to do in the future. I think that there would still be a reason to live without a purpose, because you could still enjoy everything about being alive, and you could do the things you like to do. I don’t think that it is possible to create our own meaning to life because, I believe that our lives are based on fate not free will.