Arturo Rivera is one of the characters in the book “The Book of Unknown Americans” by Christina Henriquez. He is portrayed as a determined, loving, caring and law-abiding father and husband who does all in his power to be able to support his family and give his wife and daughter a better life. He has been used to show the problems that the immigrant community undergo when they come to foreign lands and further he has been used to show the various reasons that cause the members of the immigrant community to leave their country to a foreign country, even though they at times are living a comfortable life in their country of origin(Henrique 36).
Arturo is a loving and hardworking husband who immigrates into Delaware from Patzcuaro with his wife Almara Rivera with their only daughter Maribel Rivera, on a visa that he was able to secure at his place of work back in Mexico. He together with his wife and daughter are forced to brave the harsh conditions that the immigrants always have to endure as they move into the foreign states. These are the long drives and the constant eating of the less healthy junk foods, throughout the journey as they left their home to a foreign land to begin a new life. From this one is able to see that Arturo tries all in his ability to ensure that his family is able to reach the new country regardless of the barriers that they face on their way to Delaware. When they reach to their new home, the condition of the house is one which is not really appealing as viewed from it being described as an inhospitable cocoon with rusted staircases, whereas they left their rich lives in Mexico with the aim of ensuring that their daughter comes to the united states to be able to get the specialized treatment she requires and further he hopes that strides that America has taken can, in turn, help her daughter to get cured of her brain injury and for her to be enrolled into the special schools in the United States
Throughout the novel, Arturo is seen to be one law-abiding citizen one who carries himself in a manner that is in accordance with the Delaware laws. This may be seen when he as an earlier owner of a construction company, goes ahead to get a menial job as a mushroom picker in the darkened warehouse (Henrique 120). This shows that even though Arturo was more qualified, he agreed to the menial and degrading job so that he can be able to provide for his family a decent life as opposed to the general stereotype of the society that the immigrants will always engage in illegal activities when they come into the country, such as selling of drugs and them being affiliated with gangs. This character of Arturo in turn has been used to show the problems of immigrants when it comes to the issue of them being degraded in the forms of employment they are able to secure in their new homes.
In addition to this, when they face major barriers being able to achieve the American dream, he is seen to be focussed and determined. For example, Arturo and his family have a difficulty in conversing since they lack the knowledge of the English language. However, even with this barrier in mind, Arturo is seen to try all he can to be able to have his thoughts passed with the little English he’s able to learn for the time he is in Delaware. Moreover, the incidence of Arturo losing his job is one which the writer tries to depict how easy it is for foreigners to lose their jobs at their places of work. Further, his determination to get employment elsewhere is also a way that he tries to show his determination to cater for his family. Even though he is depicted as a determined father, he is unable to secure himself another source of employment which leads to him struggling more than he already was when he was working at the mushroom farm (Arana).
He is also seen to be a protective father; this is since he confronts Garett Miller for assaulting his daughter. This confrontation leads to a heated argument which then reciprocates into a fight and he ends up shot and later dies while in the hospital. His death in the novel can be used to depict the number of deaths and the prevalence of the shooting cases in the United States. His death also is used to show the impact that the family has due to the death of a father. This is since, after his death, his family is forced to return home (Henrique 300). Lastly, his death is also used to show the cooperation that the foreigners in the country always have, in that, they normally help one another in case one of them is in trouble (Price). This may be seen when the friends he got in the new country, come together to donate money even though most of them were struggling in order for his body to be transported back home (Henrique 204).
In conclusion , all the traits; determined, hardworking, loving, law abiding and a caring, describe Arturo Rivera and he has further been used to show the plight of immigrants and the troubles they face when they come into the new country when they leave their countries for their new homes. From the end of the story, it has been depicted that in most instance when the immigrants move to the foreign countries, they end up not achieving their goals as they had hoped to do.
Works Cited
Arana, Marie, ‘The Book of Unknown Americans,’ by Cristina Henríquez. The Washington Post. 2014. Web.May 30, 2016https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/books/the-book-of-unknown-americans-by-cristina-henriquez/2014/06/24/b26269e4-f6e8-11e3-a606-946fd632f9f1_story.html
Henriquez, Cristina. The Book of Unknown Americans. Eastern Book, 2014. Print
Price, Austine.The Characters in 'The Book of Unknown Americans' Are Silenced by the Voice. 2015. Web. May 30 2016http://www.popmatters.com/review/193138-the-book-of-unknown-americans-by-cristina-henriquez/#
