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Two Worlds
- Author:
- Barron, Marietta
- Subjects:
- Growing up; Mexican Americans; Prejudice; Multi-Culturalism; Segregation
- Age:
- 8, 9, 10, 11, 12
- Grade:
- 3, 4, 5, 6
- Order code:
- 120X
- Price:
- $9.99
- Online Price:
- $7.99
- Class sets:
- 10 or more: $7.00 each. (Order code: 120XS)
1920's "America The Beautiful" was caught in the winds of full-blown segregation. Two Worlds is the story of a pre-teen Mexican-American boy who challenged the system of school segregation in the mining town where he and his family lived. The story is simply told. It is one of courage, motivation and self-esteem. The contrasts between the Latino barrio and the white section of town are dramatic, and related with the realism of a young person's viewpoint.
The setting is the barrio, baseball, mining and danger. Many religious souls are squeezed together in a tin-shack town where there is work, often dangerous, for a Mexican willing to earn wages drastically lower than that of an equal-job white. This is a steaming place where young love blooms amid the dust, and old fears simmer. Over the noise of the children and the sounds of the mine machinery, shadows of the Mexican Revolution linger over the heads of families who have relocated and seek peace and a chance to better their lives.
No holds are barred by white bigots when a young, intelligent Mexican boy decides, without any legal authority, to take himself into the whites-only school simply because he wants to learn. The school seems so much better equipped than his, even from his youthful vantage-point of evaluating the playground. He decides to remain a quiet figure, to try to blend in because he is an American citizen, to be there just for an education. But, his intelligence works against him, for when he wins the class spelling bee, his cover is blown and the prejudice of his teacher spits out fire that threatens to enflame the town.
His white classmates' reactions to his presence offer insights to children's own thoughts and parental influences. Ultimately, there is a voice of reason and a happy ending, but not before the youngster runs away from home, experiences life outside of the barrio on his own, and finds himself. He returns home wiser and positive in his outlook. He goes on to win the district spelling bee, and by his example, opens the town
1920's "America The Beautiful" was caught in the winds of full-blown segregation. Two Worlds is the story of a pre-teen Mexican-American boy who challenged the system of school segregation in the mining town where he and his family lived. The story is simply told. It is one of courage, motivation and self-esteem. The contrasts between the Latino barrio and the white section of town are dramatic, and related with the realism of a young person's viewpoint.
The setting is the barrio, baseball, mining and danger. Many religious souls are squeezed together in a tin-shack town where there is work, often dangerous, for a Mexican willing to earn wages drastically lower than that of an equal-job white. This is a steaming place where young love blooms amid the dust, and old fears simmer. Over the noise of the children and the sounds of the mine machinery, shadows of the Mexican Revolution linger over the heads of families who have relocated and seek peace and a chance to better their lives.
No holds are barred by white bigots when a young, intelligent Mexican boy decides, without any legal authority, to take himself into the whites-only school simply because he wants to learn. The school seems so much better equipped than his, even from his youthful vantage-point of evaluating the playground. He decides to remain a quiet figure, to try to blend in because he is an American citizen, to be there just for an education. But, his intelligence works against him, for when he wins the class spelling bee, his cover is blown and the prejudice of his teacher spits out fire that threatens to enflame the town.
His white classmates' reactions to his presence offer insights to children's own thoughts and parental influences. Ultimately, there is a voice of reason and a happy ending, but not before the youngster runs away from home, experiences life outside of the barrio on his own, and finds himself. He returns home wiser and positive in his outlook. He goes on to win the district spelling bee, and by his example, opens the town
