“Geraldo No Last Name”
by Sandra Cisneros - Holt pp. 558- 563
Name:
Date:
Points: /
Geraldo No Last Name - by Sandra Cisneros, Holt pp. 558- 563
Objectives:Define and evaluate style
Define and evaluate diction
Identify and describe types of diction
Define tone
Define immigration
Identify and describe immigration issues in America
Discuss and debate immigration issues
Read and analyze “Geraldo No Last Name” from The House on Mango Street
Read and analyze non-fiction articles on immigration issues
QUICKWRITE:
Imagine the following scenario: You have 5 brothers and 3 sisters, all under the age of 15. You are incredibly poor. Your father, who was the breadwinner for your family, recently died and your mother was recently diagnosed with cancer. The only way to keep your family alive is to find work. You look for a job in your community but are unsuccessful. Hearing of the success that friends of yours have had working in a country nearby, you wonder if you, too should make the move. Under these circumstances, would you move to a foreign country to find work? Explain how you would feel under these circumstances and explain what you would do.
______
Illegal Immigration Notes:
1. WHAT is and “Illegal Immigrant?
2. How many illegal immigrants are there in the U.S?
3. Where are they from?
PROS of Immigration / Cons of ImmigrationQ&A: Building a Barrier Along the Border with Mexico (2006)
One of the most controversial proposals in the debate about immigration would create a high-tech fence along one-third of the U.S. border with Mexico. The barrier is modeled on an existing 14-mile fence between San Diego, Calif., and Tijuana, Mexico. Supporters say the fencing would bolster homeland security and curb illegal immigration. Opponents decry it as a new "Berlin Wall," against the American ideal of an open society, and the plan has sparked protests by Hispanic immigrants across the country. NPR's Ted Robbins helps explain the proposal and existing strategies.
STOP and JOT!
1. What do you think??? Is the barrier a good idea or a bad one?
The fence has been under construction since 1993. Lawsuits and environmental regulations have stalled completion of the final 3.5 miles, which go through a tidal estuary next to the Pacific Ocean. Last fall, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff used his authority to waive some legal requirements that were bogging down the process.
The government says that about $39 million has been spent on the project so far, though some critics think that's a low estimation of the actual amount of money spent. The Department of Homeland Security expects to spend an additional $35 million to finish the last leg of the fence. The Border Patrol, though, says the cost could be higher.
STOP and JOT!
2. About how much of the fence has NOT been completed?
3. How much has the fence project cost the government?
The 14-mile project is actually a double- and triple-fence. The first fence was built with extra parts from a military airplane landing mats. The second fence is called Sandia fencing, because it was developed at the government's Sandia National Laboratories. It's steel mesh, 15 feet high, with the top part slanted inward. In high-traffic areas, there's a third chain-link fence topped with barbed wire. In between the first two fences is a 150-foot "no man's land." The Border Patrol uses that area to station vehicles. There are also light towers, and remote video-surveillance cameras are being installed even as I write. Security is augmented by helicopters and hundreds of ground-based Border Patrol agents.
STOP and JOT!
4. Do you think the barrier will do a good job of keeping illegal immigrants out? Explain.
5. Besides the barrier, what other measures are in place to keep illegal immigrants from trespassing?
Some areas use closely spaced concrete pillars instead of steel mesh for the second fence. And the last 150 yards or so — leading into the sea — is made of steel pillars sunk into the sand.
Q: Has the San Diego border fence proven effective? Or are immigrants finding ways around it?
The Border Patrol uses the number of apprehensions (when the border patrol catches an illegal immigrant) to determine success. It's the best statistic available, but it's a somewhat crude figure, because every time someone is caught, that's considered an apprehension. The same person could be apprehended 10 times, then make it into the United States on the 11th try. But using that measure, the San Diego fence has been highly effective. Apprehensions along the fenced area went down from 100,000 in 1993 to 5,000 in 2005. Some people still try to cross, often scaling the fences using rope or steel ladders. And last January, agents discovered a tunnel more than 2,000 feet long and 85 feet beneath the surface that was being used by drug smugglers.
On the other hand, the number of people illegally crossing the entire U.S. border since the fence was built has actually increased. People have been entering through Arizona, New Mexico and Texas, and the fee for being smuggled in has skyrocketed during the last decade. Crossers say they used to pay a couple hundred dollars to a guide; now, it costs a couple thousand dollars.
STOP and JOT!
6. Has the fence worked? Explain.
7. How else are people entering the country now?
Critics such as author Douglas Massey say barriers have disrupted previous patterns of migration: People used to come to the United States to work for a time and then returned home to Mexico. He and others say the increased cost and risk of crossing means that more undocumented immigrants are staying in the United States permanently and bringing their families with them. More importantly, an estimated 3,600 people have died trying to cross the border — mostly of heat or cold exposure in the Arizona desert.
STOP and JOT!
8. Why do illegal immigrants remain in the U.S now?
Q: What measures are currently being used in other areas?
Urban areas on the border in Arizona (Yuma, Nogales, Naco and Douglas) currently use fencing constructed out of airplane landing mats. Outside of urban areas and along much of the rest of the border, the physical boundary consists of barbed-wire fencing. A "virtual fence" is slowly being built using vehicle barriers, motion-detecting ground sensors, remote-controlled cameras, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles, and Border Patrol agents driving all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles and SUVs.
Q: Who is opposing the plan? What's the thrust of their criticisms?
Critics say security is a specious argument for building a border fence. They wonder why the same barriers aren't being suggested for the Canadian border, where potential terrorists have actually been caught. They say barriers help curb illegal immigration only where they are put, because people find ways around them. Environmentalists also note that extending security infrastructure into the Arizona desert will imperil fragile ecosystems. The Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge and Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument have been damaged by both illegal immigrants and Border Patrol vehicles. Impenetrable fencing, critics say, also blocks migration paths for mountain lions, coyotes, deer and other wildlife. And American Indian tribes in the region worry that the fence will prevent their people from crossing the border as they have traditionally done.
STOP and JOT!
9. Where have terrorists been caught?
10. Why do YOU think of the government wanting a fence between Mexico and the U.S. but not Canada and the U.S?
11. What are some other reasons for opposing the fence?
Literary Focus
Diction
Definition:
Informal diction / Formal diction / SlangCHANGE the Diction, KEEP the Message!
1. Please sit in your seat
2. May I borrow a pencil?
3. His home is very nice.
4. Please keep your voice down.
5. He be drawn.
6. Bye girl.
7. You joe.
8. I do not feel like going to class today.
9. She hype.
10. I did not find the story entertaining.
Literary Focus:
Tone
Definition:
Some tone words:
1. accusatory-charging of wrong doing
2. apathetic-indifferent due to lack of energy or concern
3. awe-solemn wonder
4. bitter-exhibiting strong animosity as a result of pain or grief
5. cynical-questions the basic sincerity and goodness of people
6. condescension; condescending-a feeling of superiority
7. callous-unfeeling, insensitive to feelings of others
8. contemplative-studying, thinking, reflecting on an issue
9. critical-finding fault
10. choleric-hot-tempered, easily angered
11. contemptuous-showing or feeling that something is worthless or lacks respect
12. caustic-intense use of sarcasm; stinging, biting
13. conventional-lacking spontaneity, originality, and individuality
14. disdainful-scornful
15. didactic-author attempts to educate or instruct the reader
16. derisive-ridiculing, mocking
17. earnest-intense, a sincere state of mind
18. erudite-learned, polished, scholarly
19. fanciful-using the imagination
20. forthright-directly frank without hesitation
21. gloomy-darkness, sadness, rejection
Example of an accusatory tone:
It was broad daylight and she just sat there while they robbed that boy. Just sat there. Unbelievable.
Example of an apathetic tone:
From a lawn chair, the woman watched the men approach the boy. They held him at gun-point and took his money. After they were done, she walked to the kitchen and took out some frozen chicken. Dinner for this evening.
Summarize the main events of “Geraldo No Last Name”
______
1. Exactly what do you know about the character Geraldo? What inferences can you make about the kind of person he was?
2. At the end of the story Cisneros says “they” never saw certain aspects of Geraldo’s life? Who are they?
3. How would you describe Cisnero’s diction and tone in the story?
4. What do you think the theme of the story is? Explain.
1