Lost Worlds Essay

Some Americans remember where they came from; others don’t. That’s the case in Daniel Chacon’s story â€Å"The Biggest City in the World†. It is a story about Harvey Gomez who is a Mexican American young man whose grandparents migrated to the Unites States from Mexico. Harvey has only been to Mexico once in his entire life and neither of his parents has ever been there before. Therefore he doesn’t know anything about his native culture or language. In this story Harvey travels deep inside of Mexico for the first time with his Mexican history Professor David P. Rogstart and gets exposed to its culture and language. On the contrary, Carolina Hospital’s poem â€Å"Finding Home† is about Mexicans who were born in Mexico and later migrated to America. When Harvey arrives in Mexico he tries to distance himself from the country’s culture. In fact, shortly after he comes out of his hotel room the first place that he goes to is La Zona Rosa because â€Å"The expensive shops, Gucci, Polo, Yves St. Laurent, relaxed him because they reminded him of Beverly Hills† (Chacon 58). Harvey is going to places in Mexico that he is familiar with back in the United States and is not trying to explore his heritage. Perhaps this is because he doesn’t feel like he is a Mexican and that he is only an American. After all, he was born and raised in the United States by parents who have never been to Mexico themselves. Harvey eventually gets exposed to ancient Aztec monuments when he runs into Professor Rogstart who is viewing stone carvings. As Harvey decides to take a closer look at the stone carvings, he is seeing history of his heritage and begins to compare it. Gomez wondered how many Aztecs were scared into believing in their gods, like his father tried to make him believe in Jesus and the Virgin Mary† (Chacon 60). He starts thinking how the Aztecs were raised up into worshiping their gods in Mexico and how his father brought him up into believing in God in America. Harvey learns about the Spanish Conquest of Mexico and begins to ask Professor Rogstart questions. He gives him honest answers â€Å"Rogstart, feeling a professorial obligation, explained to Gomez the meaning of each panel, each symbol, giving such fine details† (Chacon 61). During the explanation, Harvey feels a sense of pride in his heritage. You can tell that Harvey now wants to learn more about his past; however, he is still struggling to accept his heritage. As Harvey continues his journey in Mexico, he repeatedly distances himself from the Mexicans. Harvey is reacting this way because he is attached to money. That will soon come to an end as Harvey himself loses all of his money. â€Å"He slipped his hand into his pocket for his roll of bills† (Chacon 63). After he realizes that he is broke, he starts to panic. Harvey’s immediate reaction is to find his money no matter what it takes, but when he does not find it, Harvey starts to feel the same way the Mexicans did when they begged him for money. This is the first time that he feels this way because he was raised in America where money is a major influence in life. When it looks like it will be the end of his journey in Mexico, he discovers it is beginning. Harvey enters a taxi and tells the driver â€Å"Take me to the Zona Rosa† (Chacon 65). During the ride, Harvey is relaxed and begins to feel like a Mexican deep in his heart. When it seems that he is going to continue his denial, he tells the driver â€Å"Take me to Chapultepec Park† (Chacon 66). The cab driver is surprised and Harvey laughs telling him that he wants to explore Mexico. Harvey finally ends the denial of his Mexican heritage and goes on to explore Mexico. The poem â€Å"Finding Home† written by Carolina Hospital tells the story of how Mexicans who come to America try to find their heritage in the United States. Like many who migrate to America, the immigrants miss their country and are concerned about losing their culture. In contrast to Harvey Gomez, this poem shows that many Mexicans in America appreciate their heritage. â€Å"I have travelled north again,/to these gray skies/and empty doorways,† (Hospital 101). This shows that they miss their native country and are concerned about forgetting their heritage. Perhaps Harvey’s grandparents thought the same thing when they first came to America from Mexico. Regardless of their arrival in America, they want to return to Mexico someday. â€Å"I must travel again soon† (Hospital 102). Despite leaving their ative land they have respect for Mexico and will visit again. After the experience that Harvey had in discovering his heritage, I am sure that he will visit Mexico again. Daniel Chacon is clearly making a statement that Mexican immigrants whose kids are born and raised in America forget their own culture. In the story Harvey Gomez is denying his heritage and was embarrassed at times to admit that he is Mexican. This is because he barely knows anything about Mexico and doesn’t even speak the language. Eventually Harvey accepts who he is and discovers his heritage throughout the story. I believe that Chacon wants to demonstrate how important it is for people to know where they come from and not to forget who they are. Carolina Hospital indicates that Mexican immigrants in America continue to appreciate their heritage. In her poem the Mexicans are not embarrassed to admit where they come from. The Mexicans embrace their heritage and plan on visiting Mexico. I believe that Hospital wants to demonstrate that Mexicans immigrants do appreciate their heritage. However the fact is that no matter where people come from they must appreciate their heritage.