Stop. This isn't a Game

As I write this, I am in no way trying to make this journey and history less of what it is. I am simply taking from it what I have been convinced is being portrayed in the first half of the novel and my opinion thereof.

There is a reason why people try multiple times to reach their goal: determination. With road blocks and restarts in the way, it is usually very hard to reach a goal on the first try. This process is almost like a video game. The avatar is trying to reach its goal but there could be road blocks that cause it to loose energy. There could also be authorities that cause the avatar to click that reset button and begin at the start. However, there is the possibility that the avatar gains energy from a spontaneous coin of some sorts. In this scenario, Enrique is the avatar. The goal is to find his mother in the United States of America. Road blocks could be anything from waiting for a train, being beaten by gangs, or robbed by bandits. Road blocks decrease the energy left in Enrique along the journey: “It drains the little energy he has left,” (Nazario 82). The reset button is automatically clicked when the authorities, la migra, capture Enrique and deport him back to Guatemala. Enrique can gain energy by traveling with the gangs, quite like he did with El Brujo: “he always stuck with one of these gang members to protect himself from any attacks” (85). Because of the roles that these characters play, it is accurate to parallel this journey to a game.

The authorities make the reader believe that to them it is just a game or another day at work. The people they deport are nothing to them but avatars, and they could do with them however they would like to. La migra have the power to click that reset button on any migrant they want to. They get to change that person’s life by deporting them. They can also end the migrant’s life whenever they feel the need to. This reality is corrupt, but “If you speak out too much against police corruption, you wake up with a machete in your back,” (49). The problem is that to the authorities, this is just an avatar. This person isn't worth anything. They value the life of others so loosely, but in reality a life is worth everything. The truth is, it’s not a game. The people that are killed on a day to day bases have dreams, have family, have a home that are all ended at the brunt of a blow, or the pull of a trigger. The migrant can be reset by deportation, but how many times does that happen until the migrant is killed? In a game, you have as many lives as it takes to reach your goal. In reality, you only have one. Enrique only has one life. Sure, he has had many resets, but will he reach his goal? “He tells himself over and over that he’ll just have to try again,” (60). How many times is he going to try until a mistake for his life makes him actually want the deportation?

In reality, it is easy to not accept the resets that life throws at you, like: moving to a new school or learning to do things differently because of a disability. But how many times have you done something that you regret and you've actually wanted a reset?