Temporary Happiness

Personally, I liked the second half of the novel more than the first. I think the relationship that forms between Enrique and his mother is one of the most intriguing relationships in the novel.  Alongside Enrique, the readers discovered the problems that come with building a strong mother to son relationship. I came to the conclusion that Enrique perfectly examples how fantasizing about a destination can lead to a harsh fall when reality hits.

Since Enrique has been fantasizing about meeting his mother for so long, their reuniting wasn’t all it cracked up to be. In the beginning, Enrique and his mother worked on building a strong relationship: “Whenever he leaves the house, she hugs him. When she comes home from work, they sit on the couch, watching her favorite soap opera, with her hand resting on his arm” (Nazario 194). After he got to experience how a true family interacts for a while, Enrique became frustrated and turns to bad decisions to cope. I think the initial excitement and joy overshadowed the hidden problems that were still left to deal with between Enrique and his mother. After the initial “honeymoon” phase ended, unsolved conflicts and emotions were all that was left to remain.