And The Earth Did Not Devour Him Analysis

Set after World War II, from about 1945 to 1955, the stories and vignettes that make up … And the Earth Did Not Devour Him show the racism and discrimination Chicano migrant workers encountered, even among their peers. Rivera explores the effects of economic and social injustice. While there is much suffering and uncertainty in many of the stories, Rivera also emphasizes the resilience and determination of the migrant workers. Religion and faith play important roles in their lives as do family and community. In addition, Rivera underscores the importance of education as a means of liberation for farm workers and their children. Several stories in the book are specifically about education.
Tierra [ . . . And the Earth Did Not Devour Him] is a novel about sorrow and sadness.
Rivera’s storytelling technique has been called “fragmented” because he presents incomplete or isolated bits of information. This method allows him to cover a large range of experiences without the normal constraints of a chronologically ordered series of events. The structure of the novel seeks to mimic the way in which memory works and to present the feelings of disorientation––of feeling lost––experienced by many of the migrant workers as they struggle to make sense of a culture that is sometimes very different from their own. Together, the anecdotes and stories vividly depict a community’s struggle against incredible odds. THE TIME AND PLACE . . . And the Earth Did Not Devour Him takes place during the late 1940’s and early 1950s, a time when many Mexicans came to the United States to work. During World War II, many Americans enlisted in the armed forces, and so there was an increased demand for workers within the American labor force. The bracero (“manual labor”) program, negotiated by the United States and Mexico in 1942, made short-term employment available to Mexicans in job areas that were previously closed to them. Over the next five years, more