Charles Thompson's Border Odyssey
In the novel Border Odyssey, Professor Charles Thompson travels along the Mexican-US border with his wife and other travel companions to better understand the relationship between the two countries. Even though Thompson had traveled to different areas of the border before, this was his first trip attempting to cover its entirety. Thompson is currently a professor at Duke and spends a portion of his trip with students involved in an immigration experience for the summer. Much of his life’s work has been about understanding the flow of migrants into the United States, the push and pull factors the draw them in and what little can keep them out. Thompson’s encounters with people on both sides of the border give the audience an understanding of
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There one can see that through his writing how invested he is in the issues that affect the immigrant community, and the work that he has done to advocate for people who can’t on their own. His use of imagery and vivid language is very helpful to personalize the problems that many people may be distant from. In the chapter The Graves of the Unknown Farmworkers Thompson goes to see the graves of people who died in a horrible flood. This is the first time that he is up close and personal with physical representation of the death that results from the dangerous immigration through the Mexican border. He makes himself listen “to their unspoken stories”(279) even though part of him wants to leave. He has seen historical landmarks and met with people helping the cause, but this is the first encounter that leaves him speechless and that arguably hearts him in the most visceral way. He does a great job of helping his audience see from his point of you and see how the issues in the novel affect the lives of individuals that he meets with. There is also the clear sentiment that Thompson wants people in the US to work with the Mexican people to stop this problem when he says that, “we have to fight this…but we have to do it together. It affects both sides” (80). His work with the immigrant organizations and the students that he brings to learn about the cause are some of the first steps to bringing both sides
There one can see that through his writing how invested he is in the issues that affect the immigrant community, and the work that he has done to advocate for people who can’t on their own. His use of imagery and vivid language is very helpful to personalize the problems that many people may be distant from. In the chapter The Graves of the Unknown Farmworkers Thompson goes to see the graves of people who died in a horrible flood. This is the first time that he is up close and personal with physical representation of the death that results from the dangerous immigration through the Mexican border. He makes himself listen “to their unspoken stories”(279) even though part of him wants to leave. He has seen historical landmarks and met with people helping the cause, but this is the first encounter that leaves him speechless and that arguably hearts him in the most visceral way. He does a great job of helping his audience see from his point of you and see how the issues in the novel affect the lives of individuals that he meets with. There is also the clear sentiment that Thompson wants people in the US to work with the Mexican people to stop this problem when he says that, “we have to fight this…but we have to do it together. It affects both sides” (80). His work with the immigrant organizations and the students that he brings to learn about the cause are some of the first steps to bringing both sides