Crossing the Wire by Will Hobbs

Crossing the wire is a story about the journey of a young Mexican crossing the border from Mexico to the United States. Victor the main character starts his journey to the United States out of necessity. He was the man of the family at an early age because his father had passed away working in the United States. His journey was long and hard for a young man of 15 years. Who did not give up through being cheated and beat, because it was the only way he would be able to provide for his family. Victor had widowed mother, four sisters, and the youngest his little brother, six mouths to feed. He learns a lot through his journey, and meets many others with similar or different stories and reasons of why they have the desire to cross the border, to the land of opportunity. 

We learn about the hardships that people have financially in their own country, strong enough to make one leave everything they know to provide for their loved ones, risking their lives in the process. Finally after a long journey, with hardships he is able to cross the border and find a job in Washington State, working in an asparagus field where he is able to send his family money to survive through the hunger and poor conditions. He plans to stay working in the US as long as he can to help his family finically and is very happy and proud.

Crossing the border is a very dangerous and scary thing when you are undocumented, you risk crossing all the hardships in the book and so much more now. Like in the book after the September 11 attack America has added much more security on their borders, making it more dangerous and expensive than before. 

Growing up I had heard many stories about how hard it is to cross the border. Starting with my parents. Victor from Crossing the Wire reminded me of my father. My father crossed the border illegally at the age of 16 years old. My father had the same thing in mind as victor, being able to provide for his family. It is very hard to make a living working hard in Mexico my dad has told me many times. He had heard of many coming to “el Norte” to progress in life. My father left his country to better himself through hard work, and has accomplished that. 

My father worked nonstop 7 days a week for 5 years with his brothers. He sent money to my grandparents, and his sisters. My father has 7 brothers and 6 sisters. Working in Los Angeles he said it was hard at first getting a job, but he got a job at a meat processing factory. He saved enough money in five years to go back to his beloved country and build a small home for when he married. He married my mother a few years later. And had my older sister, then hard times started coming again. My father said that coming to the US would give me a better and easier future, since he had worked and lived in Los Angeles and knew that life across the border was a better place for those who did have documentation.

Once back in Los Angeles my father found it hard to find a job again since the meat factory where he had worked at had closed down. Like the main character in the story we heard from a relative that there was work in Washington State. I was born in Yakima, WA and have lived through many hardships being in the US, I know making a living is hard. 

I was born in the US and know that I have lots of opportunity to succeed, but also lots of opportunity to fall behind as well.  Just like victor you need to have that motivation to get you through your struggles, mine is my parents. Because they have worked very hard to give to my sisters and I all the opportunities they never had in their country.

I was good about the ending of the story even though Victor’s childhood friend decided to go back after all his suffering to cross the border. Many people are instilled about a great place that America is and that money grows on trees. But once they see that it is only though hard work that you will succeed, they give up, or try to find an easy way to make money, but its not always the right way, like the book shows, with people working smuggling drugs and with Rico's brother being a dishonest man in his work.

Sometimes undocumented people lose faith that their hard work will get them to where they want, and end up in bad places or circumstances in life. 

There are many paths that one can take in life, as I have learned staying close to your faith and family, being determined and working hard and having a reason to work hard is the only way you will succeed in a place like America.