Jeanne Guerin
English 20-41
Journal One
11 September 2003

Alienation and Connection in Cultures

    Looking into the lives of two young men in “Oranges” and “The Levee,” both by Gary Soto, and also “Gardenland, Sacramento, California,” by Michael Nava, different feelings and scenarios of both connection and alienation are described. Comparing and contrasting, many of the reasons which caused alienation were also reasons for connection. While in some ways something made one of the young men feel alienated, in another viewing he also felt connected by the same thing, making what I will call a “double feeler.”
    Being poor, Mexican and living in the outskirts of a city were double feelers of both young men. A young boy of twelve years old wanted to buy a candy for his girl, but wasn’t able to afford it. He “took the nickel from my pocket, then an orange, and set them quietly on the counter” (Soto 24). Not able to afford the candy, the boy kept quiet so his girl would not know, but when “the lady’s eyes met mine, and held them [the orange and nickel], knowing very well what it was all about” (Soto 24), he felt in a way connected by how the lady understood where he was coming from and then also accepted it.
    Being of Mexican decent made both of the young men both alienated and connected to their surroundings. On one side, they lived in a bubble. Everyone outside of their area looked different and had different names. They lived different lifestyles and their homes were furnished with different types of furniture. At the same time, having the similar names, the same colored skin, the same living style, the same homes, all of this created a sort of unity amongst the people. Family was close knit and children were free to roam. In both trust and poverty, “my grandparents did not lock their doors at night-who did? What was there to steal?” (Nava 149).
    As much as the boys disliked being “stuck” in their ethnic traditions and ways, being stuck brought a connection with the others in their community, especially family. In all the ways they spoke badly of their family’s ways, those ways are also what bonded everyone together. Even though at times the young men would feel alienated and alone from neighbors and their society, all the while they were still connected as well.

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