Zoo Island

     

      “Zoo Island” by Tomas Rivera is about a Mexican Migrant worker, Jose, who decides to take a census count. Jose is fifteen years old and probably immigrated from Mexico to find work during the Great Depression. In his story, Tomas tells about Jose and his family moving from farm to farm to work, and living in deplorable conditions like chicken coops. Jose and his friends take the census count, and find out that there are more people in their little community, than the small town where they buy their groceries. They also decide to put numbers on the chicken coops so the families can have their mail delivered to them. Even though the people were already getting their mail, it probably made them feel different than the other people living next to them in their chicken coops. The town next to them had churches, dance halls, stores, and even a little school, but their community had none of that. However, after Jose took the census count, I think it made everyone feel special.

      In the story “Zoo Island,” one of the characters that got a lot of attention was an old man named Don Simon. Though at a first glance, he may not seem important, he does a lot for the story. One, he adds the conflict that every story needs. Without Don Simon, everyone would have been like, “yeah cool we’re all okay with taking the census, let’s make this story like one for a three year old where nothing happens!” Also, it seems as if Don Simon knows more then Jose. Jose may think there is power in numbers, but Don Simon knows better, He knows that they are all Mexican and that racism is frequent in their time. So though Jose is full of ignorance and bliss, Don Simon knows about the cruelties of the world.