文档介绍：Journal #4 Caramelo
As I read on through the book, I noticed how appealing to Americans was
something that Inocencio sought to always do, whether in Chicago or in Texas. In
Chicago, he desperately wanted to get out of jail, and what better way than to
enlist in the army? When he first learned how to speak English, he translated his
Spanish directly; to show his appreciation he would always say “you are very
kind, thank you..” when in the United States the “muy amable” that often follows a
thank you in Mexico is rarely included after the thank you. This take on language
was very interesting because in the beginning Lala would explain how her father
and his brothers would not umb to their bosses, but it seems that Inocencio
did in fact cater to Americans. This is a stereotype that I’ve seen in the United
States: how Mexicans are hard workers who due to language and class barriers
placent within their jobs as long as they could keep it. This was the case
in Texas. In order to do a sale, Inocencio catered to the white man by telling him
“white lies” about how he knew his father in the army from the same base. Since
this of course made his customer happy, he was able to smoothly make business
and keep his work going. These lies were unapproved by his wife, who is
unexperienced in the workforce and therefore, I conclude, she doesn’t realize the
ne