Post #3, Real Life Farm Patrol

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/beyondtheborder/immigration.html (Research to the History of Immigration) 

http://www.pbs.org/itvs/beyondtheborder/story.html (The Story)

In our world and Farmer's futuristic time period, both borders are relentless and secure. With the exception of minor differences to the country's landscape and story line, both Celia and the Ayala brothers share an equivalence with their two different journeys. 

As we listen to "Celia's Story" in chapter 14, it becomes very clear to readers how the people of Aztlan earned a living. For Celia, she had to leave her family to work in "...that gray building forever, getting older and older." - pg. 141

Wouldn't it be harsh if you had to sit day after day with your back hurting from crouching over an assembly line with a pair of tweezers in your hand? The only thing that could be on your mind would be FREEDOM, posted up like a giant billboard sign. To leave her fate to this stranger that could give her what she desired would be like jumping into the dark without a light. Perhaps this is what leads Celia to trust a coyote. It might have been her only chance to escape to the country of lights and free will. Her travel through illegal immigration reflects the immigration in 1994, when the border patrol was reinforced. Like Celia and the other workers escaping through the mountains, "Militarizing the border with more border patrol agents and resources has forced immigrants to cross through the Imperial Desert or over the mountains north of Tecate."

Celia's mindset for independence is similar to the Ayala brother's story. They too search for a better lifestyle, and move to Kentucky to find jobs to support their parents and sisters they left behind. One brother still suffers from alcohol addiction even after taking a rehabilitation program, and two of the brothers had to sell their instruments they both quit the band they created.

What I found most similar to the four brothers and Celia was how their journey to the United States ended. Both stories ended up kind of like the other because of certain limitations. Celia was given her life back instead of being turned into an eejit, but lost her freedom mentally. This was because she now knew she would always belong to El Patron. For the Ayala brothers, they gained the access into the U.S. but each brother had something they lost. For the brothers, discrimination by race and culture has put them in different jobs and status, while Celia is discriminated by El Patron because she now is like a simple object one holds on to. Farmer's "the House of the Scorpion" has really adapted historic events and details into the book.