Crossing the Wire Book Analysis Essay Example

Crossing the Wire is a book about a boy named Victor who travels from Mexico to the United States. Victor’s family is struggling with ways to find money and basic needs. When the price of corn drops to almost nothing Victor is forced to travel North like his friend Rico did. Victor’s father died traveling to the USA and Victor is afraid that he will suffer the same fate. Victor gets bus money from a priest near El Christo Rey and decides to travel north by way of bus. Halfway through the bus ride, police stop the bus and force Victor off. Victor escapes the police and travels on foot until he reaches a train station. He hops on a freight train heading north and injures himself getting off. After he escapes the hospital, he hops on another freight train. This time, he goes with a boy about his age who tells him some pointers on how to get on and off the trains. They end up in a village called Nogales. Victor follows a person who is going over the border alone. He gets caught and sent back over to Nogales. In Nogales he finds Rico and the two exchange their stories. Rico secretly signs them both up as drug mules so they can get coyote money. Halfway through the desert, they hear that the leaders are going to kill them. They escape into the desert, travel through the mountains to La Perra Flacca, and from there find work in El Norte. 

Victor Flores is the main character, the book is about his journey to the USA. Victor makes friends along the way, meets up with old friends, and travels with complete strangers to the north. He finds ways to provide for his family and help them to survive in Mexico. Victor’s family has struggled a lot because his father’s dead and the price of corn has fallen. Victor is forced to find work and provide for his family. He travels through rugged mountains, low valleys, dry deserts, and other rugged terrain just to get to the border. He doesn’t want to go north, but he knows he needs to support his family and is determined to do it. Victor shows courage, knowledge, and a variety of skills and emotions on his journey.

Crossing the Wire is a very good story about the struggles of life in poor countries. It deals with a lot of people’s real life experiences about both being poor and about immigrating, legally or illegally, to other countries. We enjoy reading the book and reading about experiences people probably had when they were traveling to the United States. Victor, Julio, Rico, Miguel, and other characters made decisions based on the situation. Some decisions we agreed with, others we disagreed with. Overall, the book was a good book. There were many parts that were very suspenseful and others that you could predict would happen. The many detailed scenes and characters make this book a very good novel.