by a scene in which Rosa decides to wash a white woman's clothes by hand because she cannot figure out how to work the high-tech washing machine. To Rosa, it is natural and normal to wash clothes by hand, but to the white woman, it is horrible to even think of someone "scrubbing like that."
In their old country, despite the invasion of hostile soldiers, Enrique and Rosa were accustomed to sticking together and helping friends and family members out. Their experience in America, however, "lays bare the treacherousness of the American dream, where, in the struggle for survival, the individual is tempted increasingly to think only of himself" (Thomas 1). Unlike life in the Guatemalan village, the youngsters in America must work hard to earn just enough money to survive. In the course of the film, Enrique begins identifying with the values of the American culture. Thus, when Nacha confronts him with the news that Rosa is dying, and Enrique answers that he cannot visit his sister because he must leave immediately for Chicago, Nacha answers: "Rosa i
...