My life

My life My life

Oh how it's changing

I need to finish school

Because here comes my baby

My wife has been trippin

"Choose your friends wisely"

Guess im going to spill it out

There is no since in hiding

This poem is from the eyes of the main character Chino. The second half of the book, Chino has a lot going on in his life. There are a lot of thing on his plate and he seems a bit stressed. Eventually he gives in to his wife questioning him and just spills out. He is short, and to the point, just like this poem. This poem is from the eyes of Chino, and also relates to his lifestyle in this part in the story. This is a huge turning point in the novel.

Part 1 Separation, the poem.

Separation
Sapo arrived when I needed him
My childhood was a childhood with Sapo.
He backed me up, he kept me safe.
A life with Sapo is now is a life of danger.
I should be getting my education,
I should be spending time with Blanca,
But I owe Sapo.
It's hard to split the two.
Blanca wont look at Sapo,
Sapo wont look at Blanca,
My life, divided.
With Sapo Blanca is only an object,
With Blanca Sapo is just an old friend.
My life, destroying itself.

My marriage, and it's creation jump within her whom.
She doesn't respect me, so I don't respect her.
Sapo is a dangerous fool,
and Pentecostals are crazy.
But I married her knowing she's a Pentecostal,
and she married me knowing I had Sapo.
Even still, it tears us apart.


This poem shows the conflict between Sapo and Blanca through specific quotes from the text.  The reader can see Enrique's closeness to Sapo and the conflict he has between his two lives when he says, "Sapo had arrived at a time when I needed someone there, next to me, so I could feel valuable.  My childhood and adolescent life had been made up of times with him, as I later wanted my adult life to be made up of times with Blanca.  It was hard to split the two"(11).  Enrique's disrespect for Blanca's religion is shown through out the story: "'Blanca, no Christ right now alright?' This upset her"(21).  The stress that Sapo is placing on their marriage is shown most prominently when Blanca feels a pain in her whom: "'A friend of Sapo is a friend of mine,' I said, and Blanca shot me an evil look, then pointedly clasped her rounded belly"(21).

http://www.metrolyrics.com/its-the-hardknock-life-lyrics-annie.html

This song related a lot to the first section of the reading. Chino and his girl friend Blanca live in a neighborhood, "El Barrio" which appears to be a very dangerous neighborhood. It is not a good fit for the couple as they attend college and take care of the pregnant Blanca. In the first half the novel, Chino is involved in some of the bad things that occur in the neighborrhood. This is why I think this song ties in with the novel. The song It's The Hard-knock Life talks about the life of a people who live in below average living conditons. The hard life they live is described and painted a picture similar to the neighborhood "El Barrio." When living in neighborhoods like this, it is easy to get in trouble, as we see with Chino. My favorite part in the song is,


Don't it seem like there's
never any light!
Once a day, don't you wannathrow the towel in?

It's easier than puttin' up a fight.

These lines run hand in hand with the struggle of Chino in balancing his life. Sometimes he feels like he owes Sapo something, and the other time he feels as if he owes his wife something.