Assignment 4-1: Weekly Written Analysis

A Real Life Hero: Cesar Estrada Chávez (1927 - 2003)

The word Hero means to me a person who cares about people, also a person that is courage and determined or a person who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. And that is why Cesar Estrada Chavez is a hero in the Hispanic Community. According to Ray Browne (1983), “Heroes concentrate the power of people, of a nation, and serve as the muscle for the movement and development of a people” (pp.16).

Cesar Estrada Chavez was born in Yuma, Arizona in 1927. During the depression era, his family was abused and obligated to sell their farm and leave. His family moved to Sacramento, California and Mr. Chavez grew up there. In 1962 he started his activist movement against racism and financial injustices. He founded the National Farm Workers Association. Since then, he fought for farm workers’ rights. He demanded better conditions for those workers, mostly composed by Hispanic immigrants. After many years, his hard work became a reality; many states modified their laws obligating farm employers to provide benefits such as medical coverage, retirement plans, and fair wages without discriminating the employees because of its ethnicity.

Nowadays, Mr. Chavez has become an icon within the Hispanic community in the United States because according to Ray Browne (2005). “An icon symbolizes what hard work can accomplish”. (pp.54). Also, he represents a change in history and a change for Hispanic families towards the American Dream. According to Ray Browne (1983), “Heroes represents the consensus of the dreams, fantasies, self evaluations, and needs of individuals and of society itself” (pp.16). That is why Mr. Chavez is a hero.

References:

Ray Browne. (2005). Hero with 2000 faces. In R. Browne. Profiles of popular culture (pp. 16- 23) Madison, Wisconsin

Ray Browne. (2005). Hero with 2000 faces. In R. Browne. Profiles of popular culture (pp. 54-55) Madison, Wisconsin

Sylvia Cochran. (2008). Hero Cesar Chavez. Civil right site. Retrieved on December 1, 2008, from, http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art32934.asp