Why The Caged Bird Sings

1- This text is a press article taken from the American international news magazine "Newsweek", written by Alan Zarembo and published on the 10th September, 2001. The passage is entitled « Why thecaged bird sings », it focuses on the story of Ana, a Mexican woman immigrant who has left her country to settle illegally on the United States and who has succeed to climb up the social ladder, she nowenjoys a high standard of living. 

2- The main character of the article is Ana, an American woman of 35 years old, native of Mexico where lives her family.

Ana lives in America to try to climbup the social ladder, but she can’t afford to keep her children with her for the life in America is expensive, that’s why she lives separated with her family. However she tries to send some presentsfor her children, despite her small wage. 

3- Ana has get to the US at 29 years old. Crossing the border was risky, at first, she was undocumented and unskilled. To reach New York City, Ana crawledinto the United States through a moonlit drainpipe, trudged across the Arizona desert, scrunched onto the floor of a car to Los Angeles and landed at La Guardia Airport with almost nothing. But shewas motivated by the American dream, that is to say, people who started poor and became rich and famous. Contrary to her mother country, Mexico, where Ana lived below the poverty line, her standard ofliving was low and her living conditions were appalling.

4- When Ana is arrived in America, she was obliged to work illegally but when she has found a job , the working conditions were very hard,12 hour a day, six days a week for 200$ a week. However, a day, Ana met Christina, who offered her a job cleaning her studio apartment and introduced her to friends who also needed maids. Soon Ana hadenough clients to quit the laundry business. Since, Ana has evolve, she has normal conditions working with a good wage.

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