Displacement and the Travails in “Trespass” and “Leslie in California”

Excerpts from the Paper

Displacement and the Travails in “Trespass” and “Leslie in California”
The two stories, “Trespass” by Julia Alvarez and “Leslie in California” by Andre
Dubus
, are stories about displacement and the travails experienced by women in relationship to males in new environments. In “Trespass”, Carla, a young girl in the earliest stages of puberty, and her family experience the travails of new immigrants to the United States from an unspecified Spanish-speaking country. They sought a better life but experienced fear adjusting to a new language and foreign culture. Carla, in particular, experiences the problem of men and boys abusing her as they recognize her naiveté as she tries to adjust to a new culture and language. Leslie, in the second...

.....oman with financial means if she should leave her abusive husband. It is difficult to judge other people’s situations when one’s personal experience may not match theirs. Therefore, it is difficult to decide which woman deserves more of society’s sympathy. Nevertheless, since Leslie is a full adult she has more capability to protect herself than does Carla as a young girl in a traditional Latino family. As a result, the greater sympathy should be expressed for Carla and her situation.
Works Cited:
Alvarez, J. “Trespass”.
Introduction to Literature.
Ed. Peter
Austin. Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011.
8-17.
Dubus
, A. “Leslie in California”.
Introduction to Literature.
Ed. Peter Austin.
Boston: Pearson Learning Solutions, 2011.
69-73.