Jose Saavedra

Reading Response Journal #5

1)

We are greeted in the beginning of chapter Four Rules of the Road in a very formal matter,

Efren Mendoza a bus driver gives a a detail description of his job and his routes. As the chapter
progresses you can tell he is very proud not so much on his job but on is ability to follow the rules and the
fact that he never lies. He explains his upbringings, his father Manny was in the Echo Park Locos gang
and so was his brother Manny Jr., both of them wanted him to join the gang but he didn't want to. At the
age of fourteen he ran away from home after getting jumped by his brother, he worked 16 hour work
days. He then goes on to almost boast about how he makes $53,000 a year and how he has no time for
marriage or sex, he dated a co-worker Carol but then the broke-up, he was bitter and told Carols
supervisor she was bringing her child on the bus and got her fired. He has another experience with a
women which we can assume to be Felicia and how he assumes that she is interested in him but in reality
is just making chitchat. He then rants about Mexicans (which he is) and even calls them derogatory terms
like wetbacks and mojados, and how they are not assimilating to american culture, and that they are
taking having too many babies and taking his tax dollars to have more babies, he also feels that they are
too picky on what jobs they take. He has an immense hatred towards them, to the extent that he refuses to
speak spanish. He then Explains the divide between Mexican (which from this point on calls them
exclusively mojados) and African-Americans (he refers to them as blacks or thugs). He then tells us of the
event he was referring about in the beginning of the chapter, where one day on his bus an AfricanAmerican boy and a Mexican man fought and he kicked off the boy from the bus, the boy then ran after
the bus and Efren ran him over accidentally and killed him, a crowed quickly appeared mostly AfricanAmericans. The accident and the fight were all recorded, the crowd blamed Efren and a random Mexican,
Efren then went in the bus and started the bus and went away which was against the rules but he then tries
to rationalize his actions. He let people off , even the man that started the fight on the bus and for some
reason still drives the bus and picks up a man and takes him where ever he wanted to go.

2) This was a chapter that brought out many responses, especially because of Efren attitude towards
Mexicans and his belief that he is better then so many people because of his strict following of the rules,
even if its not the right thing to do. One thing that really angered me was how he never blamed himself
for anything, like his failed relationships like with Carol and how she wasn't good enough for him
because she didn't follow the rule by bringing her children in the bus, or how a house cleaner which we
assume is Felicia was taking advantage of him by flirting with him which she wasnt, HE just believed
that and when he finally asked her out and she rejected him, he somehow felt cheated on as if she was just
using him. He then gets back at both of these women who wronged him by getting Carol Fired and
stopped stoping at the street she worked which made her walk three huge blocks. Something that got me
very passionate about this chapter was how Efren has not sympathy towards mexicans when it comes to
living the American dream because they don't assimilate, because they don't work hard enough, HOW
DARE HE. Why should someone lose there cultural identity just to be successful or to pleas you, why
should they speak english to you just because, even though you can speak english, like if you (Efren)
were ashamed to speak spanish, to be associated with them, why should they change themselves, learn a
new language, lower there working standards just because YOU did, because you wanted to change. Im a
Mexican, and a proud one, I speak both Spanish and English, my parents don't they only know spanish
they are the most hard working people I know and when I read this chapter I kept putting my parents on
that bus and how they would have been treated and it infuriated me.

3)How do you feel about Efrens views on Mexicans and African-Americans, do you agree or disagree
with him and why?
Do you think in EVERY situation a person must always follow the rules to the tee? Do you think Efren is
a good person for following the rule the way he does?(i.e. the incident in the bus with the pedophile and
that of the fight in the bus that lead to the death of a boy)

4) My process for reading this chapter was different then the rest mostly because I read this in one sitting,
I couldn't stop reading. I annotated the book, writing on the book circling words and phrases, even talking
to the text, but asking question in the margins, putting down my feeling next to the text, something I have
never done. This reading opened more question not about the text, but more on our society and how
people view other people based on very few experiences. I started think of other peoples view points on
people they never meant, like stereotypes. I also noticed how the authors was trying to convey the
hypocrisy in the character Efren and how that can be seen as a depiction or symbol of the general public
and its views. I didnt find this chapter difficult to understand at all if anything it was one of the most
easiest chapters to read in the book due to the fact that I was so passionate about the subject of this
chapter, time just flue by.

5) Not Paid to be Heroes- a person, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding
achievements, or noble qualities. This phrase shocked me, in the context of the book Efren says bus
operators are not paid to be heroes, that doesn't give him the right not to be a human. Heroes shouldn't be
paid, they should feel the need to help those who are in need. All people should aim to be heroes because
that make you a good person, and no one should be paid to be a good person.

Ghetto Express - Efren calls his new route this since its goes threw parts of the city where many
Mexicans and African-Americans live. He feels that these people don't deserve to have him or any
American drive them around like a chauffeur. He feels the is better then them just because the way
they look and how they take, or where they're from.

Assimilate - to bring into conformity with the customs, attitudes, etc., of a group, nation, or the like;
adapt or adjust. I connected with this because Efren wants all Mexicans to change there culture just
because there are in America. Im Mexican but i don't want to lose my identity just to make other people
comfortable.