Telegram = Knowledgeable

Ernesto's experience writing a telegram to his family members to send Jose's immigration papers ends up exciting his family very much. It seems as if his family did not expect a letter written in English from him. I would have thought they could trust him to do that, because his schooling had been going decently and Jose's freedom was on the line. Ernesto's ability to send this telegram with the operators help impressed his family so much that they made copies of the telegram and kept it as a keepsake. 

It seems as if Ernesto's telegram was a sort of starting point for him going out on his own. He had already been doing stuff out on his own with friends, but not academically. Because he was able to do this very simple task, his family made him feel like he had arrived at a place where he could be comfortable At. at least, that was the way it seemed to me. I'm unsure if Ernesto's story would have turned out differently if he had taken advantage of this success and built upon it, rather than just viewing it as a single success story.

Galarza, E. (2011).  Barrio boy.  Notre Dame, IN:  University of Notre Dame Press.

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