Ka Man Cheung
Professor
LATS 320-IW
22nd Septemter,2014
Bodega Dream
In the Ernesto Quiñonez’s novel, Bodega Dreams, presents, presents Willie Bodega’s
American dream, and how it influence the novel narrator Julio’s (nickname Chino) attitude
about the American dream. Willie Bodega was the good man and the bad man, h. He hired
a lawyer who was loyal to break the law to make the Puerto Rican Neighbors have an
easier and good life. He sells drugs to buy property in order to help the poor people to have
a place to live at a very cheap rent. In addition, Willie Bodega subsidizes the college
tuition of an entire professional class froorm EL Barrio (their neighborhood), who will
eventually run hid enterprise (real estate and drug selling) and give respectability to Puerto
Ricans. Chino, a college student, married a beautified, virtuous woman named Nancy
(nickname- Blacna), meet Willie Bondage though his best friend Sapo, and is convinced by
Willie Bondage’s Americana dream. Chino gets involved with Willie Bodega and being a
smart person with a strong business sense, is a perfect partner for Bodega[AV1] .
Throughout the novel Bodega is portrayed as a symbol of hope for the community and the
American dream ultimately this address him to shift Chino’s values toward the
neighborhood.[AV2]
Willie Bodega represents of all the ugliness in Spanish Harlem and also all the good it was
capable of being. A quote from Chino,“Nazario and Bodega..,talking about starting out as a
piece of trash from the gutter from and transforming yourself into gold. Nazario and
bodega saw it as all or nothing, you couldn’t have change without evolution and some
people would get hurt and become extinct in the process because they couldn’t adapt”
(Quinonez[AV3] , 160),in order for changes we cant avoid hurting someone, sells drugs to
people in Spanish Harlem and uses the “Dirty money” to help other people essentially
“sacrifices” one group for another[AV4] . Furthermore Chino states,“Bodega had, because
no one but one of its own resident was going to improve Spanish Harlem. No one”
(Quinonez, 171). This explains Willie Bodega’s good capable of being in the neighbor is
what attract Chino to him but also explanation about why he choose to create wealth in an
illegal way, because he was the only person in the who value the neighborhood heavy and
hoping to help the neighborhood to improv[AV5] e. All responsibility go on Bodega
shoulders., He need a lot of capital in order to improve the town and help the poor. He
