Marlon Ramos

James A Grammer

10/12/23

The emotional and inspiring story told by Diego Guerrerro relates to the lives of millions across the globe. From being some sort of outcast for not being able to speak good Spanish, to building a powerful brotherhood with a Spanish speaker despite this, and developing a special bond, one that he will remember for the rest of his life. Diego instantly clicked with Daniel when they were younger and they spent most of their childhood bonding with each other.  Like Diego, Daniel struggles with speaking a language that he wishes to know, which is English. The interesting part about this, is that even though it would seem difficult and a pain for the two to try and communicate with one another, considering their primary languages differ, they still try to talk with one another and help each other build knowledge in the language that they are trying to speak with no judgment. 

The author uses pathos to significantly draw out the special and emotional bond that he has with Daniel. The uniqueness and what makes their bond able to work is crafted by the absence of judgment they share with one another, unlike the rest of his cousins when they call him “gringo” because he said something in an English accent. While the call out of Diego’s English accent from his cousins can be a motivational push for him to speak in a better Spanish tone/accent next time, it can also demotivate and make him not want to try again in fear of laughter or shame. However, when speaking with Daniel, there is no judgment nor shame, he can speak freely without being made fun of. This clearly allows for more freedom and growth to be made, and same goes for Daniel since he tried to speak english with Diego. They both are trying to get better and aren’t scared to get anything wrong since they won’t judge each other. 

This rhetorical strategy to connect with the audience through emotions really hits home when you think about how many people wish for a judgment free zone whenever they’re trying to learn something new, build, or to meet someone. In his essay, it states, “He both grew more comfortable with each other that night and started to speak Spanglish with one another. Him with his very limited English and me with my broken Spanish. We made it work as there was no judgment between us and we only wanted to help each other.” This is showing us that with their close friendship, they were able to help each other get better at their new languages by trying to communicate with each other using those.