Many times in literature the most useful device of a writer is the symbol. Symbols are used to add deeper meaning to everyday objects. An author may use symbolism to expand the meaning of his or her writing. In the short story "The Hammon and the Beans" Americo Parides masterfully illustrates the art of symbolism through his poverty stricken character Chonita and the different aspects of her life. Chonita and her Mexican people have come to America to find freedom and opportunity, yet instead they find themselves "enslaved" by a government which hands them a life of nothing. The fence which is literally used to keep the immigrants off of Fort Jones, symbolically represents their exile from everything which Americans have to enjoy. While America is supposedly a place for all to find safety, Chonita and her people find themselves "walled out" from all comfort and security because of their poverty and alien status. Chonita herself specifically represents poverty, hardship, and the cry of a forgotten people. Her own body is a symbolic example of her people's suffering. "She was already on top of the alley fence when we got there, a scrawny little girl of about nine, her dirty bare feet clinging to the fence almost like hands." (p. 359) She mirrors the innocence which all victims possess. Chonita is a voice for all of those who society deems unworthy of having their needs met. In the story Chonita continuously cries out for "the hammon and the beans" in a display which portrays her choice to "rise above" her poverty and demand to be given better. Throughout the story the narrator continues to show his feelings of the ridiculousness of Chonita's cause, "I wondered how long it would be before they got tired of it all." (p. 360) This belief is shared by Chonita's father, when upon Chonita's death he is apathetic about the loss of her life. "Do you know what that brute of a father was doing when I left? He was laughing! Dr
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