Passport photos

In this essay I was struck by the different comparisons, a passport as a book, an immigrations officer as a reader. This makes sense. The passport is a book that shows the life events of a person, the immigrant, and while it is not a widely available book for all to read it is read by the immigrations officer. Wheather he remember the "books" he reads, or whether any "book" impacts his life or affects how he sees others is uncertain, but the reasing of the book does affect the immigrant, because his book is read he can enter the country and continue his story.
I was also struck by the cultural differences, such as the caution/prohibido sign. This sign says two different things toward two different people. For people who speak English it say "be careful" but to the person thow speaks Spanish the sign says "prohibited." This seems very discriminatory, as does the story of the mother who was prohibited from speaking Spanish to her child. This essay makes language seem like a barrier, and while a passport can help people cross barriers, the barriers cannot be broken down.