The Treatment of Raphael


Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s “Apollo” reminded me of the treatment of migrant workers. Now I know you might be confused however the relationship between the main character boy and the houseboy Raphael. In the story we see Raphael being very kind to the main character despite how his parents treat Raphael. We see Raphael playing with the boy even though he knows he might get in trouble.

However, in the end, we still say the main character stab Raphael in the back by claiming Raphael had pushed him causing Raphael to get fired. This reminded me of migrant workers from other countries in the United States. Migrant workers come to the United States and do the jobs many other people don’t want to do due to their level of danger, demanding physicality, and low pay. This migrant always uses cheaper products as well as things like fruit and meat. Fruits and vegetables are often harvested by groups of migrant workers who travel through farms picking things for farmers. This kind of mass labor that comes through as the seasons produce various fruits allows us, consumers, to get the fruits we want. Many meat processing plants are also filled with migrant workers because it is an unappealing job for many others. So like the relationship between Raphael and the boy we enjoy the fruits of the labor done by these migrants despite the often unethical treatment of them for our enjoyment. 

However, like the boy’s betrayal of Raphael, the people in this country who benefit from their work still abuse them. All over the country, there are numerous racist attacks on people from central and south America where they are told to go back to their country or speak English. We also see a lot of people who don’t want to let migrants from that area into our country and with the Trump administration, we have seen immigration police putting these people in cages. This idea where someone who hasn’t done anything wrong and has made life better for others is still treated so poorly isn't just something in a story it is in real life too.

Comments

  1. UnknownMay 17, 2020 at 10:28 AM

    Interesting comparison between Raphael's mistreatment in "Apollo" and the mistreatment of migrant workers in the US! Your post speaks to Raphael's vulnerability, and the way that the narrator's parents see him as indistinguishable from the other houseboys and thus easily replaceable. For the narrator, though, Raphael is a distinct and important figure, and it's a sense of betrayal and jealousy that cause him to lie and say Raphael pushed him (because the narrator has a crush on the Raphael). The opening of the story (in which the narrator's elderly parents mention that Raphael has been arrested for a robbery) also reflects the far-reaching consequences of the narrator's lie, as the story implies that Raphael must have found it difficult to find work as a result of the circumstances in which he was fired. - Ms. O'Brien

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