Homecoming

In “Homecoming,” Alvarez explores the conflict between the people who own a sugar cane ranch and the people who work on it. The former includes the speaker’s uncle, who is referred to as only Tio (uncle in Spanish), and his daughter, the bride Carmen. The latter includes “the guards” (Line 1), “workmen” (Line 17), and “maids” (Line 38). The upper-class owners of the ranch rely on their working-class employees for their income, comfort, and entertainment.

The people who work in sugar cane fields are subject to dangerous conditions. The speaker has a vision that “fields around [them] were burning” (Line 56) during the wedding party. Sugar cane being burned during the harvest is one of many workplace hazards. The industry originally used enslaved laborers to produce sugar. Even in the 2020s, forced labor and child labor have been used in harvesting sugar cane (Coto, Dánica. “U.S. to detain Dominican sugar import amid accusations of forced labor.” PBS, 2022).

The speaker does not become educated about exploitative labor conditions until they attend college. However, their education was funded by exploitative labor: “I took the courses that would change my mind / in schools paid for by sugar from the fields around us” (Lines 46-47).