enrique's journey rebellion

Enrique's Journey

Enrique's journey rebellion.

Give 3 examples of Enrique’s rebellious behavior.

Enrique does the following:

-coming home late -sniffing glue -venturing into "Little Hell".

Enrique made many several attempts to cross into The United States. Describe his first attempts. Summarize each journey, including the hardships that Enrique has to endure.

Enriques Journey

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Enrique's Journey

39 pages • 1 hour read

A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue-Chapter 2

Chapters 3-5

Chapter 6-Epilogue

Key Figures

Index of Terms

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Discussion Questions

Prologue-Chapter 2 Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Prologue summary.

The Prologue explains why Nazario wrote the articles that served as the basis for Enrique’s Journey . In 1997, she learned that her housekeeper, Carmen, had four children in Guatemala whom she had not seen in 12 years. Carmen immigrated to the US to find work, leaving her children behind and placing an emotional strain on her family. In 1998, Carmen’s eldest son Minor unexpectedly visited his mother in Los Angeles. Nazario decided to investigate the impact of migration on families after hearing about his dangerous trip north. She outlines recent immigration trends: Approximately 700,000 immigrants enter the US illegally each year, and increasing number of undocumented immigrants are single mothers. What’s more, immigrants are currently demonized by many people in the US.

Determined to humanize these immigrants, Nazario extensively investigates the journey from Central America to the United States, identifying crucial spots on the path, researching the freight trains migrants frequently ride atop, and pinpointing areas where immigrants commonly experience cruelty or kindness. She also interviews children held in detention at US Immigration and Naturalization Service jails and shelters, and determines that completing her investigation will require shadowing one boy’s journey north.

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Reading guide for Enrique's Journey by Sonia Nazario

Summary  |  Excerpt  |  Reading Guide  |  Reviews  |  Beyond the Book  |  Read-Alikes  |  Genres & Themes  |  Author Bio

Enrique's Journey

by Sonia Nazario

Critics' Opinion:

Readers' Opinion:

• Biography & Memoir
• History, Current Affairs and Religion
• Central & S. America, Mexico, Caribbean
• Contemporary
• Adult-YA Crossover Fiction
• Immigrants & Expats
• Latinx Authors

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About this Book

• Reading Guide

Reading Guide Questions

Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!

• How did the author get the idea for this work?
• What shift, that is a change from the 1980s, has taken place in the face of the modern immigrant population?
• Why has this change in the profile of the typical immigrant taken place?
• What were some of the preparations the author took before beginning her research for this story?
• What “safety nets” did the author wish to have in place for her own personal safety? Why were these “safety nets” necessary?
• How did the maid’s son make the journey to America?
• What does El Tren de la Muerte mean?

“One” — This chapter introduces the characteristics of Enrique that readers will encounter throughout the book — his shyness, his affection for his mother, his inability to understand why his mother leaves him. This chapter also traces Lourdes’ (Enrique’s mother) decision to leave for America and her early experiences in California. In this section of the text, readers see Enrique’s rebellion against the relatives with whom he lives in Honduras and Enrique’s desire to make his own journey to follow his mother.

• Approximately how many illegal immigrants enter the United States annually?
• In what Central American country do Lourdes and Enrique live?
• On what date does Enrique’s mother leave him?
• Approximately how many children enter the United States each year illegally and without their parents?
• What is the name of Enrique’s father?
• What are some of Lourde’s early jobs in California?
• Why is becoming a nanny difficult for Lourdes?
• What is the name of Enrique’s sister?
• With whom does Enrique’s sister live?
• Why does Enrique end up leaving his father’s home?
• How does Lourdes lose most of the money she has saved to try to bring her children to her?
• What negative habits does Enrique develop in his mother’s absence?
• How does Enrique feel about living with Uncle Marco?
• Why does Enrique’s relationship with Marco end?
• At fifteen, Enrique returns to live with whom?
• What is the name of Enrique’s girlfriend?
• Initially, what things does Enrique do to win his girlfriend’s affection?
• With whom does Enrique first try to head north?
• How does Enrique’s first attempt end?
• What event precipitates Enrique’s leaving for “el Norte” for good?
• On what date does Enrique leave his grandmother’s house to begin his journey?
• What possessions does Enrique take with him?

“Two” — This chapter begins with Enrique’s seventh attempt to reach America. He is battered and bloody. The chapter reviews Enrique’s first six attempts and fills in the details of this attempt that led to Enrique’s injuries. After getting medical treatment, Enrique hitches a ride with a man who turns out to be an off-duty immigration officer. The chapter ends with Enrique being sent back to Honduras.

• When Enrique is attacked and injured, who helps him?
• What is the attitude of many Mexicans toward Enrique and other Central Americans?
• What often is the attitude of the police with whom Enrique has encounters?
• What is the primary mode of travel for immigrants passing through Mexico?  

“Three” — Chapter Three describes Enrique’s eighth attempt to reach the United States. The chapter focuses on the horrors Enrique faces in Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state. This chapter introduces the dangers of the trains Enrique must ride to complete his journey. The chapter also introduces Olga Sanchez Martinez, who tries to help those who are injured by accidents on the trains.

• Describe Chiapas.
• What dangers does Enrique face on his journey?
• Why is it not a good idea to sleep on the train?
• Olga Sanchez Martinez is one of the people along Enrique’s route. How is she different from those who try to hurt Enrique?  

“Four” — In Chapter Four, Enrique enters the Mexican state of Veracruz and encounters many forms of kindness from the people along his route. Some provide clothes; others, food and shelter. Enrique finds a job to get money to continue his journey. He makes it all the way to Nuevo Laredo, a town on the Mexican/American border.

• What significant change takes place when Enrique reaches Veracruz?
• How do the people of Veracruz show their kindness?
• What does Hipolito Reyes Larios see as his mission?
• When Enrique finally arrives at Nuevo Laredo, he is on the banks of what river?  

“Five” — Chapter Five tells of Enrique’s life, waiting to cross the border into the United States. Enrique has lost his mother’s phone number on his trip, so he must make money to call Honduras to get the number from relatives. Enrique also needs money to pay for help in crossing the border safely.

• How does Enrique make money to buy a phone card?
• Why must Enrique call Honduras first?
• Who helps Enrique cross the border into the United States?  

Six” — Chapter Six tells the end of Enrique’s trek. He enters the United States and reunites with his mother. Chapter Six also continues the story of Enrique’s relationship with his girlfriend in Honduras, Maria Isabel. Maria Isabel gives birth to a daughter, but Enrique realizes that he cannot yet bring Maria Isabel or the baby to the U.S.

• On what day is Enrique finally united with his mother?
• In what state does Enrique ultimately reunite with his mother?
• On November 2, 2000, another significant event happens to Enrique. What is it?  

“Seven” — In Chapter Seven, each character’s story continues to unfold. Enrique, having been separated from his mother for eleven years, struggles to accept her advice and discipline. Lourdes continues to struggle financially and in her relationship with her son. Maria Isabel, separated from the father of her baby, struggles to rear the child and to assure the baby that her father in America will someday return or send for them. The chapter ends as Maria Isabel, four years after Enrique left Honduras, leaves herself to try to find a better life for her child.

• Once reunited, how do Enrique and his mother get along?
• How does Enrique’s relationship with Maria Isabel progress?
• What conflicts arise between Maria Isabel and Enrique’s family?
• How does the book end as it began?  

“Prologue”

• Examine the author’s background. What about that background gives her empathy for her characters?
• Examine the author’s writing process as described in the text. What evidence do you see of the pre-composing and prewriting process.
• Discuss the shift in immigration from the 1980s to the present. What economic and political factors might account for the shift? How does this shift impact people’s attitudes about immigration? How does this shift impact the dangers of the immigrant journey?
• What predictions can you make as you read?
• The author says that immigration is “a powerful stream, one that can only be addressed at its source.” What is the meaning of this statement?

“One”

• Discuss Enrique’s relationship with his mother. How is that relationship different from the relationships each has with other people?
• What does the author mean when she says that for these children, finding their mothers “becomes the quest for the Holy Grail”?
• Contrast the images of the United States that Lourdes/Enrique see on television versus what each finds in the United States.
• In this section, the seeds of Enrique’s desire to follow his mother are planted. What “seeds” can you find?

“Two”

• Contrast the descriptions of the first attack Enrique endures on his journey with the first kindnesses he is shown.
• Discuss the attitudes toward immigrants and immigration Lourdes and Enrique encounter in Honduras, Mexico, and the United States. Do those attitudes differ even within different parts of each country?
• Summarize Enrique’s early attempts. Why does each fail?

“Three”

• Describe Chiapas. How is it different from other places Enrique travels?
• Trace the different names given to the train. What does each name reveal about the journey?
• The gangs aboard the trains are portrayed in both a positive and negative light. How?
• How is Oaxaca different?

“Four”

• What is the significance of the statue of Jesus Enrique encounters?
• How does the journey change at the point of this encounter?

"Five” and “Six”

• Contrast the sides of the Rio Grande. What is Enrique’s life like on his side of the river that in Mexico is called Rio Bravo?
• Describe Enrique’s final journey into the United States.
• What problems develop almost immediately when Enrique is reunited with his mother? Do these problems surprise you?

“Seven”

• What motivates Enrique to stay in the United States? What things make him wish to return to Honduras?
• What factors cause conflict between Enrique and Lourdes? How do they seek to overcome these factors?
• Contrast Enrique’s life in the United States with the life he left behind.
• How do you feel when Maria Isabel leaves Honduras?  

Suggested Activities

• Trace Enrique’s Journey from Honduras to North Carolina. On a map, mark the places of significance to this story.
• Examine the use of figurative language to describe the train in section three. Descriptions include “The Iron Worm,” “The Train of Death,” “The Pilgrim’s Train,” “The Iron Horse,” and “The Train that Devours.” How do these different descriptions allow for different attitudes toward the journey?
• Interview someone who came to the United States from another country or even someone who came from another place within the U.S. to your town. What obstacles did they encounter? What changes did they see? What do they miss about their former home? What do they like about their new home?
• Examine family relationships. Create a family tree for Enrique and for yourself. Write an essay in which you compare/contrast two of your relatives or two of Enrique’s relatives (his uncles, his parents or grandparents, for example). Do you have one parent who is more lenient or more demanding?
• Examine current newspapers or magazines for articles concerning immigration. What issues need resolution? What varying opinions exist?
• Examine the changes in Enrique’s character. Construct a character chart in which you show the ways in which he changes throughout the text.
• Research a Central American country. Profile its political, economic, and social structure in a presentation for your class.
• Create a plot map of Enrique’s Journey . Separate the plot events for each central character. Where do these maps intersect?
• Choose one of the stops Enrique makes to analyze as setting. How does this stop reflect the theme of the text? Make a drawing of this setting to demonstrate its significance to the plot.
• Begin a class project to assist immigrant charities in your community."  

Beyond The Book

• Read and compare Enrique’s Journey to other stories that trace a character’s odyssey. Possible texts include Homer’s The Odyssey, Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn , J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings , and stories such as "Journey" by Patricia MacLachlan (middle school). Also compare Enrique’s Journey to stories of the immigrant experience — Howard Fast’s The Immigrants , Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle , and Kaffir Bo y by Mark Mathabane are possible texts.
• Examine the history of immigration in the United States. Topics can include tracing immigration patterns through American history, tracing the journey of a particular immigrant population, and examining the contributions of immigrants to American history.
• Viewing movies that show the immigrant experience can provide enrichment. Popular films such as Titanic , Gangs of New York , or even Men in Black (a very different kind of immigrant) can allow students to examine the immigrant experience. Other more serious films may also be available to you.
• Trace your own immigrant experience. Use Enrique’s Journey as a springboard to finding out how and when your own family came to the United States.
• Examine Enrique’s Journey as part of the tradition of American investigative journalism. Upton Sinclair said that he “aimed for America’s heart and hit its stomach” with The Jungle . Are the texts similar in their view and treatment of the subject of immigration? What actions do you believe Sonia Nazario wishes to inspire in her readers?  

Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Random House. Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.

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Enrique’s Journey

Sonia nazario, ask litcharts ai: the answer to your questions.

Enrique’s Journey | Chapter Two: Badly Beaten, a Boy Seeks Mercy in a Rail-Side Town

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The day’s work is done at Las Anonas, a rail-side hamlet of 36 families in the state of Oaxaca, Mexico, when a field hand, Sirenio Gomez Fuentes, sees a startling sight: a battered and bleeding boy, naked except for his undershorts.

It is Enrique.

He limps forward on bare feet, stumbling one way, then another. His right shin is gashed. His upper lip is split. The left side of his face is swollen. He is crying.

Gomez hears him whisper, “Give me water, please.”

The knot of apprehension in Sirenio Gomez melts into pity. He runs into his thatched hut, fills a cup and gives it to Enrique.

“Do you have a pair of pants?” Enrique asks.

Gomez dashes back inside and fetches some. There are holes in the crotch and the knees, but they will do. Then, with kindness, Gomez directs Enrique to Carlos Carrasco, the mayor of Las Anonas. Whatever has happened, maybe he can help.

Enrique hobbles down a dirt road into the heart of the little town. He encounters a man on a horse. Could he help him find the mayor?

“That’s me,” the man says. He stops and stares. “Did you fall from the train?”

Again, Enrique begins to cry.

Mayor Carrasco dismounts. He takes Enrique’s arm and guides him to his home, next to the town church. “Mom!” he shouts. “There’s a poor kid out here! He’s all beaten up.” Carrasco drags a wooden pew out of the church, pulls it into the shade of a tamarind tree and helps Enrique onto it.

Lesbia Sibaja, the mayor’s mother, puts a pot of water on to boil and sprinkles in salt and herbs to clean his wounds. She brings Enrique a bowl of hot broth, filled with bits of meat and potatoes.

He spoons the brown liquid into his mouth, careful not to touch his broken teeth. He cannot chew.

Townspeople come to see. They stand in a circle. “Is he alive?” asks Gloria Luis, a stout woman with long black hair. “Why don’t you go home? Wouldn’t that be better?”

“I am going to find my mom,” Enrique says, quietly.

He is 17. It is March 24, 2000. Eleven years before, his mother had left home in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, to work in the United States. She did not come back, and now he is riding freight trains up through Mexico to find her.

Gloria Luis looks at Enrique and thinks about her own children. She earns little; most people in Las Anonas make 30 pesos a day, roughly $3, working the fields. She digs into a pocket and presses 10 pesos into Enrique’s hand.

Several other women open his hand, adding 5 or 10 pesos each.

Mayor Carrasco gives Enrique a shirt and shoes. He has cared for injured immigrants before. Some have died. Giving Enrique clothing will be futile, Carrasco thinks, if he can’t find someone with a car who can get the boy to medical help.

Adan Diaz Ruiz, mayor of San Pedro Tapanatepec, the county seat, happens by in his pickup.

Carrasco begs a favor: Take this kid to a doctor.

Diaz balks. He is miffed. “This is what they get for doing this journey,” he says. Enrique cannot pay for any treatment. Why, Diaz wonders, do these Central American governments send us all their problems?

Looking at the small, soft-spoken boy lying on the bench, he reminds himself that a live migrant is better than a dead one. In 18 months, Diaz has had to bury eight of them, nearly all mutilated by the trains. Already today, he has been told to expect the body of yet another, in his late 30s.

Sending this boy to a doctor would cost the county $60. Burying him in a common grave would cost three times as much. First, Diaz would have to pay someone to dig the grave, then someone to handle the paperwork, then someone to stand guard while Enrique’s unclaimed body is displayed on the steamy patio of the San Pedro Tapanatepec cemetery for 72 hours, as required by law.

All the while, people visiting the graves of their loved ones would complain about the smell of another rotting migrant.

“We will help you,” he tells Enrique finally.

He turns him over to his driver, Ricardo Diaz Aguilar. Inside the mayor’s pickup, Enrique sobs, but this time with relief. He says to the driver, “I thought I was going to die.”

An officer of the judicial police approaches in a white pickup. Enrique cranks down his window. Instantly, he recoils. He recognizes both the officer and the truck.

The officer, too, seems startled.

For a moment, the officer and the mayor’s driver discuss the new dead immigrant. Quickly, the policeman pulls away.

“That guy robbed me yesterday,” Enrique says. The policeman and a partner had taken 100 pesos from him and three other migrants at gunpoint in Chahuites, about five miles south.

The mayor’s driver is not surprised. The judicial police, he says, routinely stop trains to rob and beat immigrants.

The judiciales--the Agencia Federal de Investigacion--deny it.

In San Pedro Tapanatepec, the driver finds the last clinic still open that night.

Perseverance

When Enrique’s mother left, he was a child. Six months ago, the first time he set out to find her, he was still a callow kid. Now he is a veteran of what has become a perilous children’s pilgrimage to the north.

Every year, experts say, an estimated 48,000 youngsters like Enrique from Central America and Mexico enter the United States illegally and without either of their parents. Many come looking for their mothers. They travel any way they can, and thousands ride the tops and sides of freight trains.

They leap on and off rolling train cars. They forage for food and water. Bandits prey on them. So do street gangsters deported from Los Angeles, who have made the train tops their new turf. None of the youngsters have proper papers. Many are caught by the Mexican police or by la migra, the Mexican immigration authorities, who take them south to Guatemala.

Most try again.

Like many others, Enrique has made several attempts.

The first: He set out from Honduras with a friend, Jose del Carmen Bustamante. They remember traveling 31 days and about 1,000 miles through Guatemala into the state of Veracruz in central Mexico, where la migra captured them on top of a train and sent them back to Guatemala on what migrants call el bus de lagrimas, the bus of tears. These buses make as many as eight runs a day, deporting more than 100,000 unhappy passengers every year.

The second: Enrique journeyed by himself. Five days and 150 miles into Mexico, he committed the mistake of falling asleep on top of a train with his shoes off. Police stopped the train near the town of Tonala to hunt for migrants, and Enrique had to jump off. Barefoot, he could not run far. He hid overnight in some grass, then was captured and put on the bus back to Guatemala.

The third: After two days, police surprised him while he was asleep in an empty house near Chahuites, 190 miles into Mexico. They robbed him, he says, and then turned him over to la migra, who put him, once more, on the bus to Guatemala.

The fourth: After a day and 12 miles, police caught him sleeping on top of a mausoleum in a graveyard near the depot in Tapachula, Mexico, known as the place where an immigrant woman had been raped and, two years before that, another was raped and stoned to death. La migra took Enrique back to Guatemala.

The fifth: La migra captured him as he walked along the tracks in Queretaro, north of Mexico City. Enrique was 838 miles and almost a week into his journey. He had been stung in the face by a swarm of bees. For the fifth time, immigration agents shipped him back to Guatemala.

The sixth: He nearly succeeded. It took him more than five days. He crossed 1,564 miles. He reached the Rio Grande and actually saw the United States. He was eating alone near some railroad tracks when migra agents grabbed him. They sent him to a detention center, called El Corralon, or the corral, in Mexico City. The next day they bused him for 14 hours, all the way back to Guatemala.

It was as if he had never left.

This is his seventh try, and it is on this attempt that he suffers the injuries that leave him in the hands of the kind people of Las Anonas.

Here is what Enrique recalls:

It is night. He is riding on a freight train. A stranger climbs up the side of his tanker car and asks for a cigarette.

Trees hide the moon, and Enrique does not see two men who are behind the stranger, or three more creeping up the other side of the car. Scores of migrants cling to the train, but no one is within shouting distance.

One of the men reaches a grate where Enrique is sitting. He grabs Enrique with both hands.

Someone seizes him from behind. They slam him face down.

All six surround him.

Take off everything, one says.

Another swings a wooden club. It cracks into the back of Enrique’s head.

Hurry, somebody demands. The club smacks his face.

Enrique feels someone yank off his shoes. Hands paw through his pants pockets. One of the men pulls out a small scrap of paper. It has his mother’s telephone number. Without it, he has no way to locate her. The man tosses the paper into the air. Enrique sees it flutter away.

The men pull off his pants. His mother’s number is inked inside the waistband. But there is little money. Enrique has less than 50 pesos on him, only a few coins that he has gathered begging. The men curse and fling the pants overboard.

The blows land harder.

“Don’t kill me,” Enrique pleads.

His cap flies away. Someone rips off his shirt. Another blow finds the left side of his face. It shatters three teeth. They rattle like broken glass in his mouth.

One of the men stands over Enrique, straddling him. He wraps the sleeve of a jacket around Enrique’s neck and starts to twist.

Enrique wheezes, coughs and gasps for air. His hands move feverishly from his neck to his face as he tries to breathe and buffer the blows.

“Throw him off the train,” one man yells.

Enrique thinks of his mother. He will be buried in an unmarked grave, and she will never know what happened.

“Please,” he asks God, “don’t let me die without seeing her again.”

The man with the jacket slips. The noose loosens.

Enrique struggles to his knees. He has been stripped of everything but his underwear. He manages to stand, and he runs along the top of the fuel car, desperately trying to balance on the smooth, curved surface. Loose tracks flail the train from side to side. There are no lights. He can barely see his feet. He stumbles, then regains his footing.

In half a dozen strides, he reaches the rear of the car.

The train is rolling at nearly 40 mph. The next car is another fuel tanker. Leaping from one to the other at such speed would be suicidal. Enrique knows he could slip, fall between them and be sucked under.

He hears the men coming. Carefully, he jumps down onto the coupler that holds the cars together, just inches from the hot, churning wheels. He hears the muffled pop of gunshots and knows what he must do. He leaps from the train, flinging himself outward into the black void.

He hits dirt by the tracks and crumples to the ground. He crawls 30 feet. His knees throb.

Finally, he collapses under a small mango tree.

Enrique cannot see blood, but he senses it everywhere. It runs in a gooey dribble down his face and out of his ears and nose. It tastes bitter in his mouth. Still, he feels overwhelming relief: The blows have stopped.

He recalls sleeping, maybe 12 hours, then stirring and trying to sit. His mind wanders to his mother, then his family and his girlfriend, Maria Isabel, who might be pregnant. “How will they know where I have died?” He falls back to sleep, then wakes again. Slowly, barefoot and with swollen knees, he hobbles north along the rails. He grows dizzy and confused. After what seems to be several hours, he is back again where he began, at the mango tree.

Just beyond it, in the opposite direction, is a thatched hut surrounded by a white fence.

It belongs to field hand Sirenio Gomez Fuentes, who watches as the bloodied boy walks toward him.

At the clinic, Dr. Guillermo Toledo Montes leads Enrique to an examination table.

Enrique’s left eye socket has a severe concussion. The eyelid is injured and might droop forever. His back is covered with bruises. He has several lesions on his right leg and an open wound hidden under his hair. Two of his top teeth are broken. So is one on the bottom.

Dr. Toledo jabs a needle under the skin near Enrique’s eye, then on his forehead. He injects a local anesthetic. He scrubs dirt out of the wounds and thinks of the immigrants he has treated who have died. This one is lucky. “You should give thanks you are alive,” he says. “Why don’t you go home?”

“No.” Enrique shakes his head. “I don’t want to go back.” Politely he asks if there is a way that he can pay for his care, as well as the antibiotics and the anti-inflammatory drugs.

The doctor shakes his head. “What do you plan to do now?”

Catch another freight train, Enrique says. “I want to get to my family. I am alone in my country. I have to go north.”

The police in San Pedro Tapanatepec do not hand him over to la migra. Instead, he sleeps that night on the concrete floor of their one-room command post. At dawn, he leaves, hoping to catch a bus back to the railroad tracks. As he walks, people stare at his injured face. Without a word, one man hands him 50 pesos. Another gives him 20. He limps on, heading for the outskirts of town.

The pain is too great, so he flags down a car. “Will you give me a ride?”

“Get in,” the driver says.

Enrique does. It is a costly mistake.

The driver is an off-duty immigration officer. He pulls into a migra checkpoint and turns Enrique over.

You can’t keep going north, the agents say.

He is ushered onto a bus, with its smell of sweat and diesel fumes. He is relieved that there are no Central American gangsters on board. Sometimes they let themselves be caught by la migra so they can beat and rob the migrants on the buses. In spite of everything, Enrique has failed again -- he will not reach the United States this time, either.

He tells himself over and over that he’ll just have to try again.

Next: Chapter Three: Defeated Seven Times, a Boy Again Faces ‘the Beast’

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• Freida Pinto, known for roles such Latika in Slumdog Millionaire , could be an ideal fit to play Ash, the protagonist of Blade Runner 2039 and its two predecessor series, were they ever to be adapted for film or television.
• In an interview, the creators of Blade Runner 2039 discussed potential adaptations, placing great consideration into the importance of portraying Ash's character faithfully to their work on the page.
• While writer Mike Johnson suggested an unknown actor might be best for the role, artist Andres Guinaldo offered Frieda Pinto as an ideal candidate.

Freida Pinto of Slumdog Millionaire fame might be the ideal actor to play Ash in a proposed TV adaptation of Blade Runner 2039 , according to the creators. Aahna "Ash" Ashina's first appeared in Blade Runner 2019 , followed by Blade Runner 2029 – and finally, with the release of Blade Runner 2039 , the Savior of Replicants' journey comes to an end.

Speaking with AIPT , the writers of Blade Runner 2039 #12 discussed the conclusion to Ash's five-year spanning decades long story arc, as well as considering what's next for the character – including a potential jump to the big or small screen.

The creators pondered what an adaptation of their tale might look like, including who would portray their protagonist – with one of them suggesting Freida Pinto from Slumdog Millionaire might be the perfect choice to play Ash in the future .

8 Most Important Blade Runner Stories The Movies Didn’t Show You

Freida pinto would be perfectly cast in a blade runner 2039 adaptation, blade runner 2039 #12 – by mike johnson, andres guinaldo, & marco lesko.

[Andres] Guinaldo elaborates that neither he nor Johnson ever had a specific actress in mind while envisioning Ash in their comics, but if he had to name someone, the star of Slumdog Millionaire sprang to mind.

When asked if either creator would be excited if their Blade Runner comic series got the TV treatment, writer Mike Johnson was the first to answer, admitting he'd "be nervous about whether they get Ash’s character right." He continued discussing his concerns, expressing a protectiveness over about the character he created. He went a step further in saying that he didn't think the ideal actor for Ash is a familiar face, instead suggested that he'd rather see an unknown actor play the part, stating: "That person is out there. Ash would be someone we’ve never seen before."

While artist Andres Guinaldo shared Johnson's sentiment about how awesome an adaptation of Blade Runner 2039 would be, he gave an alternative perspective regarding who could play Ash. Guinaldo elaborates that neither he nor Johnson ever had a specific actress in mind while envisioning Ash in their comics, but if he had to name someone, the star of Slumdog Millionaire sprang to mind. "For her Hindi origin, she could be the protagonist of Slumdog Millionaire, Freida Pinto," Guinaldo's exact wording. "I think she fits Ash’s physique and personality."

More than just a love interest or a damsel, [Frieda Pinto as Slumdog Millionaire's ] Latika showcased the resilience necessary to survive a cutthroat lifestyle. Ash is highlighted to have a similar resilience throughout Blade Runner 2039 , which alone should be able to qualify Pinto as a strong candidate for the part.

Freida Pinto's Post-Slumdog Millionaire Work Makes Her The Perfect Ash

She's got the grit.

Freida Pinto played Latika in Slumdog Millionaire . More than just a love interest or a damsel, Latika showcased the resilience necessary to survive a cutthroat lifestyle. Ash is highlighted to have a similar resilience throughout Blade Runner 2039 , which alone should be able to qualify Pinto as a strong candidate for the part . Additionally, post- Slumdog roles in projects like Trishna, Intrusion , and Love, Sonia are some examples where she showcases the ability to work in a grittier, edgier role primed for Ash. When Hollywood begins casting for Blade Runner 2039 , Freida Pinto should be at the top of their list.

Source: AIPT Comics

Blade Runner 2049

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Set thirty years after the original film, Blade Runner 2049 is a sci-fi neo-noir film by the director of Dune, Denis Villeneuve. The film follows LAPD replicant officer K, who discovers a devastating secret that could throw society into total chaos. To stop a potential war between replicants and humans, he'll need to locate missing former blade runner Rick Deckard and uncover the truth.