62% of Americans believe in control over their destiny, 32% believe in no control over their destiny, and the rest are at the limit . In both the stories "Learning to Read" by Frances Ellen Watkins Harper and "Chapter 1: The Boy Left Behind" by Mark Matousek show how much control the characters have over their destiny. Harper was more in control than Enrique because of the situation they were in. Francis Ellen was born into a black family during slavery, teaching slaves to read was against the law at the time, but that didn't stop her. She continued to read and even stole a book just to read, she later became a poet and writer. Enrique was born into a poor Mexican family, without a father figure and a mother who would later abandon them to move to the United States to find a job and attend school. Enrique will next search for his mother by crossing the border and taking dangerous risks to find her. Enrique's fate was already sealed when his mother left them. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, Harper was born in a slave state. Slaves were not supposed to learn to read, his only source of reading was the Bible and some books that were stolen from other slaves. In Harper's poem "Learning to Read", it is demonstrated how Harper began his reading: Our teachers have always tried to hide the learning of the book from our eyes; of us would try to steal a little from the book. And put the words together, and learn by hook or by crook. (Harper) Harper would learn to read by guessing until he gets it right. He struggled as the Rebs “smiled and frowned.” She would later find a place to call home and feel independent. For Enrique's part, the only independence he had gained was to travel to Mexico in search of his mother. Enrique is a Mexican who sooner or later would have crossed the border like other teenagers. Since her mother immigrated to the United States, she has already decided her fate in looking for her mother like the remaining 75% from Texas. In the short story “The Boy Left Behind” by Mark Matousek, it states “…unaccompanied children are captured. Of these, consultants say, 75% are looking for their mother." He falls into the category of unaccompanied minors looking for their mother. Finding his mother has become a mission for Enrique as for other Mexicans who cross the border. In the story “The Boy Left Behind,” it states: “Many, including Enrique, begin to idealize their mothers. They remember how their mothers fed and washed them, how they accompanied them to kindergarten... Finding them becomes the search for the Holy Grail." Enrique only remembers his mother from his childhood, which gave him enough motivation to look for her in the United States .Harper had more control over her destiny than Enrique because of the people she had around her. Harper had teachers from the North to help her read, while Enrique ventured out alone without any help verse 1 states, "Very soon the Yankee teachers / came and started a school;" and verse 7 states, "Well, the people of the North kept putting down / the Yankee teachers; / and they got up right away and helped us," (Harper.) Harper received help from the North to help slaves of the time learn to read. With Enrique's situation in Mexico, he had no father figure and his mother emigrated to Mexico when he was young, and later his. trip to find his mother was risky. In the story “The Boy Left Behind,” by Mark Matousek, it is stated:..