How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
She tiptoed in, late
and limping, her cheek
raw as red-brown meat.
I caught a quick glance
in the chilly glow
of the refrigerator
before she had
a chance to hide
the latest souvenir
her boyfriend gave her.
"I bruise easily,"
is one of the lies
she sprinkles like sugar.
But I'm fifteen,
not brainless. Besides,
I knew the truth at ten.
"He'll never do it again,"
she swears.
But he will, because
she'll let him. (6.1)
Chankara's sister shapes her image of herself in this poem. She's seen her sister get beat up by a string of boyfriends and Chankara never wants to be in the same position. The difference between her and her sister? Chankara won't make excuses for an abusive bum.
Quote #2
I will paint Mami, standing at the ironing board late in the evening, after a day of piecework in the factory, sweat pouring off her, steam rising from a pot in the background, me tugging at her skirt while she irons. I will paint the way she used to smile down at me, the love in her eyes saying "I only do this for you." Mami's beauty is better than a movie star's. It survives a kind of life where pamper is a noun, not a verb. I will capture that beauty on canvas, someday, when I am good enough. (8.15)
Raul's family is an inspiration to him. They are the people that make him want to paint and portray his Latino family as something beautiful and worthwhile and special. You go, Raul.
Quote #3
"I bet Papi doesn't guzzle beer all the time," I often say to Mami.
"You don't know what he does, Lupe," she always says. "How could you? You were only five when he left. And he left on his own, Lupe. Pero, what did I expect? He was a jíbaro through and through. He couldn't wait to get back to his precious mountains! And this is the man you love? But Berto, who puts food in your mouth, him you despise. ¡Dios mio!" (17.7-8)
Lupe has an idealized portrait of her biological father. Of course, it's not hard to romanticize him since her mom's boyfriend, Berto, has never been much of a dad to her. Bummer.