How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Dad was angry at the Garcias for destroying his dream. He had bought this croquet set, with which he planned to play with the neighbors while lounging away the hot afternoons. But on the first day we brought it home, the Garcias came over like wild chimpanzees. Bobby wrestled a mallet out of my hands and tossed it into a tree, and Stinky stole a wire wicket while Dad's back was turned. Dad vowed never again to favor our neighborhood with culture. (2.9)
We've barely had our first glance at Manny's neighborhood and already there's tension afoot—his dad had high hopes for hanging out with his neighbors and his new croquet set, but when the Garcias destroy that dream, Dad becomes as anti-community as it gets. In fact, he spends a lot of the book saying that he doesn't want anyone in the neighborhood to know his business. Keep an eye out for the ways in which Dad resists community. And whether there are any moments where he ends up inviting community in.
Quote #2
My steps were snapping crisply on the dry shoots of blond grass when I reached the Big Lawn, where almost all year round the guys in our projects either smacked a baseball around or ran football plays, while our mothers, on plastic chairs, visited with one another, drinking iced tea and sprinkling gossip on the backs of those who got up to do chores. (2.25)
Sometimes community is simply about finding some common ground, and in Manny's neighborhood, for the teens this means playing ball, and for the moms it means chatting. But even within this community, there's still some division cropping up. Did you notice how the second one of the moms gets up for some household work, the others start "sprinkling gossip" around? And from the way Manny tells us about this gossip, it sounds like everyone participates, and everyone is a victim, too. Now that's a double-edged sword.
Quote #3
She gazed dreamily over the yard. It was beautiful back then, she said. It was a garden, and every house had one so bright a person's eye-sight blurred. She remembered browsing among the flowers, smelling odors that even people in heaven would envy. My brother and I scanned around, trying to imagine the same wonder, but what we saw wasn't as sweet as Grandma's remembered. I even tried to imagine neighbors, which she no longer had, except far down the road. One by one, they had all moved away. (5.47)
Grandma had a pretty swell community in her neighborhood back in the day, and part of what brought this community together were their similarities. It's not just one neighbor that had a cool garden, but "every house" had the most beautiful yard ever. Unfortunately, this community was temporary.