How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
They each took a row. I went ahead about a quarter of the way into Papá's row. I took my hands out of my pockets and started picking and piling the cotton in the furrow. Within seconds my toes were numb and I could hardly move my fingers. My hands were turning red and purple. I kept blowing on them, trying to keep warm. […] I could not go on. Frustrated and disappointed, I walked over to Papá. He straightened up and looked down at me. His eyes were red and watery from the cold. Before I said anything, he looked at Roberto, who bravely kept on picking, and told me to go over to the fire. I knew then I had not yet earned my own cotton sack. (8.33)
Picture this: it's a freezing cold day. Seriously—it's so cold your hands are turning to ice. And on top of that you're trying to pick cotton. With your bare hands. We'd call that a tough challenge, but Francisco thinks he's up to the task. But since he tries so hard, it just makes it even more of a bummer when he fails. Big time.
Quote #8
The following morning, when Ito told us that the contratista had gotten Gabriel fired and sent back to Mexico, I felt like someone had kicked me in the stomach. I could not concentrate on work. At times I found myself not moving at all. By the time I had picked one crate, Papá had picked two. He finished his row, started a second, and caught up to me.
"What's the matter, Panchito?" he asked. "You're moving too slow. You need to speed it up."
"I keep thinking about Gabriel," I answered.
"What Díaz did was wrong, and someday he'll pay for it, if not in this life, in the next one," he said. "Gabriel did what he had to do." (10.56-59)
After Gabriel stands up for himself to the contratista (labor contractor), he gets fired. Francisco takes the news pretty hard, and his disappointment lets us know that he's a really compassionate guy—when those around him are sad or hurt, he's often feeling sad or hurt too.
Quote #9
Then, for a long time, I thought about my librito and what Mamá had said. I could see in my mind every word, every number, every rule, I had written in my note pad. I knew everything in it by heart. Mamá was right. It was not all lost. (11.79)
One of Francisco's biggest disappointments is when his notepad burns up in the house fire. But there's also a silver lining: Francisco learns that not all disappointments are permanent. In fact, the notepad getting burned up teaches Francisco about just how much he's learned so far.