How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"La frontera" is a word I often heard when I was a child living in El Rancho Blanco, a small village nestled on barren, dry hills several miles north of Guadalajara, Mexico. I heard it for the first time back in the late 1940s when Papá and Mamá told me and Roberto, my older brother, that someday we would take a long trip north, cross la frontera, enter California, and leave our poverty behind.
I did not know exactly what California was either, but Papá's eyes sparkled whenever he talked about it with Mamá and his friends. "Once we cross la frontera, we'll make a good living in California," he would say, standing up straight and sticking out his chest. (1.1-2)
California is a big unknown for Francisco and his family, but right from the start, we know they've got big dreams for this magical place. Did you notice how psyched Papá gets when talking about Cali? He's showing it in the stories he tells, and with his body language too.
Quote #2
Noting that Papá had closed his eyes, I turned to Roberto and asked, "What's California like?"
"I don't know," he answered, "but Fito told me that people there sweep money off the streets."
"Where did Fito get that idea?" Papá said, opening his eyes and laughing.
"From Cantinflas," Roberto said assuredly. "He said Cantinflas said it in a movie."
"Cantinflas was joking," Papá responded, chuckling. "But it's true that life is better there." (1.10-14)
Francisco and his family have high hopes for California, and while the idea that people "sweep money off the streets" is hyperbolic, it lets us know just how great they expect California to be. Keep an eye out for whether California ends up being all that the characters want it to be.
Quote #3
We followed behind him until we reached a barbed wire fence. According to Papá, this was la frontera. He pointed out that across the gray wire barricade was California, that famous place I had heard so much about. On both sides of the fence were armed guards dressed in green uniforms. Papá called them la migra, and explained that we had to cross the fence to the other side without being seen by them. (1.19)
It looks like we've found one of the downsides to California: those dudes with guns. In order to make it into California, Francisco and his family need to hide from armed guards and find a way to climb under a barbed wire fence. But Francisco doesn't seem too scared or sad about the whole thing. What do you think Francisco's tone sounds like here?