The Circui- post #2

Quote 1: "Then, for a long time, I thought about my librito and what Mamá 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." ~Francisco Jimenez in narration on page 93

Response 1: I thought this was really funny and cute of Francisco to say. He was so devastated that his beloved note book had been lost in the small house fire, but now he completely turns around and realizes that it's not a big deal at all, and I think this is totally childish and funny, but at the same time a good lesson. I think Francisco learned that it's not as much the material objects that make up a person, more so it's the feelings and things that we have and do that make us, us. I think Francisco learned a valuable lesson.

Question 1: I think I might have taken this quote differently than other people, what did you get from this quote?

Quote 2: "The instant I saw the green uniform, I panicked. I wanted to run, but my legs would not move. I began to tremble and could feel my heart pounding against my chest as though it wanted to escape too. Miss Ehlis and the immigration officer walked up to me. Putting her right hand on my shoulder, and looking up and the officer, she said sadly, "This is him." My eyes clouded. I stood up and followed the immigration officer out of the classroom and into his car marked 'Border Patrol.' I sat in the front seat as the officer drove down Broadway to Santa Maria High School to pick up Roberto." ~Francisco Jimenez in narration on page 111

Response 2: This quote almost brought tears to my eyes. Judging from the lead-up in the writing style, I could tell something really big was going to happen right at the end of the book. Even guessing that previously, this caught me by surprise! You know that the whole time, the family is trying to stay in California, even though they were illegal aliens, but this is really intense. I think the whole novel leads up to this in a way, and I think the author did a really good job of portraying the emotions of the little boy experiencing the whole affair. I think Francisco knew what was goin to happen to him in the next few hours, and so do you, that's why the author ended the novel there, and not continuing to explain how the rest of that day went (also, there's a second book that we're reading).

Question 2: Do you think that the author should have ended the book a little bit after this (maybe explaining more about the issue at hand), or did what he did and stopped there?

The Circuit- post 1

QUOTE: “Papà, who was sitting next to her [Mamà] on the mattress, lifted the corner and pulled out from underneath the white embroidered handkerchief. He tenderly handed it to Mamà, saying, ‘Feliz Navidad, vieja.’” ~Francisco (most said in narration) on page 46

RESPONSE: I think this quote shows how much Papà cares for Mamà. Before in the book, there was a couple that came to their door, bagging for them to buy that handkerchief for some money. At first, Papà refused (and Mamà really wanted it), but now you find out that he actually bought if for Mamà, as a Christmas present. I thought it was really caring and generous of Papà because he and the rest of the family are broke as well, and for him to buy that handkerchief shows you how much Papà really cares for his family.

QUESTION: How do you feel about Papà? What do you get from his personality and the descriptions of him so far?

QUOTE: “I picked up one last, small dying fish and took it to our next-door neighbor who owned the goldfish. I knocked and knocked on the door until my hand hurt. No one was home. I placed the coffee can on the front steps and peered inside. The little gray fish looked up at me, rapidly opening and closing its mouth. That evening, I looked through the window into our neighbor’s cabin. The goldfish swam peacefully, alongside the little gray fish. I sighed and smiled to myself.” ~Francisco (said in narration) on pages 40-41

RESPONSE: I think this gives you a peek inside Francisco and how he operates. I think its shows you that he’s a true child and that he’s kind, caring, generous, and really thinks about others and how they might be feeling. This quote shows him catching a small gray fish out of its dying puddle, and giving it to a neighbor, whom he had noticed before to have a goldfish in a bowl. He wanted the gray fish to live, and he wanted to give the neighbors something, so he did what he did. I thought it was really adorable and admirable of this third-grader to be so selfless.

QUESTION: I’m having trouble understanding- Are they in California, or Mexico? I’m not sure because the school he attends only speaks English, but they never really arrived in California, and they talk about a train, and Francisco imagining that it came from California, so I’m really not sure.