How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I imagined already being on the baseball team at school, and people looking at me. Not these people picking chilies or those sent away in the vans, but people I had yet to know, watching me as I stood mightily in center field. (1.66)
When it comes to school, Manny has big dreams. Sure, they're not about the classroom and they have nothing to do with math class, but they're big all the same. When it comes to picturing school, all this kid wants is to be the star of the baseball team. That's not too much to ask, right? Plus, did you notice how school isn't just about baseball, but also about things being new and exciting?
Quote #2
This time it was Stinky, twisting a stick in his hand, acting like he'd just thought up something terrific. He was in my grade at school, but about three years older than everybody else. […]
I'd always been afraid of him. Every year at school he made it a habit of punching me around to show he was still boss. Once he broke a bone in my little finger, and I lied to Mom about it, saying that I got it sliding into second base. (2.30-31)
It wasn't too long ago that Manny was dreaming about being a baseball star at school. Okay, actually it was just yesterday—but fast forward a mere twenty-four hours and now Manny is dwelling on some sour memories about Stinky Garcia and his famed schoolyard beatings. That's a huge change in perspective. Manny went from thinking of exciting new possibilities, to see school as a place where Manny might get beat up at any moment. Yikes.
Quote #3
The next day, Mom began thinking about the future. She wanted me to go to a better school across town, where all the white kids got educated. So I grabbed the number 42 bus down Chandler Avenue, walked two blocks to the brown, ivy-rusted walls of my high school, and presented a note from my mom to Mrs. Kingsley, the secretary. (3.1)
Mom wants our main man to get the best education possible, and that means sending him to the best school in town. Unfortunately, in this town, the place "where all the white kids" go is also the "better school." Hey there, segregation and racism. But Mom is willing to fight these hurdles so that her son can go to the best school around. And if that means getting Manny on the bus to beg for a transfer, well so be it.