How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
I wasn't like Nardo. I suppose years of not knowing what, besides work, was expected from a Mexican convinced me that I wouldn't pass from this earth without putting in a lot of days. I suppose Nardo figured the same, and wasn't about to waste his time. (1.16)
Manny says there's an assumption that Mexicans will spend tons of time working hard, and that this idea is ingrained into him. Did you notice how this is the main thing he associates with being Mexican at the start of the book? He even tells us that he's spent years thinking that nothing else could be expected from him, which shows us just how powerful racial stereotypes can be. What do you think about how this assumption influences Manny? And why do you think Nardo has a different reaction?
Quote #2
Farther up, under clouds boiling like water on the horizon, a staggering string of men worked two and three rows apiece.
"They're wetbacks," my brother explained; "they pick like their goddamned lives depended on it."
I looked over at the Mexican man working on the rows next to ours and nodded agreement. He handled four rows all by himself, using two cans, and trading handfuls from one can to the other. He'd go up two rows, then down two rows, greeting us on his return with a smile and shy wave. To save time, he placed burlap sacs every twenty feet, and every half hour or so he'd pour a loaded can into the closest. Behind him, three sacks already lay fat and tightly sewn. We eyed him, amazed by his quickness. (1.40-42)
We have a whole new stereotype crop up when Nardo calls the other Mexican workers "wetbacks," which is a derogatory name that implies someone isn't a citizen. It's a pretty cruel word for Nardo to use and has super negative insinuations. Interestingly, Nardo calls the other workers a racial slur while he and Manny are also "amazed" at how fast their neighboring worker is. Hey there, hypocrisy.
Quote #3
The van was green, a dim, starved-for-light green, like the leaves on our row. Its windows were open and the man behind the wheel had his head out scanning the rows. Suddenly people began to stand up, licking the air and stretching as if peering over a high wall. There was fast talking in Spanish and frenzied commotion as suddenly forty or so people all at once jumped up and started running. […]
I still didn't know what was going on. My first thought was to run, but when I saw three more vans and a large labor bus pop out of a narrow road in the cornfield bordering ours, I knew that Immigration had come for the people. (1.48, 49)
For some of the workers in the chili pepper fields, Immigration officers are a big threat. Manny has already told us that he and all the other workers are Mexican, but when some of the workers run away from Immigration and others (like Manny and Nardo) stay put, it's clear that people have pretty different experiences in the U.S. Nardo and Manny don't need to worry about getting carted away without any warning, but this isn't the case for everyone.