How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Dad was angry at the Garcias for destroying his dream. He had bought this croquet set, with which he planned to play with the neighbors while lounging away the hot afternoons. But on the first day we brought it home, the Garcias came over like wild chimpanzees. Bobby wrestled a mallet out of my hands and tossed it into a tree, and Stinky stole a wire wicket while Dad's back was turned. Dad vowed never again to favor our neighborhood with culture. (2.9)
We've barely had our first glance at Manny's neighborhood and already there's tension afoot—his dad had high hopes for hanging out with his neighbors and his new croquet set, but when the Garcias destroy that dream, Dad becomes as anti-community as it gets. In fact, he spends a lot of the book saying that he doesn't want anyone in the neighborhood to know his business. Keep an eye out for the ways in which Dad resists community. And whether there are any moments where he ends up inviting community in.
Quote #2
My steps were snapping crisply on the dry shoots of blond grass when I reached the Big Lawn, where almost all year round the guys in our projects either smacked a baseball around or ran football plays, while our mothers, on plastic chairs, visited with one another, drinking iced tea and sprinkling gossip on the backs of those who got up to do chores. (2.25)
Sometimes community is simply about finding some common ground, and in Manny's neighborhood, for the teens this means playing ball, and for the moms it means chatting. But even within this community, there's still some division cropping up. Did you notice how the second one of the moms gets up for some household work, the others start "sprinkling gossip" around? And from the way Manny tells us about this gossip, it sounds like everyone participates, and everyone is a victim, too. Now that's a double-edged sword.
Quote #3
She gazed dreamily over the yard. It was beautiful back then, she said. It was a garden, and every house had one so bright a person's eye-sight blurred. She remembered browsing among the flowers, smelling odors that even people in heaven would envy. My brother and I scanned around, trying to imagine the same wonder, but what we saw wasn't as sweet as Grandma's remembered. I even tried to imagine neighbors, which she no longer had, except far down the road. One by one, they had all moved away. (5.47)
Grandma had a pretty swell community in her neighborhood back in the day, and part of what brought this community together were their similarities. It's not just one neighbor that had a cool garden, but "every house" had the most beautiful yard ever. Unfortunately, this community was temporary.
Quote #4
All in all, I thought it amazing that Lencho even tried to spark up the Chicano guys to join his boxing team. Not that the Chicano guys couldn't fight or anything. There were a lot of ornery vatos around, but they just hung around and smoked and ditched class and acted like the school was some kind of contaminated nuclear zone. They'd never join any team that wasn't a gang. (7.34)
Lencho's all about a community of slackers who hate school and would rather be part of a gang. Teams and gangs are both types of communities in this book, and they definitely have some similarities—both are places where folks want to feel accepted and included, for instance. But there are also some big differences between being part of a team and joining a gang. What differences crop up for you in this book? Or are teams and gangs more similar than different?
Quote #5
I tried warning him. I tried explaining how ribs crack easy as dry twigs, and how a punch sometimes welcomes paralysis. But he wouldn't listen. He practically begged to sign up, and you could tell Lencho was disappointed at such a scrawny catch. He wanted guys like Nardo and Sammy Fuentes—dangers known to everyone.
But I think it was enough for Lencho to know that Chico and Albert would yank in whatever direction he pulled. They hung on his every word, and he could sure pump guys up with confidence. (7.38-39)
Albert only has one thing on his mind when he joins Lencho's boxing team: He wants to be part of the group. So he begs his way in and finds himself with a spot, which makes him seriously jazzed. Sure, this community has its violent aspects, like the possibility of paralysis and all that, but it also gives its team members a sense of acceptance in being part of the group.
And then there's Lencho. He might not be looking for a bunch of new friends, but he sure is on the lookout for some power. And when guys like Albert and Chico join the team, he gets just that. So each character gets something a little different out of being part of this community.
Quote #6
After a couple of weeks of watching punches pop deeper into the bag, and guys skip blurs on the jump rope—albert actually hit the tetherball four swipes in a row!—I began to get a little swell-headed bout our chances. Sure, at first I was a bit leery, since those other guys were bigger and could cross their arms when jumping rope, but they weren't any better than us, not really. (7.49)
At first, Manny is pretty suspicious of this whole boxing team thing. But eventually he gets on board, especially when everyone starts to show improvement. And one way we know he's really gung-ho about his team now is the way he refers to his pals as "us" and the opponents as "those other guys." Yep, he's making a distinction between his community and a different group even in the pronouns he uses, and this lets us know just how much he's buying into this whole team idea.
Quote #7
Right then no one was around, except me, and Lencho kept searching for somebody to take off his gloves. Even when Boise came over—his own gloves off and, with his two naked hands, shook Lencho's arms—Lencho looked down at his gloves sort of funny, the way you look at a dog that has just dug up your garden, halfway angry at the dog and halfway sad about the garden. A hunk of concrete weighed my chest and gopher teeth were gnawing at my heart, but I went over and began peeling the tape and undoing the laces—because Lencho wanted somebody to take off his gloves. (7.114)
Any hesitancy Manny might've had about supporting the boxing team is totally out the window now. When Lencho is feeling pretty beat up after his boxing match, it's a sorry sight, but Manny knows that community is bigger than the big beating Lencho just took. And that's why he pushes past his physical and emotional disappointment and helps out his bud. Manny turns out to be quite the team player these days, and this makes him a big asset to his community.
Quote #8
Mom had her suspicions. She pulled me over and told me to help drag Magda inside. Gossip had a way of spreading around the housing projects quicker than dry burning grass. (8.4)
We've officially found the downside to community in this book: gossip. Living close to your neighbors might have its advantages, but when Magda's pregnant and losing the baby, Mom knows that privacy is key. Are there instances in the book when gossip really does end up causing problems for our characters? Or is this something they worry about without ever really seeing its negative side?
Quote #9
"These people," the lady said, sitting down beside my mom. "I can't stand them, either. It's like they care more about the gavachos than they do about us." […]
The lady reached out and put her hand on Mom's lap. As she did, a tear from Mom's eye dropped on her arm, and quickly, the lady rubbed it off, as if it burned. (8.38-39)
When Mom and Manny take Magda to the hospital, they don't find a ton of kindness in the waiting room. But for a moment there's a lady waiting there who actually shows Mom what community is all about—she might be a stranger, but she tries to reach out and make Mom feel better about the rude receptionist. It's a super nice moment, right? Unfortunately, though, it looks to us like this lady's idea of community only goes so far.
Quote #10
I wanted to join the gang because Frankie promised that I could kiss and make out with one of the girls when I passed the initiation. I was anxious about it, and curious about how the girls looked. (10.10)
Back in the day, Manny didn't care one lick about joining teams. He wasn't gung-ho about joining the boxing team and he didn't take part in a gang in his neighborhood; even at school he mostly avoided being part of a clique. This all changes when girls come into the picture, though—he's been feeling insecure about talking to the ladies these days, and figures joining a gang might be just the ticket for changing his luck with the ladies.