106 pages • 3 hours read
Francisco JiménezBreaking Through
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | YA | Published in 2001A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 13-15Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 13 Summary: “Broken Heart”
While Francisco balances his work schedule and school assignments well, he seldom has the opportunity to socialize with classmates or make truly close friends. Papa’s strict scheduling of the teenage boys allows them only one night per week out of the house, and the author recalls that “[…] we had to be home by midnight” (103). He has companionable classmates, most of whom come from more comfortable economic circumstances and buy their lunch at school; Mama foregoes her normal homemade lunch of taquitos for baloney sandwiches to avoid Francisco being the target of ethnic slurs, including “chile stomper” and “tamale wrapper” (102). The brothers attend some school dances on Friday nights, and Francisco, always comfortable dancing and with the companionship of girls, finds it “[…] strange that some boys drank to get the courage to ask the girls to dance” (104).
On one occasion, he notices his brother, Roberto, dancing with the same girl all evening and holding her hand. Roberto introduces her as Susan, and Francisco is upset when it becomes apparent that his brother would prefer to spend his one permitted weekend evening out with her rather than himself. Roberto advises his brother that “[…] I think I am in love!” (106). Subsequently, Roberto’s joy turns to grief when Susan’s parents invite him to dinner, and her father asks the boy’s nationality. Upon realizing that he is Mexican, the parents seemed “[…] uncomfortable and less friendly” (107). Susan is inconsolable when she tells Roberto that her father has offered to buy her a car if she will agree to stop dating him, and Francisco has an angry epiphany when he realizes that ethnicity was the reason that his former friend, Peggy, had stopped seeing him. Susan arranges to see Roberto a few times by saying that she is spending the evening at a girlfriend’s house, but the young man is uncomfortable with this arrangement; her father eventually realizes her plan and forbids her permission to go out at all. The author says that Roberto “stopped dating for a long time” (108).
Chapter 14 Summary: “Behind the Wheel”
Roberto teaches Francisco to drive on weekends by using the van owned by their employer, Santa Maria Window Cleaners. Usually a quick learner, Francisco spends quite a while perfecting his driving skills and barely passes his driving test. He drives the family car, a battered old DeSoto with “[t]he front left door […] smashed in” (110) and secured with a rope. Roberto sometimes allows Francisco to drive his pristine Buick. On one occasion, when he refuses to lend the car to his brother, Francisco has an uncharacteristic fit of temper and yells at his older sibling. Upon hearing the altercation, Papa angrily forces the boy to apologize, stating “You can’t yell at Roberto. He’s your older brother” (110). Even the younger brothers in the family, Trampita and Torito, “[…] hid in the back seat” (110) when they miss the bus and their mother drives them to school in the DeSoto.
Conversely, Roberto’s Buick is a work of art. He washes and polishes it weekly, keeps the interior in perfect condition, and barters his carpentry skills for custom upholstery work on the car, and installs a record player that is powered by the cigarette lighter. All of Roberto’s younger siblings enjoy being driven to and from school in this car; however, Francisco’s opportunity to do so is eliminated when he the owner of Santa Maria Window Cleaners assigns him to clean the Western Union office every day prior to 7:00 a.m. This arrangement involves Francisco transporting himself in the family DeSoto, and he is tempted to refuse the extra work. He refrains from doing so because his father had taught the boys to always accept the opportunity to earn additional money. The author drives to school by side streets after his early morning job in order to avoid being seen by his classmates. He then parks the car a distance away and walks to class. Roberto observes him doing so one day; the next morning, he gets up early with Francisco and advises him that he will be assisting in cleaning the Western Union office each morning, and that the pair will resume driving to school in the Buick together again.
Chapter 15 Summary: “Turning a Page”
Francisco sees his guidance counselor, Mr. Kinkade, at the start of his junior year, and Kinkade reflects upon how much his self-confidence has improved since their first meeting prior to his freshman year. The counselor congratulates his student on his acceptance by the California Scholarship Federation, and laughs over the fact that Francisco achieved good grades in all subjects but Driver’s Education. He discusses college attendance with Francisco and states that “If you’re well prepared in high school, you shouldn’t have trouble in college” (114). Mr. Kinkade arranges to have Francisco attend an upcoming open house at Cal Poly, in San Luis Obispo, and Francisco is impressed by the general atmosphere of the campus; however, he notes that none of the students “[…] looked like my friends from Bonetti Ranch or friends I made in other labor camps, and that made me feel uncomfortable” (116).
When the high school students tour a dorm, Francisco wonders whether a student seen studying there feels lonely, “[…] like Roberto and I did when we lived alone (116). When the student leaves his American History book behind on a sofa, Francisco looks at one of the pages and has the happy realization that he is capable of reading, and comprehending, a college level textbook: “I can read this!” (116). Later that evening, when he fantasizes about attending college and living in a dorm, he feels both excitement and sadness at the prospect of leaving his close-knit family.
Chapters 13-15 Analysis
The recurring idea of the painful consequences of ethnic prejudice is revisited upon several occasions in this section, and it is demonstrated through both overt and subtle examples. Specifically, Roberto is dramatically rejected by Susan’s parents as an appropriate suitor for their daughter due to his Mexican background; his emotional reaction is so extreme that it prevents him from dating for a long time. Witnessing this event causes Francisco to realize that his friendship with Peggy was ended by her parents for the same reason.
He is also aware of less insidious forms of discourtesy, as well. For example, even the friendly classmates with whom he eats lunch call him names like “tamale wrapper” when he brings his mother’s traditional Mexican food for lunch. Additionally, there is the issue of shame derived from being seen driving the ancient family car, a battered DeSoto with rope holding the front door closed. Francisco parks it far away from school to make sure that his classmates will not see him driving the vehicle. Despite Francisco’s academic achievement, he notes that none of the college students whom he sees during a campus visit “looked like my friends from Bonetti Ranch […] and that made me feel uncomfortable” (116). Lacking a contemporary from his own background with whom to compare his achievements, his tendency toward feeling that he is an imposter in an essentially alien culture never quite disappears. A dedicated student and hard worker who excels in all subjects except Driver’s Ed, Francisco is chosen by the California Scholarship Federation during his junior year of high school.
Another element of cultural differences is that of parenting styles. Papa, although he is no longer a reliable wage earner and is disabled by chronic pain and depression, still adheres to a traditional Latino mode of running a strict, paternally-dominated household. Conversely, when Susan’s parents want her to break off her relationship with Roberto, they bribe her with the offer of buying her a new car. This patriarchal influence on family dynamics extends itself to Roberto, as the oldest son in the Jimenez family. When Francisco raises his voice to his older brother upon his refusal to let him borrow his highly esteemed Buick, Papa angrily advises him that he must apologize, as it is unacceptable for a younger brother to express disrespect to an older brother.
The family experiences the stress of nearly-constant anxiety regarding money, housing and jobs, but they still are extremely close-knit. When Roberto realizes that Francisco is parking the DeSoto far away from school and walking there after his early morning cleaning job, he awakens with his younger brother in order to assist him in his work and drive him to school in the far more acceptable Buick. This demonstrates the sense of unity and solidarity exhibited by these siblings, who have learned to assist one another in all aspects of American life.
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