Reaching Out

We first see Frank’s father as he rides with Frank and the rest of the family to Santa Clara College. He is impatient and irritable, foreshadowing his later emotional struggles.

Mr. Jiménez’ troubles began with his unsuccessful attempt to sharecrop strawberries for a Japanese farmer. This failure convinced Mr. Jiménez that he and his family were “cursed.” He was then beset by health problems, especially back pain, that forced him to stop doing field labor and further added to his depression. Throughout the book, Mr. Jiménez alternates dark moods with relatively cheerful ones in which he treats his children with playful affection. He is often depicted smoking.

Mr. Jiménez’ depression and health problems lead him to drink too much alcohol, crash his car, and eventually move back to Mexico to convalesce. The children insist that he never felt at home in America and always wanted to return to his native country. It is suggested that Mr. Jiménez may have a tendency to become violent, as Mrs. Jiménez shows up with an injured lip after the car accident.

Perhaps uniquely in the book, Mr. Jiménez is a character with tragic dimensions embodying a mixture of good and bad qualities. The better side of his nature is illustrated by various sayings that Frank attributes to him: “Tell me what company you keep and I’ll tell you who you are” (127); “If you have a job, be grateful. And never turn down work” (106); and “You can make something of yourself in the army when you are poor” (51). These sayings suggest a man who values moral character, hard work, and self-improvement.

Although the children love their father, they also have a healthy fear and respect for him. As the author states: “I disagreed with him, but I didn’t contradict him. I knew better” (7). Despite his difficult moods that make life at home unpleasant, they continue to love their father.

Frank’s esteem for his father is still evident in the last chapter, as he recalls the embroidered handkerchief his father once gave his mother for Christmas—a handkerchief he had bought from a poor migrant couple that needed money. The fact that Mrs. Jiménez still has the handkerchief suggests that she still loves her husband too. 

Frank’s mother is less prominent in the narrative than his father, yet she plays a pivotal role in the family. The author recalls that she made special efforts to make their home pleasant and livable, no matter how poor the surroundings. More than once, Mrs. Jiménez is depicted smoothing her dress, suggesting that she is concerned about propriety and appearances. Mrs. Jiménez is saddened by her husband’s physical suffering, and she cries after his car accident; however, this sorrow changes to anger when she refuses to sit with him on the way back from the police station. Although it is implied that Mr. Jiménez struck his wife on the lip while drunk, Mrs. Jiménez insists it was an accident—raising the possibility that she is lying to cover up for him.

After her husband’s departure to Mexico, Mrs. Jiménez expresses her faith and hope that he will return. Similarly, after the destruction of their home by fire, she takes a philosophical view: “Such is life, son…But every dark cloud has a silver lining” (157). The author says she looks “tired but calm” (157), a description that sums up her long-suffering nature.

Throughout the book, Mrs. Jiménez frequently demonstrates her love and affection toward her children, and she maintains her love for her husband.

Of all his five siblings, Frank is closest to his older brother Roberto. As children, Frank and Roberto (nicknamed “Toto”) were always together, often cooperating on farm chores like milking cows and drawing water. Roberto works as a janitor and lives with his wife, Darlene, and their daughter, Jackie. Roberto’s house is a kind of second home base for Frank; he often visits there on his way home from college. It is Roberto who brings Frank the news of his father’s departure to Mexico and the burning down of the family home. The robust, broad-shouldered Roberto often takes a leadership role in the family: After Mr. Jiménez’ accident, he goes with Frank to the ranch to talk to him.

Roberto and Frank still share a close relationship, confiding in each other and often giving each other hugs. As he goes off to college, Frank finds it “painful” to be parted from his brother, and Roberto feels the same. When Frank graduates from college, Roberto gifts him with a fine typewriter.

At first, Roberto and his family live in a small apartment, but they later move into a two-bedroom house. This suggests the hope of social mobility for the Jiménez family. Frank is always a welcome visitor to the home, and Roberto states that his daughter, Jackie, counts Frank as her “favorite uncle” (87). With his attractive wife who resembles Elizabeth Taylor (2) and his cute and precocious daughter, Roberto has an ideal life that Frank aspires to. 

Father O’Neill teaches History of Christianity and acts as Frank’s spiritual advisor at college. When Frank behaves distractedly in class, Father O’Neill invites him to have a talk with him in his office. There, and later on a walk across campus, Frank discusses his home troubles. Father O’Neill shows care and concern for Frank’s welfare, emphasizing the importance of trusting in God and encouraging him to join Sodality. He also shows respect for Frank’s Hispanic heritage, instructing him to walk proudly and erect “like Don Quixote” (95).

When Frank decides to leave college to help his family, Father O’Neill is instrumental in convincing him to stay. In addition, the priest secures a job for Frank over the Christmas break and buys him a new suit to wear to his graduate school interview. When his father leaves home, Frank recalls and draws strength from Father O’Neill’s advice about trusting in God. In all these ways, Father O’Neill represents the loving and caring qualities that the clergy at Santa Clara University show toward the students.

The priest is described as tall and thin, with a deep, raspy voice, and afflicted with a trembling of the hands that earns him the nickname “Shaky Jake.” 

Father Shanks is another priest who mentors Frank at college. Shanks teaches a philosophy course in which he encourages students to probe their lives for spiritual meaning. He also heads Sodality, a student organization on campus that fosters charitable action. As a philosopher, Shanks is fond of asking rhetorical questions aimed at making people think. During their first meeting, he squarely asks Frank, “Are you a leader or a follower?” The question illustrates the uncompromising standards and high ideals to which Shanks holds Sodality members.

Father Shanks is short and stout and smokes cigarettes. Like Father O’Neill, he is kind and caring toward Frank, encouraging him to stay in college and guiding him toward becoming a citizen. Shanks’ belief in social action as a way of practicing one’s faith exerts a strong influence on Frank, as seen in his activism for migrants. 

Smokey, Frank’s roommate at college, is friendly, athletic, blue-eyed, and of Irish descent. His energetic and easygoing nature draws people “like a magnet” (21). Smokey comes from a working-class background, with his father a policeman and his mother a secretary. He and Frank bond over their similar backgrounds and are happy to be roommates.

At times, Smokey can be blunt, immediately commenting on Frank’s accent (23). He can also be pushy, nagging Frank to take an interest in sports and pressuring him to drink alcohol after a football game. Frank thinks that Smokey won’t let him be himself and live his own life. Smokey insists that he is concerned about Frank’s welfare and wants him to have fun as well as study hard. Basically, Frank and Smokey clash over their differing personalities—Frank brought up to be reserved and quiet, Smokey extroverted and gregarious.

Despite their different temperaments, Smokey and Frank’s friendship endures. They help each other with their studies and enjoy going to a dance. At the end of his college years, Frank feels sad to say goodbye to Smokey. 

Laura shares a Latin American literature class with Frank and impresses him with her knowledge of Spanish and skill in analyzing texts. Like Frank, Laura comes from a working-class immigrant family. Her grandparents, by whom she was raised, spoke Italian in the home. From a young age Laura helped out in her parents’ grocery store, which served poor migrants, doing such chores as preparing slaughtered chickens to be sold.

Frank develops a deep trust and friendship with Laura and resolves to tell her the secret of having been born in Mexico and his family’s illegal entry into the United States. Laura reacts with complete understanding, telling about her own family’s immigrant background as well as the sickness that claimed the life of her mother. Laura’s pride in her Italian heritage is akin to Frank’s pride in his Mexican heritage, and the crisis of her mother’s death parallels the crisis of Frank’s father. Thus, the similar experiences Laura and Frank share create a deeper bond between them.

After having coffee together, Laura and Frank play pinball, a game at which Laura has considerably more skill than Frank (he does not seem to mind being beaten by her). They forget themselves in the excitement of the game and continue to play on all of their dates.

In the last chapter, we are given clues that Laura and Frank’s relationship will endure after their graduation. After the commencement ceremony, Frank introduces Laura to his mother as one of his best friends and, at the restaurant, makes a toast to her “for your friendship and wisdom and for accepting me for who I am” (191). The couple kiss as Laura’s train arrives. 

Emily is a Mexican-American friend of Laura who soon becomes a friend of Frank, as well. Their friendship is described in Chapter 16, “Home Away from Home.” Emily is a year behind Frank in college and also majors in Spanish. Unlike most of the students at the college, she has a part-time job and commutes to college from home. Frank and Emily frequently meet over Mexican-style dinners at Emily’s home, where she lives with her mother. The pair bond over their common Mexican backgrounds and their struggles with the English language. From their experiences of having their native language ostracized in school, they both agree on the evil of prejudice. Emily’s mother reminds Frank of his own mother, and the Bernabés feel like a second family to him. The main function Emily performs in the narrative is to suggest how bonds of friendship can expand outward.