Efrén Divided

“Efrén knew all too well how horribly wrong most of David’s plans usually went. Still, he couldn’t say no to his best friend.”

David, with his outspoken and wacky personality, provides Efrén with smiles and laughs, allowing him to experience some levity even when Efrén is worried and stressed about his parents’ immigration status. The plan in question here is David’s choice to run for president of the class. Efrén cannot turn his back on David’s request for help, even if he suspects the election will not go well. This line provides relationship background and demonstrates indirectly how Efrén allows his sense of devotion to override his suspicion that David’s choice might be a bad idea.

“We have to get her back.”

When Efrén learns from Doña Chana that Amá was picked up by la migra and is being held in custody, he sits stunned. These words are the only he can produce. Doña Chana agrees and reassures Efrén, but as she tries to light a saint candle as an intercession with shaky hands, Efrén also feels doubt. The line is symbolic of his own futility in the situation; it is obviously true, yet disastrously ineffective.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m thinking about going down to Ensenada, spending some time at the beach.”

Efrén speaks to Amá on the phone the first night she is gone. This line from Amá about her impending deportation demonstrates indirectly that Amá cares primarily about putting Efrén at ease and making him smile, indicative of her selfless nature. It also shows a measure of resilience in Amá, as she sees the benefit to a bit of humor.

“The pressure was on.”

On the morning after authorities arrest and ready Amá for deportation, Efrén feels obligated to make a decent breakfast for Max and Mia. He knows Amá does not like the thought of the free school breakfasts; she is able to consistently work miracles in the kitchen of delicious food from next to nothing. Efrén fails miserably, though, when he tries to fry biscuit dough in oil, and the three siblings end up at school eating Cheerios. This line sums up the sudden and complete burden of care on Efrén now that Amá is gone, and his initially spirited attempt to rise to the occasion. The burn on his hand tempers his confidence and foreshadows more trouble in the coming days.

“‘Ahora, ¿cómo consigo más dinero para cruzarla?’ Where would he find the money to get her home? The question ripped a hole in Efrén’s heart, even as more questions filled his mind.”

Efrén’s hopes for Amá’s quick return with a coyote’s assistance in getting her across the border are dashed as he listens in to Apá on the phone with someone he does not identify. Apá reveals that someone stole Amá’s purse and the money Apá borrowed to pay the coyote. In this line, Apá shows that he cannot fathom how to pay even more. When he sees Efrén listening, however, he insists this is just a delay in Amá’s return. Apá and Efrén cry together in their helplessness. This line demonstrates the use of Spanish language throughout the text and the author’s ability to interweave translation into the story, as well as the use of an effective and strong metaphor (“ripped a hole”) for describing Efrén’s emotions.

“I know what it’s like to have one’s life turned upside down […] You, my friend, have that same look.”

It is with this line that Mr. Garrett takes a friendlier approach with Efrén and begins to side with him as an Ally instead of an antagonistic, unfeeling authority figure. Symbolically, the line represents a link of commonality between them, as it is in this moment that Efrén sees the photo on Mr. Garrett’s desk revealing that his wife was or is a Latina woman. Efrén believes Mr. Garrett went through a rough divorce over the summer, and the reader might guess that he alludes to divorce, separation, or loss in this line.

“If any kids caught him, they’d never let him live it down. Regardless, Efrén knew what he needed to do.”

Efrén’s obligation to his siblings and family supersedes his worry over getting caught and being humiliated in stealing others’ rejected snacks from the school cafeteria trash can. Efrén strongly feels he must save money, in part because he does not know what might happen next regarding Amá and their family. It is a sensible solution to him, therefore, to take the unopened celery and crackers for Max and Mia. The line shows the rapid climb to committed caretaker Efrén undergoes in the sudden departure of his mother.

“Without a doubt, it was the quietest breakfast they’d ever had.”

Efrén continues to take charge of the twins and accepts the trying job of getting them dressed and to school each morning. Efrén’s loss of patience with Max after the drain cleaner incident humanizes him and shows the intense struggle he feels in Amá’s absence. Despite Efrén’s sincere apology for swatting Max, the twins keep quiet at breakfast that morning. This line indicates a delineation between the little siblings and the older brother that was not nearly as visible before this scene; Max and Mia sense stress and a sad maturity in Efrén; whereas before, he concentrated on fun games and keeping them preoccupied.

“To paraphrase Gandhi, ‘Be the change you want to see.’”

After offering only uninspired lessons and a boring, lifeless classroom, Mr. Garrett has a “wake-up” experience for which he credits Efrén. Yellow poster paper hangs in the room and a slideshow leads the class into a unit on tolerance. More like the kind of teacher he was before his family trauma, Mr. Garrett engages students with famous quotations and poems. This line and the lesson in general demonstrate change in Mr. Garrett, showing that he is a dynamic character. The idea in the line and the allusion to Gandhi support the theme of “The Fight for Humanitarianism, Tolerance, and Justice.”

“Dude, then why are we even voting for you?”

As much as Efrén wants to support his friend David in running for president at their middle school, Efrén cannot in good conscience rally behind him. David’s ideas are fun and dramatic but baseless and lacking any true leadership. Efrén comes to the painful realization that though David sincerely wants to prove himself in getting elected, the position would be wasted with him in it; an attempt at true change requires a leader like Jennifer. This line represents a complication in David’s and Efrén’s friendship (and foreshadows more trouble to come), which up to now has been a steady constant in Efrén’s stressed life.

“I know what I did seems messed up. But I wouldn’t have done it if I didn’t have a good reason.”

Efrén offers this leading statement to David in trying to explain his choice to run for the office of president himself, which David sees as a betrayal. Efrén cannot, however, bring himself to reveal his mother’s deportation—not only because it might endanger upcoming plans for Amá’s return or Apá’s safety, but also because talking about it might bring Efrén to tears in public. These lines of dialogue show how Efrén’s inner and outer conflicts are merging together and growing larger.

“What am I thinking? There’s no way I can leave my two secret weapons at home. These two posters are going to get me elected.”

Efrén makes a short-lived attempt to leave Mia’s and Max’s heartfelt posters for his campaign at home when he goes to the school to hang them up. Guilt and duty as an older brother prompt Efrén to change his mind, and he credits his siblings with the success he hopes to have, knowing it will make them feel good about their role. The line is a good example of indirect characterization because it demonstrates Efrén’s consistent attempt to do the right and moral thing despite his inner struggles and worry. 

“Brave. It was the exact opposite of how he felt.”

Apá gets more money to try Amá’s crossing again with a different coyote, but he cannot wire or send it to her as she has no identification. He plans to try to hand it to her at the border fence. Efrén sees the danger and convinces Apá he (Efrén) can carry the money to Amá without endangering either of them. Apá tells him he is brave, but Efrén cannot see it. This line of interior monologue serves as an effective chapter cap and “cliffhanger” before the dramatic passages detailing Efrén’s trip into Tijuana.

“Little man, you don’t just go back. It ain’t that easy.”

Efrén gets to know his cab driver Lalo as he travels into Tijuana to meet Amá. Lalo speaks here of his deportation years before, and of his choice to allow his daughter to grow up in the US while he stays in Mexico. Lalo’s words are lightly spoken to Efrén, but they foreshadow the trouble ahead for Amá.

“Efrén walked up to the iron fence and held up his palm against it. How was it possible that he was allowed to cross to either side? […] Plain. Simple. Dumb. Luck.”

Efrén symbolically touches the fence that separates members of the same family, some born in Mexico like his parents, some born in the US like him. Efrén does not mean that luck led to his freedom—he acknowledges his parents’ sacrifice in that regard—but instead that he personally did nothing special or noble to bring about his privileged ability to cross the border freely. His moment of realization is strong and lasting; it is partially responsible for his ultimate decision to try to initiate change as president and a leader of his school. This moment also demonstrates a step toward greater maturation and empathy in Efrén, moving him along his character arc.

“All I need to do is deliver this to her. Then we can go back to the way things were. We can be a family again.”

Efrén shows his optimism and sense of hope in this line of dialogue with Lalo. The line serves as a reminder to the reader that though Efrén often makes mature decisions and shows a wisdom beyond his years—and that he continues to grow in maturity as his responsibilities and realizations increase—he also has a childlike optimism regarding Amá’s return. In Efrén’s mind, Amá will get home, simply because she must. Unfortunately, Lalo, older and wiser than Efrén, does not share Efrén’s inherent optimism. Hope must be alive in Lalo, however, as he offers to help find a more trustworthy person to help Amá cross the border.

“I know it sounds crazy, but what choice did I have?”

Amá shares with Lalo and Efrén the story of her first successful crossing to California. She was seven months pregnant and got a ride on the back of a motorcycle. The story strikes Efrén as humorous, but the line also goes to the heart of the theme of “Personal Sacrifice for Family.” Amá went to such lengths because she wanted a better life for her child. In a similar way, Lalo has no choice but to allow his daughter Abby grow up far away in the US.

“I said no and tried holding my ground. But then…I got word you were on your way. I couldn’t risk your or your Amá’s safety.”

Apá tells the story of his and Amá’s decision to emigrate without legal channels to the US. In short, Apá felt he had no choice, as staying in Mexico would endanger the lives of Amá and the baby who would be Efrén. Apá’s sentiments echo Amá’s (in the above quote) and connect to the theme of “Personal Sacrifice for Family.”

“She crossed! She’s in San Diego, on her way home.”

Efrén is thrilled and ecstatic at Apá’s news; Amá is safely within two hours of home. This emotional high point juxtaposes effectively with the terribly ironic news at the chapter cap: After successfully navigating the border itself and its dangers, Amá is so close; but their joy is ended with the news that she is caught and detained.

“We make do. That’s all we can do.”

It is all Apá can offer to Efrén, now that Amá is detained in custody without any immediate hope of a plan to bring her home. Here, Apá unknowingly echoes Lalo’s words about life in Mexico without his daughter, which Efrén recognizes right away. Efrén, though, cannot be content at the thought of simply soldiering on; the sense of unfairness and lack of justice is too overwhelming. An unspoken choice arrives with Apá’s line, and Efrén will soon choose more than just making do.

“With Amá gone, there was no way he could bail on Max and Mia.”

While Efrén is thrilled for Jennifer’s new prospects for success, he knows immediately he cannot take advantage of the Fair Tomorrow Program. His reaction befits his kind and generous character throughout the novel, and now demonstrates his mature acceptance of a new level of responsibility without Amá in his life for at least the near future. The line serves to demonstrate Efrén’s growth and change as a dynamic character and his coming of age.

“That walk to the main office was one of the longest of his life. Deport Efrén Nava.”

Efrén’s character voice comes through strongly here through the use of hyperbole; Efrén means that his thoughts of David’s betrayal weigh heavily on him, slowing him down and making the anticipation excruciating. After this build-up of emotions, and along with the emotional extremes Efrén experienced in the last few days, Efrén finds no words when he encounters David in the office with regard to his vandalized campaign signs.

“Vice president is more my style. Come on, F-mon, do it for your Amá.”

In a fitting line for David’s character, he concedes the presidency office to Efrén, alleviating Efrén of the burden of guilt and complication of resigning. His decision here is important in bringing a resolution to the subplot of conflict and competition between Efrén and David. David also reveals that he knows about Amá, signifying the end of stressful secrecy for Efrén as well. Now that the secret is out and his ally has returned, Efrén is able to take the final steps on his character arc and accept the call to future action as president.