LITERATURE ANALYSIS #3

LITERARY ANALYSIS

: Breaking Through; Francisco Jimenez

SETTING:

       The setting takes place in many different areas between Mexico and California. Most of the story takes place in fields in small towns like Santa Maria and a small town located 15 minutes away from Guadalajara. The time period is around the 60’s and the 70’s where there were little pay and poor conditions for field workers. The area is a small Mexican-populated community where the dangers of deportation are high. There are always many different settings due to how much the characters in the story migrated from place to place in order to find jobs and people who would employ them.

MAIN CHARACTER:

            The main character, although quite unusual, is the author himself. His name is Francisco Jimenez. He is an extremely honest and hard-working individual who is dedicated to helping his family go forward. He is the oldest of his siblings. He only speaks and understands Spanish until he attends school. He is an eager individual who is always positive when it comes to learning something new. Although Francisco faces poverty and blatant prejudice, he always remains on the sunny side where little could upset him. His determination to complete school and go on to college is why he was able to write this book and why he is a successful writer.

SECONDARY CHARACTERS:  

       Francisco’s father is an influential person in this story because his father is the person who teaches him his hard-working charisma and his good morals. He is also the person who shapes his future and makes very significant decisions for him. His mother is the one woman in his life that shows him honesty and the ways of being a gentleman. She is a gentle and caring mother who only focuses on what is good for her children and their future. Roberto is Francisco’s brother and best friend whom he regularly spends most of his free time with. His brother is almost like his best friend, but he is also part of the family. Roberto supports all the decisions that Francisco makes throughout the story.

CONFLICT:

            The conflict in this story is that Francisco and his family come from an awfully poverty stricken root. There is little he can do when all he knows what to do is work in the fields. The only way that Francisco can succeed and escape his future of working in the fields is if he attains an education. Sadly his father gets injured and Francisco, him being the oldest brother, has to work in order to sustain his family. While barely holding a job, he is struggling to focus on school which is his future. The question that this book creates in the audience’s mind is how he is going to accomplish the goals that seem so difficult for an average person to achieve. Mean while he is in his stressful situation, his life back is no different with his dad always arguing about how Francisco prefers school over his own family. Francisco simultaneously is tearing apart inside trying to unravel his decisions that he is forced to make.

THEME:

       The theme that this story creates is how a person from the poorest background, with hard work and dedication, is able to succeed in life and be one of the most well known people in the world. A person’s choice of where they are right now, whether that person be successful or not, is completely that person’s fault and no other’s. The morals that a person contains are what helps achieve his/her future. It is basically to never give up when the obstacles in a person’s life get tough. Just keep fighting on, and with a good heart and perseverance, everything will be exactly how you want it to turn out.