Into the Beautiful North

by

Luis Alberto Urrea

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on Into the Beautiful North makes teaching easy.
Carla is Ma Johnston's next-door neighbor and is briefly Matt's love interest. She's a heavy smoker and uses other drugs as well. Though she's reasonably kind when she speaks to Nayeli and her friends, Carla is also quite racist in private: she and Matt joke about needing a border wall and turning Nayeli into Border Patrol.
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Carla Character Timeline in Into the Beautiful North

The timeline below shows where the character Carla appears in Into the Beautiful North. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 20
Female Friendship vs. Romance Theme Icon
...a duplex, and after leaving her garbage cans out for several days, Ma Johnston's neighbor, Carla, knocks on Ma's door. Carla finds Ma dead on the floor. In the present, several... (full context)
Borders and Ownership Theme Icon
Disillusionment and Idealization Theme Icon
...girls a shower. When Vampi asks to take a bubble bath, he fetches bubbles from Carla. Later, he watches the girls watch MTV. (full context)
Chapter 23
Borders and Ownership Theme Icon
Disillusionment and Idealization Theme Icon
...their mission. When Nayeli, Yolo, Atómiko, and Matt get back to the duplex, Vampi and Carla are grilling, and El Brujo is engaged in a game of Guitar Hero with the... (full context)
Chapter 25
Racism Theme Icon
Female Friendship vs. Romance Theme Icon
Later that night, Matt escapes to Carla's side of the duplex. They pass a bong back and forth, and Matt slurs that... (full context)
Disillusionment and Idealization Theme Icon
Female Friendship vs. Romance Theme Icon
Chava drops Tacho, Nayeli, and Atómiko back at Matt's house around midnight. They find Carla in an inflatable pool in the yard. Atómiko pulls his shirt off and jumps in... (full context)
Female Friendship vs. Romance Theme Icon
Carla calls for Nayeli's attention and says that Nayeli received a call. Nayeli can barely listen;... (full context)