Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in The Circuit, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Change and Instability
Immigrants, Discrimination, and Injustice
Childhood vs. Adulthood
Family and Community
Summary
Analysis
Francisco lives in a small village called El Rancho Blanco in Mexico. His parents often tell him and his older brother, Roberto, that they will someday cross la frontera (the U.S.-Mexico border) into California and leave their poverty and troubles behind. Roberto is excited at the prospect of leaving, since he is unhappy living in their village. He once visited their cousin Fito, who works in a tequila factory in Guadalajara and who has a house with floors, electricity, and water. Roberto, too, wants a life with these comforts.
The events of this novel begin in the late 1940s, a time when poverty and food shortages were rampant in Mexico. Because of this, many Mexican people wanted to move to the United States in search of a better life. Francisco’s family has the same idea. In their village, they do not seem to have even the most basic comforts, which is why Roberto is impressed by Fito’s life in Guadalajara. To readers, Fito’s lifestyle might not seem very impressive—he merely has floors, electricity, water—but to Roberto, this represents the height of luxury, since his family has none of these things.
Themes
Francisco’s favorite things about living in their village is hunting for chicken eggs, going to church, and listening to the stories his family tells after dinner every night. His uncle’s family always visits, and they all chat as they sit around a fire. On one such night, Francisco’s father, whom Francisco calls Papá, announces that they are about to make the long-awaited journey across la frontera to California.
Roberto is older than Francisco, which makes him more aware that his family lacks comforts that others have. Francisco, however, is still a little child. He is probably around four years old here—The Circuit is a semiautobiographical novel, and the author, Francisco Jiménez, was four years old when his family crossed the border into California. At this young age, Francisco doesn’t care about these comforts and instead takes pleasure in companionship at church and family get-togethers. Though Francisco’s family struggles without material comforts in their village, they are surrounded by a warm community.
Themes
A few days later, the family packs their belongings into a suitcase and takes a bus to Guadalajara. Then, they travel by train for two days and two nights. On the way, Roberto tells Francisco that in California, people “sweep money off the streets.” Papá laughs at this, but he agrees that life there is certainly better than in Mexico.
The family manages to fit all their belongings into one suitcase, which shows readers how little they own and is a reminder of the family’s poverty. Roberto is excited about their move and has a childish notion about how different their life in California will be—he believes that the transformation to their lives will be immediate and dramatic. His idea that California is so prosperous that money is thrown around like trash is somewhat humorous in its exaggerated optimism—and yet, it seems to be just an exaggerated version of Papá’s own ideas about California. Papá, too, believes that California will be a solution to the family’s troubles.
Themes
The family finally gets off the train at Mexicali. Papá points to guards in green uniforms stationed on both sides of a barbed wire fence. He explains that they have to cross the fence into California without being seen by the guards. At night, the family walks for miles, following the fence, and they finally crawl through a small hole to the other side. A woman whom Papá contacted earlier is waiting in her car to pick them up. She drops them off at a labor camp outside a strawberry farm, telling them that they’ll find work there. After paying her, Papá has almost no money left.
The barbed wire fence and the threatening presence of the guards at the border emphasize the risks that the family is taking by attempting to cross the border. These ominous signs also suggest that the family will need to be constantly wary of these threats as undocumented immigrants. Francisco’s parents are aware of these challenges, but since they choose to go ahead with their plan, readers can deduce that they must be desperate to leave. They also seem very certain that their lives will improve in California. However, the place they end up at—a labor camp—doesn’t seem to be the promised land they dreamed of.
Themes
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To Papá’s disappointment, the foreman at the strawberry farm tells him that he won’t have any work for him for at least two weeks, since the strawberries aren’t ripe enough to be picked yet. The family doesn’t have any money until then, so they live in a tent that the foreman loans them. They survive on wild greens from the woods and birds and rabbits that Papá hunts with a borrowed rifle.
As soon as the family arrives in California, they face financial hardship. This must be very disappointing for them after the hopes they came with. Still, they also experience kindness from the people around them, which helps the family survive their difficult first days in this new place.
Themes
To pass the time, Roberto and Francisco watch trains at the tracks nearby. Their favorite train comes every day at noon—it has a distinct whistle, and the conductor slows the train down to wave to the boys. One day, Francisco wonders aloud where the train might be coming from, and Roberto says that it probably comes from California. Francisco, surprised, points out that they are already in California—but Roberto says that he isn’t sure about that.
Like Papá, Francisco and Roberto experience kindness from a stranger that makes their disappointing first days in California slightly better. However, the reality of their lives in California is so different from what Roberto imagined it would be that he doesn’t even believe that they are actually in California. Roberto had imagined that their family would “sweep money off the streets,” and instead, they’re living in a tent and scavenging for food. While Roberto looked forward to the move, he ends up being disappointed by it.
Themes
Just then, the train comes around the corner. The conductor slows the train down and drops a brown bag full of fruit and candy. Roberto and Francisco are delighted, and Roberto says that this proves the train does come from California.
The train conductor’s kindness not only raises the boys’ spirits but also gives the family some much-needed food at a time when they really need it. The kindness of strangers helps the family survive their harsh conditions. Roberto, who doesn’t quite believe that the family is in California (since it is so different from what he imagined it would be), concludes that the train must be coming from the prosperous place that he dreamed of.
Themes
