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Cantú’s Grandfather
Morales is one of Cantú’s classmates at Border Patrol Academy, and they continue to work together once they graduate and go into the field. Soon after they graduate, Morales is in a traffic accident and ends up in hospital. When Cantú visits him, he feels overwhelmed by emotion but doesn’t allow himself to cry, which motions to his growing emotional detachment.
Morales Quotes in The Line Becomes a River
The The Line Becomes a River quotes below are all either spoken by Morales or refer to Morales. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Part 1 Quotes
Hay mucha desesperación, he told me, almost whispering. I tried to look at his face, but it was too dark.
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Outside in the parking lot, trying to gather my strength, I thought about the tears in Cole’s eyes, about Morales’s far-off gaze, about his parents huddled in the corner […] My face became hot and I could feel moisture collecting in my eyes. […] I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I would not go back, I decided, I would not let the water gather into tears.
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Morales Character Timeline in The Line Becomes a River
The timeline below shows where the character Morales appears in The Line Becomes a River. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Part 1
Hart loses interest in Cantú’s explanation, and their fellow recruit Morales seems quieted by it. Cantú apologizes, explaining that he studied the border in college. On...
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One night after sunset, Morales spots 10 migrants. They disperse, but the recruits find them one by one. Cantú speaks...
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Morales and Cantú arrest two men in their mid-20s, walking through the desert at night. The...
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One night long after sundown, Morales and Cantú respond to a report of migrants picked up by sensors. They station themselves...
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One day, Morales finds an overweight teenage boy—a migrant—alone and hysterical in the desert. Cantú arrives, and together...
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Morales is in a motorcycle accident, and Cantú is too scared to visit him in the...
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Part 3
Cantú calls Morales and asks about the court process for a friend. Morales makes fun of him, saying,...
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Cantú asks if the court process will be open to the public, and Morales says yes, that protestors often go along. He tells Cantú that José’s family will be...
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...system, including Border Patrol, lose sight of people’s humanity. Cantú mentions that he’s friends with Morales, and Walter says he knows him from the courthouse and thinks he’s callous.
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