The Line Becomes a River

by

Francisco Cantú

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on The Line Becomes a River makes teaching easy.
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:
Trauma and Emotional Detachment Theme Icon
).
Part 1 Quotes

Hay mucha desesperación, he told me, almost whispering. I tried to look at his face, but it was too dark.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), Morales
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), Morales, Cole
Page Number: 67
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Line Becomes a River LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Line Becomes a River PDF

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:
Trauma and Emotional Detachment Theme Icon
).
Part 1 Quotes

Hay mucha desesperación, he told me, almost whispering. I tried to look at his face, but it was too dark.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), Morales
Page Number: 31
Explanation and Analysis:

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.

Related Characters: Francisco Cantú (speaker), Morales, Cole
Page Number: 67
Explanation and Analysis: