Consumer Goods
The novel is peppered with references to brand names and consumer goods, which usually occur during situations of particular hardship or when characters are thinking about the things they lack. When she’s doing the backbreaking…
read analysis of Consumer Goods
Jesucristo and the Documents
One of the first things Petra does after arriving at the bungalow is set up her prized icon of Jesus (whom she calls “Jesucristo”), the candles that surround it, and her children’s American birth certificates…
read analysis of Jesucristo and the Documents
Cars
Cars frequently appear as symbols in 20th-century American literature. Endowing their owners with mobility and agency, they allow people to make their individual way in the world and fulfill the “American Dream” of success and…
read analysis of Cars
The Barn
At the beginning of the novel, Estrella and her family make their temporary home in an abandoned bungalow which is situated next to a large and empty barn. Estrella and her siblings are both intrigued…
read analysis of The Barn
Tar Pits
A geological phenomenon, tar pits are naturally-occurring pools of asphalt that form from the remains of plant and animal matter. Alejo, who aspires to go to college and study geology, explains the tar pits…
read analysis of Tar Pits
