Cajas de Carton

“Under the Wire,” “Soledad”

Reading Check

1. Guadalajara (“Under the Wire”)

2. One (“Under the Wire”)

3. Cotton (“Soledad”)

Short Answer

1. Before landing in California, the narrator and his family think of California as a mythical, wonderful place. Papa describes it as a land of opportunity and happiness for the family. Stories from other family members, including Roberto and the narrator’s cousin, Fito, contribute to the idea that in California, the family will be wealthy, happy, and free. (“Under the Wire”)

2. This story is called “Soledad” because the reader is made privy to the narrator’s sense of desperate isolation. There is a tragic irony to the fact that the reason the narrator is so lonely is that he can’t work in the same difficult position as the older members of his family. (“Soledad”)

“Inside Out,” “Miracle in Tent City”

Reading Check

1. Because the classroom has electricity and heat (“Inside Out”)

2. She gives him a first-place ribbon for one of his drawings. (“Inside Out”)

3. Santa Monica (“Miracle in Tent City”)

Short Answer

1. Mrs. Scalapino refuses to let the narrator speak Spanish in class, isolating him further from the only boy in the class with whom he can communicate.