preview

The Circuit Analysis

Decent Essays

In the book, “The Circuit” by Francisco Jimenez, some examples are given on how family and culture can influence one’s life. Family and culture can negatively affect a person’s life because in the narrator’s case, it can cause them to move away from their friends or work hard to support their family. For example, “As the last days of August disappeared, so did the number of braceros. Sunday, only one—the best picker—came to work. I liked him. [...] That Sunday was the last time I saw him. [...] The thought of having to move to Fresno and knowing what was in store for me there brought tears to my eyes” (Jimenez 2 and 5). In other words, the narrator had to leave because the harvesting season was over and they had to find another place to work. …show more content…

Family and culture is shown negatively in this story when the narrator learns about her grandmother’s bound feet and has to change her life to benefit her family. An example is, “Disappointment made me protest. ‘But you said I had to give up the lessons so we could bring her from Hong Kong,’ I said. ‘Well, she’s here.’ Dad hesitated and then set the boxes down. ‘Try to understand, hon. We’ve got to set your grandmother up in her own apartment. That’s going to take even more money.’” (Yep 32 and 33). This shows how the narrator had to stop taking dance lessons because they had to use the money from the dance lessons to help a certain family member. It impacted the narrator’s life negatively because she could no longer dance even though it was probably one of her favorite activities to do. In addition, “However, she wasn’t quick enough, because I saw her bare feet for the first time. Her feet were like taffy that someone had stretched out and twisted. [...] “There was a time back in China when people thought women’s feet had to be shaped a certain way to look beautiful. When a girl was about five, her mother would gradually bend her toes under the sole of her foot” (Yep 69 and 76). This demonstrates how the narrator learned about the Chinese tradition of foot binding when her mother had to explain to her why her grandmother’s feet were abnormal after she

Get Access