40 pages • 1 hour read
Jimmy Santiago BacaA Place to Stand
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2001A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 10-12Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 10 Summary
Baca receives a letter from Lori, his brother’s girlfriend, informing him that Mieyo had gone on a drunken spree after their visit to the prison. Lori also writes that she and Mieyo have broken up. Baca broods about the letter and his brother’s drinking.
In 1976, Baca receives a Christmas card and note from Harry. Harry has given Baca’s name and address to a woman who knows a poet, and he says Baca should expect a letter from this man. In January 1977, Baca receives a letter from Norman, the poet. In response, Baca sends Norman copies of his own poems.
One day, a man named Boxer arrives in the dungeon and attempts to move into Baca’s cell. Baca tells the inmate that he does not want a roommate. Boxer reassures him, saying, “I’m here for day, nothing more” (204). Once Boxer is in Baca’s cell, however, he begins to complain about the typewriter and radio.
While Boxer is showering, Baca confides in Bonafide. Bonafide warns Baca that Boxer is a mafia boss, but Baca is determined to remove Boxer from his cell. Bonafide promises to back Baca in the coming conflict with Boxer.
During the exercise period the next day, Baca tells Boxer that he wants him to move out of the cell. When Boxer curses him and says the he wants Baca to move out, Baca explodes with rage. He begins to beat Boxer, who produces a hidden shank. Baca takes the shank from him and wants to kill the man, but he knows the act will have far-reaching effects. Boxer pulls another shank from his jockstrap, and Baca manages to avoid being stabbed. The guards break up the fight, take Boxer to the hospital, and return Baca to the dungeon.
As Baca enters the dungeon, another mafia member named Snake tries to pull a pistol on him. “Bring it,” Baca says (206). Snake attempts to get others to take the gun to shoot Baca, but the other inmates refuse.
Following the incident with Boxer, Baca is moved to a section of the prison known as Nut Run. After several days in this unit, Baca begins to feel weak. One day, in the exercise yard, Baca feels saliva dripping on his face. His mouth feels numb. Other convicts run toward him. Baca is unable to speak, but finally he sees that his shirt is covered in blood. He has chewed his tongue, and that is the blood’s source. Baca is taken to the infirmary. When he returns, another prisoner tells him that guards often put sedatives in the food. The drugs have caused Baca’s lethargy and the injury to his tongue.
Chapter 11 Summary
The events of Chapter Eleven occur in 1977, a long summer in which the prison is strained from overcrowding. No one has a cell alone anymore, and even prisoners deemed mentally ill and housed on Nut Run are moved to a regular cell block to ease the situation. Baca’s roommate is a seriously-ill inmate named Tom. Baca finds Tom likable enough, but Tom dies after a brief stint as Baca’s cellmate.
Baca’s contact with the outside world continues via his correspondence with Norman and a woman named Virginia. She is introduced to Baca by Norman, who still sends books and magazines to Baca at the prison.
One day Baca receives an unexpected letter from his father’s sister. Jesusita has gotten the address from Baca’s sister, and he is happy to hear from his aunt. He remembers, however, that her husband, Julian, was responsible for sending Baca and his brother to Saint Anthony’s Orphanage.
Baca responds by asking Jesusita if she has his father’s address. When she sends him the address, Baca is conflicted about the kind of letter to write his father. He decides to write a brief letter assuring his father that he is well despite being confined to prison. His father’s response arrives several weeks later. In it, he reports that he is soon to be released from a detox center. Damacio Baca also tells his son that he loves him.
Soon after Baca receives his father’s letter, he becomes interested in a boxing match in the prison yard. He watches as a white fighter lands a solid punch on his black opponent.
The white boxer asks onlookers if any of them want to fight him. A Chicano gangster, named Chelo, pushes Baca forward. Baca feels he will lose respect if he retreats, so he agrees to fight. Other inmates place bets on the outcome.
As the fight begins, Baca notices the other man’s fancy footwork and quick jabs. Baca lies in wait, and when the man drops his hands Baca punches him three times. The other boxer is knocked out. Chelo gives Baca cigarettes for winning the match.
Although Baca doesn’t trust Chelo, the two begin to talk. Baca discovers that Chelo possesses a deep knowledge of Chicano culture. Baca records many of his conversations with Chelo in his journal so he can research the information when he leaves prison. Baca begins to see his culture in a new light.
As Baca and Chelo are talking one day, an inmate kills a guard with a blowdart fashioned from a Bic pen and a bobby pin. The incident leads to a full day of rioting that is finally extinguished by National Guardsmen in riot gear. The prisoners are put on lockdown as a result of the riot.
A few days later, Baca is escorted to the warden’s office. The warden informs him that his father has died. He also explains that the prison will allow Baca to attend the funeral, but his family does not want him to come. Baca writes of his sorrow and the isolation he feels after his family shuns him.
Baca soon receives a letter from his sister that explains everything. His uncle Julian had told the warden that Baca threatened him and that it would be best if Baca were not allowed to attend the funeral.
Baca does not know the real reason behind Julian’s actions until he is released from prison. Baca has inherited a life insurance policy worth twenty-thousand dollars from his father, but Julian convinces Baca’s uncle Santiago to claim the insurance. Santiago is able to get the check because he and Jimmy have the same name. Julian then claims that he will hire a lawyer to get Baca out of prison. Santiago endorses the check and gives it to Julian, who uses it for his own purposes.
Chapter 12 Summary
In November 1977, Baca is moved to a newly-built unit. He is thrilled to have a window in his cell after so many years without one. In the new unit, Baca meets a journalist named Nick and continues to receive encouragement from Virginia, as well. Baca begins to submit his poems to small magazines, and he continues to write every day.
Baca encounters Rick in the exercise yard one day. Though Rick appears to be in good shape physically, the guilt he feels for snitching on Baca causes him to look away in shame.
After his encounter with Rick, Baca begins to meditate more and more. He begins to experience the feeling of being outside his body and worries that he may be headed for a nervous breakdown.
Weeks after he sees Rick, he is challenged by other inmates in the cafeteria. Uncharacteristically, Baca avoids fighting with the men. At the end of the year, Baca is moved back to Cell Block 1, which has been repaired following the riot.
Chapters 10-12 Analysis
Baca becomes concerned about his brother Mieyo’s escalating drinking, but he knows from past experience with his father that this is an issue beyond his control. Still, Baca worries about Mieyo.
Though Baca does not seem to possess violent tendencies, he is forced to continue to fight to survive in prison. He also learns that the guards cannot be trusted after they slip sedatives into his food.
Despite a rather unpleasant end to Baca’s correspondence with Harry, Harry introduces Baca to others who can help him hone his writing skills. Virginia and Norman send Baca books and writing materials and encourage him to continue writing. Despite the officials’ denial of his request for education, Baca begins to find a way to educate himself.
He also manages to obtain his father’s mailing address, and he begins to consider how his father will interpret the words Baca might write to him. Knowing his father cannot read well, Baca opts to write a simple letter. This consideration of how his audience may receive his writing is further evidence of Baca’s burgeoning writing abilities.
Baca also becomes interested in his cultural heritage, thanks to his talks with another inmate named Chelo. Before he encounters Chelo, Baca has never understood the rich history of his family and his people. Baca begins to feel that there may be a place for him in the world after all, and his self-confidence grows as learns more about his Chicano heritage.
When Baca’s father dies, the warden tells him that his family does not want him to come to the funeral. Once again, Baca feels the old hurt of betrayal, and he cannot understand why his family has turned against him. Much later, he learns that he has been denied his final moments with his father as a result of his uncle’s scheme to steal the money that Baca’s father has left him.
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By Jimmy Santiago Baca
