39 pages • 1 hour read
Francisco JiménezReaching Out
Nonfiction | Autobiography / Memoir | Adult | Published in 2008A 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 4-7Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 4 Summary: “Unexpected Turns”
Frank enjoys his History of Western Civilization class but struggles in his English and Spanish classes. He does poorly on his first English essay—an analysis of a piece by Virginia Woolf—as well as his first Spanish composition. The poor grades depress Frank and cause him physical and emotional pain. As a therapeutic exercise, Frank jots down recollections of his childhood. A few days later, Frank is relieved to receive a “B” grade on an English composition. He goes to the Mission Church to pray and feels a spiritual peace. “I felt a heavy burden lift from my shoulders” (47).
Chapter 5 Summary: “The Making of a Soldier”
Like all male students at the university, Frank must participate in a two-year military program, which involves wearing a green uniform, performing marching drills, and attending lectures on military history and map reading. He enjoys the latter, and finds that the program helps him overcome the fear of green uniforms he has had ever since la migra (border patrol guards) deported his family. Frank’s participation in the ROTC program pleases his father. “I am proud of you, mijo. You can make something of yourself in the army when you’re poor” (51).
Chapter 6 Summary: “A Compromise”
In contrast to his dorm neighbors, Frank has no interest in sports; he resents their animated discussions about their favorite sports teams and Smokey’s nagging him about attending games on campus. “Sports were like a foreign language to me” (52). Smokey proposes a compromise: He will join Frank at a dance if Frank attends a basketball game. Frank agrees. On the way back from the game, Frank and the three friends stop at a liquor store and buy beer to drink. Frank has never had alcohol before, but Smokey pressures him to try it. Frank becomes drunk. That night he has a bad dream, wakes up with a hangover, and feels ashamed for what he has done.
Chapter 7 Summary: “Cervantes Hall”
To his great joy, Frank’s grades in Spanish and English begin to improve. “I ran back to my room, feeling as though I were floating on air” (58). Frank holds Smokey to his agreement to attend a dance with him. They take a bus to Cervantes Hall in Sunnyvale and attend a dance where rock and roll music is played. They lose track of the time and must hurry back to campus by hitchhiking so as to meet the curfew.
Chapters 4-7 Analysis
These chapters see Frank settling into college life. He forms friendships with Smokey Murphy and his other dorm mates—friendships that give rise to a certain tension due to Frank’s lack of interest in sports and drinking. Frank’s friends pressure him to drink beer after a football game, which Frank later regrets, thus showing the firm sense of morality that was instilled in him at home. Ironically, alcohol will become one of the sources of Frank’s father’s personal problems later in the book.
Frank struggles academically, but by applying himself he is able to overcome many obstacles. He gets along well with his professors, especially Dr. Victor B. Vari, his warm and welcoming Spanish instructor. After receiving a good grade on an English paper, Frank goes to the Mission Church and offers a prayer of thanks. This brings the theme of Frank’s strong religious faith into the book for the first time. Frank identifies with the suffering of Christ on the Cross, which he sees depicted in a painting in the church. The Mission Church, with its Spanish architecture, also represents a place where Frank can feel at home in his ethnic heritage.
The ROTC program represents another phase of Frank’s life at college. The green uniform he must wear brings back ominous memories of la migra, the border patrol police that deported him and his family many years ago. Frank’s fear and guilt about the deportation incident and the fact of his being born in Mexico constitutes one of the notable tensions in the book. By participating in ROTC, Frank overcomes some of the fear and guilt he associates with the deportation. Frank’s father approves and is proud of his participation in the program, because for him the military represents one of the ways an immigrant can better himself in society. A respect for institutions and authority figures is one of the values that have been instilled in Frank by his family.
This section of chapters is set entirely at the college and nearby environs. In subsequent chapters, we will “return home” with Frank.
Related Titles
By Francisco Jiménez
