How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Line)
Quote #4
"It was the Lunas who carried the charter from the Mexican government to settle the valley. That took courage." (6.46-48)
How do the characters in the novel draw on the past as a source of pride for themselves?
Quote #5
"Ay, but those were beautiful years […] and then the tejano came and built his fences, the railroad came, the roads—it was like a bad wave of the ocean covering all that was good." (6.120-120-124)
The past of Antonio's father (and the entire family) connects directly to the past of the American Southwest. They see their culture growing more and more fractured, just as they witnessed their lands cut by railroad tracks, highways, and barbed wire.
Quote #6
I remembered when they built our house. They were like giants then. (8.150-151)
Here the past borders on mythology. Antonio once saw his brothers as colossal figures, full of strength and power. After growing up a little, though, he realizes that they are just men who are deeply flawed like all of the other dudes around him. What a bummer.