Based on the novel, what do you think Soto is saying about fate and free will? Does Eddie’s perspective seem to align with the author’s? How does your opinion in your Personal Connection Prompt compare with the author’s point of view?

Teaching Suggestion: This Prompt encourages students to place Soto’s narrative in the two negotiating themes of Determinism and Choice. Eddie’s life is set in a background of Determinism, where most of his peers and community are unable to escape from a cycle of poverty. However, he makes conscious decisions to escape his supposed “fate” of a life in poverty and gang violence in Fresno, California by instead choosing to avoid involving himself in drugs and gang violence. This negotiation between Determinism and Choice is a war within himself, as he understands logically the pitfalls of violent actions, such as fighting Angel, but he occasionally succumbs to the desire to avenge Jesús’s death. This Prompt works well as an in-class discussion, with the opportunity for students to make broader connections to the themes of the novel.