The main theme of the story by Francisco Jimenez is childhood, or at least the lack of it in the case of the narrator. He worked with his father in fields, and most of the characters were his immediate family. It shows how migrant workers and their children put in twelve hours a day just to feed their families. The narrator does this in a mundane kind of way, like it was nothing unusual for him. Since he was a child, there was nothing else that he knew other than the life that he lived, traveling around with his family. He was detached from everything else, not because he wanted to be, but because he didn’t have a choice. There were three very important resounding themes in the story: family bond, poverty and separation. These three themes tie into the main theme of the childhood being stripped away from migrant workers’ families in a way that seems alarmingly natural and common.
The first theme of family is seen very early on in the story. The narrator loves his family very much, and would do anything to help them out. He respects his father and looks up to him, even though it is not directly said in the book. It is obvious that the family does not have that much, yet the narrator does not complain. He doesn’t even mention it by using direct words. He uses imagery to describe their situation. However, you still see that they are happy being together. They help each other out, and they have a tight bond with each other.
“Papa then insisted on knowing who the original owner was” (Jimenez 1.8)
He loves his brother, Roberto, in the story, he even says that he felt bad that Roberto was not able to go to school during the season that he was. He empathized with Roberto and even had second thoughts about it. This showed that he really cared about the feelings of his brother over his own. The fact that he would help his father no matter what their situation is was sad, yet amazing. He showed no sign of shame because of their situation, and not once did he complain. He rejoiced in the little things in life, and he was very appreciative. In the 20th paragraph, he said that his mother cooked his favorite meal, and he was very happy about this.
