Colton Burt Ms. Gourd Pre-AP 10th ELA March 27, 2018 Running from Cuba The culture represented in my book is Cuban, in a place only 103 miles from the very tip of Florida. You could almost swim there. The setting at the beginning of the book is a baseball field in Cardenas, Cuba. The main character is Julio Ramirez Jr. and he’s a baseball player. Baseball is a very big deal in Cuba and Julio is very good. His father, known as El Fuego, defected Cuba and went to the U.S. years earlier to pitch in the Major Leagues. There are also words such as “fuera”, which means out in Spanish. This book would be very different is it weren’t based in Cuba. One of the biggest parts of the book is when Julio, Uncle Ramon, Luis, and Gabriel illegally defect …show more content…
He is a star baseball player and the most important character. Uncle Ramon and Gabriel are mentors who try to help him. Uncle Ramon is like a father figure and he is the baseball coach. Gabriel is also the initiate. He isn’t completely accepted by Julio and is having to earn his trust. Luis is a loyal retainer, he supports Julio in everything he does and is always there in some way. On page 90, Julio says, “But I’ll give you a chance to earn your way in.” He is telling Gabriel that he isn’t yet in the group, but he can earn his way into it. On page 86 Luis says, “I’d be lost without you.” This shows that Luis is a loyal supporter and needs Julio. Gabriel could also be considered the hero in the story. He is helping Julio, Uncle Ramon, and Luis defect. If it weren’t for him they might not be able to go. He received money from Julio’s father and got a boat/car and supplies to help them …show more content…
There are other small conflicts throughout the book. At one point, he has a bad encounter with the coach of the Cuban Nacionales baseball team. The coach knows that his father defected and is fearful that Julio will do the same if he is allowed to travel out of the country with the team. The coach tries to make Julio say that he hates his father and Julio decides that playing as a Nacionale wouldn’t be worth having to play for this coach. On page 58, Julio says, “i no longer wanted to charge Moyano. Insead, I wanted to strangle him with my bare hands.” On page 58, Moyano says, “ never be trusted to travel off this island.” He is saying that because of his father’s actions, neither Julio or any of the rest of his family can be trusted to not defect. Nobody can help him make the decision of leaving his country and sacrificing any chance he might have had at being a Nacionale, or staying with his mother and sister, becoming a Nacionale, and likely not ever seeing his father, cousin, or Uncle