Angie Grajeda

Professor Lao
College One
September 22, 2014
RRJ 4
1. Chapter Three starts talking about how we see miracles every day but we ignore them. In addition,
we encounter evil everywhere and that the devil is looking for lost angles, etc. As the story continues
we acknowledge that, the narrator of this chapter is Beatriz. Beatriz leads us throughout the chapter
and tells us numerous of things, how her mother beaten her with a hairbrush and how she use to
watch her sisters be molested by her uncle. In this chapter, we encounter a variety of new characters;
some were Archie, Abuelita, Aracely, Patricia, Gabriel Esperanza, Father Alemencio, etc. The major
events that happen in this chapter was when she learned that her abuelita drowned herself in Echo
Park Lake, because Archie would not let them back into his house, and the main one of this chapter
was she meets and talks to the Virgin Mary. Another, when she goes to talk to Father Alemencio
about her dreams and the Virgin Mary.
2. While reading chapter two, I found this chapter to be intriguing since the beginning of the chapter. I
felt I could connect to her, because I also believe and have faith in the Virgin Mary. I can understand
how she felt when she spoke and saw the Virgin Mary; I would also be astonished by the fact of it. At
the beginning of the chapter, she speaks about how the Devil rises up from hell and touches our big
toe to control our direction. After reading that I felt uneasy because I was reading my book on the
bed, and felt if the devil were under my bed that insist. Moving on, I got angry at Beatrizs mom for
being mad at her after they were all kicked out of the house. She should not be mad but rather be
comprehensive with her daughters because the uncle was molesting them. Overall, this chapter
brought me joy for having the privilege to speak and see the Virgin Mary.
3. What do you think the Virgin Mary is trying to tell her, do you think she is trying to warn her about
something that is going to happen?
The Virgin Mary told her she would send her another messenger; do you think that the messenger
could be her abuelita?
4. While I was reading, I was confused at the beginning on who was the narrator of the chapter. I was
debating on whether it was the Virgin Mary or Beatriz. As I reached the end of the chapter I went back
to skim the first paragraph of the chapter and I concluded that it may have been the Virgin Mary
intruding at the beginning, that she is a miracle and that she wants to be seen and heard. I struggled
to understand but as I continued to read, I found that it was Beatriz telling the story. I am still having
doubts on which it was. Was Beatriz also speaking at the beginning? This time as I continued to read
I kept a list of character that were beginning introduced so I could go back if needed. The strategies
that I used while reading was taking side notes of things that I felt were important. One of the things
that I found challenging was when I came upon a word I did not know, so I wrote it down and found
the meaning to it. This chapter kept me motivated to continue to read because I found I could relate to
it and because it was interesting too. It left me seated at the edge of my sit.
5. As I was reading, I encountered a few words that I did not know the meaning of. I felt that without the
understanding of a particular word in a sentence, it could throw you off and not grasp the full
message. A few word that I wrote down on my side notes were cur, animosity, and fervent. I chose
these words as good word because without the understanding of these words I could not
understand what was being said in the sentence. These words misled my interpretation of the phrase
because I have not seen that word.
Cur: an offensive term for somebody regarded as mean, cowardly, or otherwise unpleasant
Animosity: a feeling or spirit of hostility and resentment
Fervent: glowing as a result of intense heat