Adapting


In the story The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez, Panchito lives in a migrant family with Roberto (brother), Papa, and Mama. Panchito is working hard in the crop filled field. As soon as he catches a break, there is more to do. He can’t handle the warm, sunny climate and his aching muscles anymore. He can’t wait for school to start, but just when he gets excited for it it is snatched away from him. Moving from place to place would be very difficult because you have to adapt to different living styles.
Moving different places can be difficult in many ways. Panchito has lived in a lot of different homes. Jiménez writes, “The garage was worn out by the years. It had no windows. The walls, eaten by termites, strained to support the roof full of holes. The dirt floor populated by earthworms, looked like a gray road map.” As you can see it is a filthy place to live. Papa, Panchito, and Roberto work in the fields. When the school bus goes by, Panchito and Roberto have to hide so they won’t get in trouble or picked on for not going to school. It would be hard living in a migrant family.
It would be hard living in a migrant family. But when it’s finally time for Panchito to go to school, it is such a happy time for him. On the other hand though, Roberto has to keep working. Panchito feels guilty but decides to make the best of it. Francisco Jiménez writes, “Mr. Lema walked up to me and handed me an English book, and asked me to read. When I heard this I felt the blood rush to my head; I felt dizzy.” Panchito cannot speak English so he ended up not reading. During Panchito’s lunches, Mr. Lema volunteered to help Panchito with his English. Soon, Panchito discovers a new interest; a trumpet.
Panchito discovers a new interest which is the trumpet. Mr. Lema tries to teach Panchito to play it, but as soon as he starts to like it, he has to move. In this story you can realize that someone’s life is harder than yours. You can realize that we all have it pretty good. Panchito would most likely want our life more than he wants his own.
Panchito has a difficult life and education, work, and making friends is hard for him. So we can see that in society today, people have fewer things than we do. It makes us grateful and appreciative of everything we have. It reminds us to thank and help others. What can you do to help a new student at your school?