Circuit Essay
To falter is something that happens to everybody. You can feel stuck when you are not sure of something, and your emotions can get overwhelmed. There are different situations where this could happen: the thought of losing a loved one, not being able to make a certain decision that will change your life forever, or having a troublesome time knowing what is right from wrong. In The Circuit, by Francisco Jimenez, instead of being discouraged from difficulties Francisco grows and learns from them.
Francisco had one problem piled on top of another, but he learned that you can’t ever let that get in your way. When Torito was sick Francisco learned that though he didn’t live the fullest life, it doesn’t mean that everything else will come in his favor. And he has to savor the moments he has with his family. In this quote, Torito had finally come home from the hospital after near death. “He said it would take a miracle for him to live.” p.44. The whole family was torn apart with Torito’s illness, this proves to them that you have to always find hope, and shine the light in the darkness.
Later on Francisco learned that sometimes something special to you may not be special to others, and that mistakes can happen. Francisco got two pennies that were unique to him. One of them his Papa gave to him as a gift, and the other one his old best friend Carl gave to him. Carl was the only kid who understood Francisco, was kind to him, and gathered up the courage to talk to him. Francisco was very protective of his pennies, and the thought of losing them made him queasy inside. “‘I don’t want your gum, I want my two pennies,’ I shouted. She dropped the gum balls and started whimpering.” p. 107. Francisco learned that he can’t let his anger out on someone who was clueless about what the pennies meant to him. Francisco realizes that he can’t fluster and he has to be imperturbable.
Francisco was having trouble with moving on when his first house burned down, and he lost his librito. He tried to run back into the burning house to save it. His librito had helped him learn some English, and he didn’t want to let go so early. Francisco had a hard time understanding his classes, because they were all in English. He would zone out and go into his own world. When he got his librito he started to progress and learn more. When Francisco lost his librito he thought he would never learn any more English, until Mama opened the idea of maybe if he had memorized all the words in it, then he truly hadn’t lost it. “Well…if you know what was in your librito, then it’s not all lost.” page 112. Francisco found this bewildering. He was baffled and confound, until he realized what Mama was saying to him. He then found this in a way intriguing. It was a new way for him to solve problems.
In The Circuit, by Francisco Jimenez, instead of letting loss get in his way, Francisco uses it to guide him through obstacles. Francisco experienced losing his beloved librito, his pennies, and almost losing his little brother Torito, who meant the world to him, and even the thought of losing Torito, made Francisco so scared that it changed his perspective on almost everything. Right now many people are shivering and shaking with the thought of losing their loved one, or special object as well. The situation that many people live in isn’t safe to protect them or their family, and this is an everyday worry for them. Now, imagine if nobody ever had anything to lose, how would they learn a lesson, and what would the world be like?