GEORGE WASHINGTO GOMEZ
Part IV LA CHILLA
Chapter 1 pages 177-189
The Four Mexicans and the WOW Club
1. How are the relations between the Anglo majority and the Mexican students impacted by the
Christmas party incident?
2. What price did Maria Elena have to pay for her being part of the “four Mexicans”?
3. What role did the “WOW Club” play in the lives of many of the men in Jonesville and which of
the members do you think may have been the most interesting?
4. What impact did the Mexican Revolution have on Francisco Four Eyes?
5. What kind of entertainment could fifteen cents buy in Jonesville during this period?
6. Describe some one in your life that reminds you of Francisco Four Eyes.
7. Why did a drop out like Colorado seem to have more money than Gualinto?
8. Who were the “Juchitecos” and what was remarkable about them?
9. What example did Vicente use to describe what a person with skilled hands can achieve ?
10. What mode of transportation did Gualinto use to get around town?
Chapter 2 pages 189 –
Don Feliciano Survives Bank Closure, His Work Ethic
and Gualinto’s Promise and Sacrifices
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
What was Don Feliciano’s taste in reading?
How kind of hat did Don Feliciano wear?
Who was E.C. Carlton and what did he have to do with the Bank going broke?
What did Don Feliciano mean when he said that the bad times come and go in cycles? Did
he appear to be pessimistic or optimistic about the future?
Why did Don Felicano remark that he was not an ignorant ranchero and what does he
appear to know about business?
With the closing of the store what did Don Feliciano suggest that they do with the meat?
Why did Don Feliciano tell Gualinto that “they have been teaching you strange things at
school?
How did Don Feliciano react to Gualinto calling his father an ignorant Mexican?
What sacrifices would Gualinto have to make as a result of the family’s financial situation?
Why didn’t Don Feliciano lose all his money when the bank went broke and why did he
consider acquiring more land and paying for Gualinto to go to college ?
Why did Gualinto want to go to work and what promise did Don Feliciano exact from him?
How did Gualinto help his uncle regarding the family budget?
Chapter 3 pages 194
The Depression, Deportations and Working for Don Crispin Rodriguez
1. What similarities do you find between the Depression and the economic state of affairs that we
are currently experiencing the past few years in California?
2. Why did Mexicans refer to the Great Depression as La Chilla and how did it impact the
community?
3. What does the author mean when he states that the “Mexicotezan has a conveniently dual
personality”?
4. Who were the sebos and what does it mean?
5. Why does the case of Juventino Grajales still have in all Mexican and Latino communities today?
6. Why were Mexican cotton pickers afraid to protest the treatment and wages that they were
subjected to?
7. Why did growers like Mr. Peeble prefer “Latin American workers”?
8. What compromises do you think that Gualinto had to make to work for the Rodriguez family?
What type of work was he offered and how much was he paid?
9. What do you think went through the mind of Don Crispin and his wife Concha when they
learned that the newphew of Don Feliciano would be working for them?
10. Where did the Rodriguez family live?
Chapter 4 pages 203
Gualinto is tormented by his love for Maria Elena
1. Why did Gualinto start missing school on Fridays and who wrote his excuses?
2. Why didn’t Paco Rodriguez attend school with Gualinto?
3. What differences drove Gualinto and Maria Elena further apart?
4. Despite of his breakup with Maria Elena, what fantasies did Gualinto continue to
experience?
5. What kind of friend did Paco turn out to be and why did he seek out Gualinto?
6. Who was Higinio and why did they call him “La Gata’?
7. What was “La Gata’s” attitude about money and marriage?
8. What thoughts did Gualinto have as he passed Maria Elena’s house late at night?
Chapter 5 pages 211
The Kermes, The Church and Maruca
1. What does the author mean when he infers that there are: “ men interested only in the
ethereal reals of the Heavenly City..”?
2. What holidays did the Mexicotexans celebrate and what did that have to do with the Vifgin
of Guadalupe Church?
3. What is a Kermesse?
4. Why did the priests ask that the congregants pray for the church in Spion and ask for the
just due for the anti-Christ Zamora and Azana?
5. What if any was there any disparity in treatment between the rich and poor Catholics as it
related to Baptism of the children at the church?
6. What similiarities does the author point out about the work of Dona Simonita and the
Catholic priests?
7. What was Gualinto doing at the Kermesse and why didn’t he want to be seen by Maria
Elena?
8. Who came to the kermesse and why was it important to attend?
9. How was it that Gualinto ran into Maria Elena at the Kermess and what was her reaction
towards him?
10. What was Colorado’s view of marriage?