Marcus Vega Doesn't Speak Spanish

Fiction | Novel | Middle Grade | Published in 2018

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Summary

Background

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapters 1-3

Chapters 4-7

Chapters 8-9

Chapters 10-12

Chapters 13-14

Chapters 15-17

Chapters 18-20

Chapters 21-22

Character Analysis

Themes

Symbols & Motifs

Important Quotes

Essay Topics

Tools

Beta

Discussion Questions

Chapters 8-9Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 8 Summary: “Travel Day”

This section of chapters is titled “Day One.”

Charlie, Marcus, and Melissa are on the train to the airport by 3:30am. At the airport, Charlie leads the way. He memorized the airport layout and enjoys taking charge by guiding his brother and his mother. Charlie smiles and greets people, but Marcus feels increasingly uncomfortable and breaks out in a sweat. Melissa chats with her work friends. On the plane, one of them gives Charlie an airplane pin. He proudly wears it, joking to Marcus, “I’m captain. You obey me” (81). Marcus’s anxiety rises, and he starts to feel faint. He smiles to himself as he realizes that “big, bad Marcus Vega” is afraid of flying.

Chapter 9 Summary: “Layover and Touchdown”

Charlie and Melissa enjoy every moment of the flight, while Marcus tries to focus on staying calm and thinks about seeing his father. During a layover in Miami, Charlie stocks up on books about Puerto Rico. On the next flight, Marcus feels better and is relaxed enough to flip through some of Charlie’s travel guides, learning about Old San Juan, where they will stay. While the three of them wait at baggage claim, Marcus checks his email. His father still hasn’t responded, so Marcus sends him a brief message letting him know they landed and are taking a cab to Uncle Ermenio’s.

Chapters 8-9 Analysis

The first travel day sets the mood for the trip. Charlie is excited and well-prepared, happy to meet new people and lead the way. Marcus is worried about his father and afraid of flying, which overshadows the exciting anticipation of the trip for him. Melissa is excited about the trip and happy to be able to introduce Marcus and Charlie to her colleagues. Charlie and Marcus have never flown before. Charlie embraces the experience as an adventure, but Marcus’s naturally apprehensive nature is reflected in his “flying-in-the-sky-in-a-tin-can issue” (87). The depth of Marcus and Charlie’s relationship is illustrated when Charlie, who is enjoying being the leader, suddenly stops, stays back close to Marcus, and takes his hand. Charlie can sense Marcus’s anxiety and wants to support and help him, reversing the brothers’ typical roles.

The books about Puerto Rico that Charlie buys allow the author to introduce the theme of The Importance of Belonging and Discovering One’s True Identity. The book Proud to Be Boricua (86) catches Marcus’s eye. Even though he hasn’t given it much thought before, the question posed—“I am Puerto Rican. I am an American citizen. What is my home? Where do I belong?” (86)—makes him wonder whether his father feels conflicted. It does not yet occur to Marcus to pose this question to himself. He confidently feels that Springfield, PA, is his home, even though he was born in Puerto Rico, which makes him a Boricua, a person born in Puerto Rico or of Puerto Rican descent. Marcus has no memories of Puerto Rico and initially feels no connection to it, other than as the place to find his father. However, Charlie’s books spark Marcus’s interest in Puerto Rican culture and in the concept of two worlds coexisting within the same person. As the book unfolds, Marcus understands that the question of belonging is nuanced and not restricted to one geographical location or one cultural identity.