ABSTRACT
As students settle into their seats, Miguel Garcia is seated toward the left aisle, three rows from the lectern. He sits alone, with the nearest student two rows back and at least three seats over, and has to reach to receive the attendance sheet that he signs and passes along. Like Esmeralda, Miguel expresses the importance of significant teachers who served as mentors and assisted him to reach higher levels of education. As he states in the next section, Miguel has problems at home with his parents, and expresses difficulties similar to what Esmeralda encounters with her family. Miguel’s comments about home life attest to the difficulties of attending college while still living with one’s parents. The constant test of wills between father and son, and a post-adolescent’s struggle to establish oneself has contributed to the overall level of tension in the Garcia household.
