Each Tiny Spark

The theme of Accepting All Parts of a Person’s Identity appears when Emilia surprises her dad and throws flowers around him. The seemingly innocuous gesture becomes harmful due to her dad’s experiences as a Marine. Emilia knows the rules that her dad has laid out for his emotional safety when he is home. Accordingly, Toni’s family modifies their behavior and tries to create a peaceful environment that is conducive with the version of himself that he brings from overseas. Even though Toni is back home, it is challenging to shift back into the version of himself that thrives at home because of the challenges he has faced. However, because he communicates that need, or rules, clearly, his family is able to help him.

Conversely, Accepting All Parts of a Person’s Identity doesn’t mean that people can’t change. Toni doesn’t want to be uncommunicative and harsh. As he works on the Shelby with Emilia, he shares some of his experiences overseas. Thus, working on the car continues to symbolize growth, self-improvement, and bonding, and Toni’s slow-but-steady transformation back home demonstrates family values like compromise. In this sense, Toni has succeeded in Confronting Unflattering Truths about himself, and he actively works on these realities to become better.

Toni accepts the many facets of Emilia, and he gives her the new nickname Chispita, or “little spark.” Emilia has several nicknames. Aside from Emilia, she’s known as Emilia Rosa, Emi Rose, Sweet E, and Chispita. Her multiple names symbolize her myriad layers.

Clarissa continues to restrict Emilia’s identity. She doesn’t want Emilia Confronting Unflattering Truths or Embracing Activism and Change. She tells Emilia,

[Y]ou’ve been one of my best friends since kindergarten. I don’t think you need to go ‘uncover’ things for some school project, you know? I mean, you’re Emi Rose! You’ve always been fun and creative, making cute projects for your daddy while he was away and things like that (185).

Clarissa wants to freeze Emilia and prevent her from branching out because that is the version of Emilia that she is comfortable with. This captures the idea that friendships, and all relationships, are about compromise and growing together. While Clarissa resists the full reality of Emilia, she remains an antagonistic presence in the novel.

Abuela uses diction to castigate the restaurant server who interrupts the young family because he can’t speak Spanish. Abuela tells the manager, “That young man should learn a little Spanish. And to be more polite as a server” (177). The literary device of diction links to the motif of environment and the theme of Embracing Activism and Change. The server’s environment includes Spanish-speaking people. To welcome them, Abuela believes he should learn some Spanish words—similar to how the young couple learned English words. Abuela is proud of her heritage and hopes to see it celebrated and embraced, and this is perhaps the most visible aspect of her character.

Mr. Richt spurs the theme of Embracing Activism and Change when he extols Emilia’s project proposal:

[T]his is what I was hoping all of you would do: dig in. Ask big questions. Look into places that are personal and also have depth [….] Miss Torres even went so far as to connect history with present-day policies (183).

Championing change and activism is not a simple task. As Mr. Richt’s diction indicates, it involves dedicated research and Confronting Unflattering Truths. The past is part of what’s happening now, and investigating the past can unsettle the current status quo, which happens in a smaller sense when Clarissa bristles at Emilia’s dive into immigration and even cultural representation. This uncomfortable interaction, for which Clarissa apologizes, offers a glimpse into the way in which, as Toni says, some people like to remain unaware.

Abuela exposes the tumult of activism when she tells Emilia, “Eso no es un proyecto para una nina de doce anos [it’s not a project for a 12-year-old girl]. The adults will take care of it” (204). Emilia, Mr. Richt, Sue, and others disagree with Abuela’s assertion—children can be activists, and Emilia‘s exploration of the links between redistricting, the 1996 Olympics, immigration, and voting laws will be a key part of her coming-of-age journey.