Poverty
The Jimenez family leads a transient lifestyle out of necessity. They initially move to California in order to provide for the family better, but they soon learn that almost every other poor family in North America had the same idea already. Without trade skills or education, they are forced to do manual labor on farms for miserable pay. Since they are undocumented, the Jimenez' don't have the privilege of demanding fair payment and labor practices from their employers. They cannot afford to attract attention from the government. Additionally, they are seeking work in an extremely saturated job market. The wealthy farmers pay meager sums and don't guarantee job security for anybody. They can always find another able body to do the job, so the work is stressful. Because of their poverty, the Jimenez often do not have enough money to provide for basic necessities or to pay for the baby's doctor bills when he gets sick. Whether because they are Mexicans or poor, they experience persecution everywhere they go. It's an uphill battle in the migrant community, which drives Papa to become prematurely old and constantly stern. His mind is so filled with responsibilities that he cannot let his guard down for a second.
Family Ties
The only way the Jimenez family is able to survive is cooperatively. This means that nobody complains about the work, instead offering their best skills up for the sake of the family. When Roberto earns money, he gives it to the family no questions asked. In this way they all function as a closed unit. Consequently the siblings all remain close to one another and rely upon one another a great deal since Mama and Papa are too busy to be bothered. The emotional support which Roberto and Francisco offer one another is essentially to their mutual survival. In such a lifestyle and migrant farming, the kids' goal is to become valuable to the rest of the family. They all want to be successful, so they try hard to be good workers. One of the saddest incidents of Francisco's childhood is the disappointment of his father when the boy tries to pick cotton for the first time but is unable to fill his bag completely in time. In a world which couldn't care less about them, the Jimenez relatives look after each other with perfect loyalty to the family.
Discrimination
Racism against Mexicans was very common during this time. With so many migrant families moving to California, the locals become furious about the perceived invasion. This leads to them charge ridiculously high rates for housing and food and the essentials. If someone has brown skin, they are treated poorly or refused service. In school Francisco faces his own problems for being Mexican. First off, he doesn't speak English when he first arrives. He struggles in school for years until he is able to pick up the language, and he is punished for speaking Spanish in school. Mr. Lema is critical in helping Francisco master his second language. Additionally, teachers don't look to fondly upon the migrant kids who join their classes because their numbers reflect badly upon the teachers. The kids don't stay in school long enough to make serious improvements most of the time, so the teachers don't really bother to teach them much. Finally the Jimenez family must worry about immigration agents. They live with the constant threat of discovery and deportation, which is not a pleasant process. In fact Francisco is deported by border patrol at the end of the book.
